Rae lakes or Ansel Adams

[FishfinderAK]

Hi all my 10 yr (level 2/3) old son and I are planning a 4-5 day backpacking trip in the Sierra mountains during mid July.

Looking for a 30-40 mile trip. I have been planning on spending 5 days tooling around the lake in Ansel Adams. But a recent post brought up the Rae lakes loop which looks awesome too.

In regards to mosquitos, heat, and scenery, and solitude, which area do you guys recommend/prefer?

Thanks much!

[maverick]

Both are great trips, mosquitoes will be annoying at both locations, and solitude is not the easiest to obtain at either unless you stay away from the more famous named lakes (Ediza, 1000 Is, Garnet, Rae Lakes), a little easier in the AAW because there are more lakes you can choose from, try to time your trip for a Mon or Tue start (away from holidays) and you will have a little more solitude. Both can get hot, this is all weather dependent, Rae Lakes is a little cooler because of the elevation difference, but Paradise and Bubbs Creek drainages up/down to Rae Lakes can get hot.

Minarets are very hard to beat for scenery and the lakes are very popular for a reason, if you camp on the western end of 1000 Is and Garnet Lakes you will have a little more solitude, Ediza may be busy everywhere, an alternative might be to hike up Iceberg Lake or Nydiver Lakes.

Minaret Lakes is a little less used and Cabin Lake near Ediza gets very even less usage, even though it is very pretty. Laura and Altha Lakes get a small amount of usage compared to the more popular lakes, even though they are near the JMT.