High Sierra Topix

I spent a few days in Darwin Bench this summer; it was a truly surreal experience. It became one of my favorite places in the Sierra. I'd like to explore areas similar to Darwin Bench (jaw-dropping!), Dusy Basin (amazing!), Humphrey Basin (spectacular!), etc. Any recommendations?

Here's a few pics to give you a feel for what I'm looking for. Any insight would be appreciated.

Darwin Bench


Humphreys Basin

Upper Kern basin in Sequoia National Park is nice.

All individual recommendations are going to be bias, including mine. Just spend some time reading our trip reports. They have lots of good photos too. You can then choose your favorite and then ask specific questions about your "short list".

I think you're describing any alpine spot above treeline, but below the vegetation line. Sierra is full of these types of hanging valleys. I'd think timing is probably more important, you want most of the snow to be melted, but still have enough water around to keep the plants green. This year, there was so much water, things stayed green until mid-September.

But yeah, in general you get 3 vegetation zones as you go up in elevation: 1) timber 2) alpine grass/heather/shrubs 3) desolate. It's that zone 2 that's really nice.

Thanks for the replies.

The trip reports have been very helpful. I’ll look in to Kern Basin. Another potential spot is Mills Creek basin via Gabbott pass.

So true about timing. Zone 2 can be magical if the timing is right, especially this year when we got June conditions well into August

I was just north of Humphreys Basin in early September (trip report here: http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... 2&p=150997 ). Granite Park and Vee Lake both fit into that category (at least when I was there, big snow year, etc).

Granite Park:



Vee Lake:

I, too, finally went to the Darwin Bench this past August and found it as idyllic as I've read on HST. My own trip report will come soon.