Beginner Cross-Country trip in Sequoia?

[Lenier]

I have a few trips planned this summer in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. I live in Visalia.

I'd love to dip my toes in cross country trips. I've done some off trail hiking, but the topics on this forum have me wanting to explore more.

Would Moose Lake, up from Pear Lake, be a good starter trip?

What are some other beginner off-trail trips, preferably from easy to obtain permits?

[oleander]

Out & back to Miter Basin from Cottonwood Pass. Miter with its little sub-basins & lakes provide a lot to see. Navigation to get to the basin from the trail is not hard.

If you have several days, you could take the High Sierra Trail in to explore Nine Lakes Basin or Little 5 Lakes.

Or do a Mineral King loop that allows enough time to explore both Big 5 & Little 5 Lakes.

I wouldn't recommend Moose for people new to cross-country. The terrain isn't hard-core, but you do need solid navigation skills.

[Lenier]

I'll be doing the HST in June, but don't intend to do much exploring unless I manage to do better than I anticipate. Doing the entire trail.

I'm doing the Mineral King Loop out of Franklin, intending to hit up Little 5 Lakes on my trip.

I'm experienced with orienteering, if that's what you mean by navigation - or do you mean the skills to properly pick out approaches in the various boulder fields and canyons in the tablelands?

[cahiker]

Pear Lake to Moose Lake is fairly open and easy walking. If you are confident in your navigation skills then it could be a good trip for you. I've done it twice and had no issues, and I generally only tackle "easier" cross-country routes with a full pack. As I recall, I only used my hands once or twice, going up from Pear Lake and maybe down to Moose. If you make the loop back to Alta, there is a use trail leaving Moose Lake, but after a while there are either too many use trails, or none, so you'll need solid navigation skills to get back to the trail in Alta Meadow.

[c9h13no3]

I'll be doing the HST in June, but don't intend to do much exploring unless I manage to do better than I anticipate. Doing the entire trail.

I'm doing the Mineral King Loop out of Franklin, intending to hit up Little 5 Lakes on my trip.

Why not just add easy cross country to these trips? It's often easy to just go up into a basin or a peak & then come back out the way you came. Going from point A to point B, getting over passes is the hard part.

For example, check out Spring Lake, or the off-trail Little Five Lake (Lk 10,410) when you go to Mineral King. Of course, for these destinations just off the trail, you'll probably pickup a use trail if you look around a bit. But maybe that would be the training wheels you're looking for.

Could also chop out the Timber Gap trail portion with Glacier Pass.

[SNOOOOW]

Out & back to Miter Basin from Cottonwood Pass. Miter with its little sub-basins & lakes provide a lot to see. Navigation to get to the basin from the trail is not hard.

Agree about Miter Basin. My 1st endeavor into cc travel was Horseshoe to Cottonwood Pass to Miter Basin and over crabtree pass. Hang out in Miter Basin for a night or 2 to explore as it is well worth it. Miter Basin introduced me to this site actually as I ran into a member "Bluewater" out there and was admiring his super light setup. Over Piute Pass into Humphreys Basin is another good place to wander cc very easily also.

[limpingcrab]

If you go to Moose lake I'd recommend going out via Alta Meadow and then back through the Tablelands and Pear Lake. Better views than the reverse, and loops are always more fun than out and back!

[maiathebee]

I agree that you should just add little cross country side trips to your existing plans. Miter Basin is amazing but it's really far from where you live, so I'm not sure I'd choose that.

I recommend Bighorn Plateau / Wrights Lake basin when you're on the HST. Extremely easy cross country, just walking through meadows basically, following a stream for navigation. And absolutely gorgeous.

Exploring the edge of the Bighorn Plateau from my afternoon hike exploring the PCT north of Wallace Creek by Maia Averett, on Flickr

Moose and Tablelands I think are harder than their reputation / than they look on maps due to lots of convoluted little canyons that you constantly have to go around.

[CAMERONM]

I agree that you should just add little cross country side trips to your existing plans.

You can usually find a shortcut on a trail with a nice boundary feature like a creek or hill so you will be certain you can find the trail again. Try to do a mixture of things- through thick forest, or even just go off-trail to the top of a ridge and back. Each time will learn small things that will build your confidence.

[Lenier]

I managed to have some extra time on a trip to Pear Lake over the last 2 days. I headed north from Pear along that ridge, and explored a snowy lake/meadow area up the Marble Fork Canyon. That was a blast! I'll have to get back up there and go farther up next time...