Looking for Some Help Planning a ~100 Mile Trip

[billygoat]

Hey everyone, I need some help! Work/life has been absolutely nuts for me the past two years and I haven't been able to go backpacking in that entire time, or plan out a proper route. I've been conditioning and actually managed to get time off work, about 10 consecutive days, and I NEED to get out into the High Sierra to clear my head (and likely reconsider my career). I'm thinking about 7-8 days of hiking is reasonable...I might be able to swing a 9th day, but I'd definitely have to make it a loop if I do that, or find alternate transportation. With a 7-8 day hike, I can convince a friend to shuttle me. A loop would be ideal though.

All the routes I'm landing on seem either too short or too long, except for maybe a few, or overlap a ton with what I've already done. I've hiked the JMT, Big SEKI loop, High Sierra Trail, the Circle of Solitude, and some other lesser known trails. Normally I'd spend all winter staring at maps to plan this out, and I just wasn't able to this year. I thought I could pick one out easily enough at the last minute, but I was wrong.

I'm an experience backpacker, level 3-4, class 2-3 terrain, comfortable with water crossings and snow, looking for big mountain scenery, lakes, and forests. If I had been training more I'd say 15-20 miles/day is fine, but realistically I should keep it closer to 12-14. I absolutely love Evolution Valley and would be thrilled to incorporate that into a loop, but if I can't then I can't. Exiting at Whitney is always a fun time too, but again, I just need to get out there. Avoiding crowds along the JMT is probably more important.

My thoughts are starting at Courtwright Reservoir and finishing at Onion Valley for a through hike, or trying to do a loop from an eastern trailhead like North Lake, South Lake, or Rock Creek. I'm actually coming from the east, so an Eastern trailhead would mean less driving and more time hiking. The problem is, most loops I'm seeing from these trailheads are either a few days or more like 10-12. I'm also unsure on what burned last year during the fires, which is why I'm hesitant to start at Mineral King. Will anyone help out some poor dude who just needs to get away from it all? Any tips about routes are appreciated.

Oh, and I leave in three days...I've been trying to plan this without help, I really have.

[wildhiker]

Well, your options to get a wilderness permit are limited if you are leaving in three days. Check agency websites. Here is my understanding based on checking the websites and following posts here on HST.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Permit reservations are on recreation.gov, but must be made at least 7 days in advance, and then the permit must be picked up at a designated park office. However, SEKI also still has "walk-up" permits available if some of the quota for a trailhead was not reserved. These can be picked up starting at 1 pm the day prior to your hike start date.

Inyo National Forest - east side Ansel Adams, John Muir, and Golden Trout Wilderness areas: You can search recreation.gov to find a trailhead on the Inyo Forest that still has availability and reserve a permit, and then phone the various Inyo forest offices until you find a person who can make out the permit and email it to you. You have to print it and take it with you. Many folks on this forum report major difficulties getting through on the phone.

Sierra National Forest - west side Ansel Adams and John Muir Wilderness areas: Again, search recreation.gov to find a trailhead with availability and reserve your permit. Then you have to pickup the actual permit from a ranger district office by 10 am on the day you start your hike.

Yosemite National Park - you are out of luck. All trailhead permits must be reserved at least 4 days in advance. There are no "walkups" for non-reserved permits. You pick up a reserved permit in person at one of the permit offices in the park the day before or day of the hike.

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest - Hoover Wilderness (northeast side of Yosemite Park) - reserve on recreation.gov and then you can print the permit yourself immediately. Quotas are generous for some trailheads.

Stanislaus National Forest - Emigrant Wilderness (northwest of Yosemite Park) - call the forest service office a day or two before you plan to start and they will make out your permit. I believe you have to pick it up in person at their office. No quotas!

Since permits are easiest to obtain at the last minute for the Emigrant and Hoover Wilderness areas, and they are both contiguous with the northern part of Yosemite National Park and permits for trailheads in those two Wilderness areas allow you to continue on into the park, I suggest you look at a big tour of much of the high country between Sonora Pass and Tioga Pass, starting in either the Emigrant or Hoover Wilderness areas. Off the top of my head, and if I could get help with a short car shuttle, I would try starting at Sonora Pass and heading south on the Pacific Crest Trail (this needs an Emigrant Wilderness permit), taking it for 10 miles to the head of Kennedy Canyon, then detouring on the old mining road (now trail) right over the top of Big Sam Mountain down into the heart of the Emigrant Wilderness (at least detour over to Emigrant Lake), then over to Bond Pass to enter Yosemite National Park and get back on the PCT heading southeast up and down the canyons as far as Matterhorn Canyon. Leave the PCT and head up Matterhorn Canyon, then west to the Crown Lake and Peeler Lake areas, then easy cross-country over to the head of Thompson Canyon and up it and down to Kirkwood Pass, then on trail all the way down the West Walker River valley to Leavitt Meadow on highway 108.

Don't forget that a bear canister is required in Yosemite Park.

-Phil

[balzaccom]

Phil has given you a really good answer. I would only add that if you do his loop in reverse, starting at Leavitt Meadows, you can self-register at the trailhead and avoid the permit issue entirely. Once you get to the head of the canyon and meet the PCT, the Sierra opens up to all kinds of loop options. And once you get OFF the PCT you won't see many people.

[Wandering Daisy]

You can always explore and day-hike, or do some overnight in-and-outs. Example, on the PCT in Kern Basin you can do overnight side trips to Crabtree Lakes, Wallace and Wales Lake, Wrights Lake, and more. Perhaps just add a few side-trips to your "too short" route. Or climb a peak!

[cgundersen]

Billy,
As Phil pointed out, you're going to be constrained by where you can get a permit, so the more trailhead options the better. As Daisy noted, going in Horseshoe Meadow or Cottonwood Lakes opens up the Upper Kern with a nice little hop over Crabtree Pass to mix things up. Or, you could go in at McGee (by Tom's Place) and do an extended loop around the Silver Divide and come back to McGee via Hopkins pass. Piute Pass and around Glacier Divide with Martha Lake or Davis Lakes and out Lamarck col is another great option. Any of those would get you into gorgeous country. Cameron

[looks easy from here]

Entering Yosemite with a permit that starts outside Yosemite is not as easy as in previous years. If that's your plan double check with Yosemite and/or your permitting district before departing.

[billygoat]

Billy,
As Phil pointed out, you're going to be constrained by where you can get a permit, so the more trailhead options the better. As Daisy noted, going in Horseshoe Meadow or Cottonwood Lakes opens up the Upper Kern with a nice little hop over Crabtree Pass to mix things up. Or, you could go in at McGee (by Tom's Place) and do an extended loop around the Silver Divide and come back to McGee via Hopkins pass. Piute Pass and around Glacier Divide with Martha Lake or Davis Lakes and out Lamarck col is another great option. Any of those would get you into gorgeous country. Cameron

There really are some good tips here! I'm looking at a map and am seriously considering starting at North Lake/Piute Pass (actually managed to snag a permit for Monday). I'm looking at two loops out of here: go north over Italy Pass and come out at Lamarck Col, or follow Piute Canyon, up Goddard Canyon, and doing some cross-country by Martha Lake-->Davis Lake then meeting up with the JMT at Wanda Lake and exiting over Lamarck Cole. Or I could start at Cottonwood Lakes, do New Army Pass and then loop the High Sierra Trail, spending a day on Whitney, but I've already done most of this loop and am leaning towards the first two. Any opinions on those?

edit: scratch the third option, I'm seriously interested in the looping around the Sawtooth area like Wildhiker suggested, doing a loop out of Twin Lakes that hits Dorothy Lake, Benson Lake, and Matterhorn Canyon. I guess at this point I have some viable options, and I'm looking for input on them. Feel free to recommend one over the other, or keep others guessing who read this so we don't give away all the cool loops.

[billygoat]

There are some great, thoughtful responses here! Thanks everyone!

[billygoat]

Well, your options to get a wilderness permit are limited if you are leaving in three days. Check agency websites. Here is my understanding based on checking the websites and following posts here on HST.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Permit reservations are on recreation.gov, but must be made at least 7 days in advance, and then the permit must be picked up at a designated park office. However, SEKI also still has "walk-up" permits available if some of the quota for a trailhead was not reserved. These can be picked up starting at 1 pm the day prior to your hike start date.

Inyo National Forest - east side Ansel Adams, John Muir, and Golden Trout Wilderness areas: You can search recreation.gov to find a trailhead on the Inyo Forest that still has availability and reserve a permit, and then phone the various Inyo forest offices until you find a person who can make out the permit and email it to you. You have to print it and take it with you. Many folks on this forum report major difficulties getting through on the phone.

Sierra National Forest - west side Ansel Adams and John Muir Wilderness areas: Again, search recreation.gov to find a trailhead with availability and reserve your permit. Then you have to pickup the actual permit from a ranger district office by 10 am on the day you start your hike.

Yosemite National Park - you are out of luck. All trailhead permits must be reserved at least 4 days in advance. There are no "walkups" for non-reserved permits. You pick up a reserved permit in person at one of the permit offices in the park the day before or day of the hike.

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest - Hoover Wilderness (northeast side of Yosemite Park) - reserve on recreation.gov and then you can print the permit yourself immediately. Quotas are generous for some trailheads.

Stanislaus National Forest - Emigrant Wilderness (northwest of Yosemite Park) - call the forest service office a day or two before you plan to start and they will make out your permit. I believe you have to pick it up in person at their office. No quotas!

Since permits are easiest to obtain at the last minute for the Emigrant and Hoover Wilderness areas, and they are both contiguous with the northern part of Yosemite National Park and permits for trailheads in those two Wilderness areas allow you to continue on into the park, I suggest you look at a big tour of much of the high country between Sonora Pass and Tioga Pass, starting in either the Emigrant or Hoover Wilderness areas. Off the top of my head, and if I could get help with a short car shuttle, I would try starting at Sonora Pass and heading south on the Pacific Crest Trail (this needs an Emigrant Wilderness permit), taking it for 10 miles to the head of Kennedy Canyon, then detouring on the old mining road (now trail) right over the top of Big Sam Mountain down into the heart of the Emigrant Wilderness (at least detour over to Emigrant Lake), then over to Bond Pass to enter Yosemite National Park and get back on the PCT heading southeast up and down the canyons as far as Matterhorn Canyon. Leave the PCT and head up Matterhorn Canyon, then west to the Crown Lake and Peeler Lake areas, then easy cross-country over to the head of Thompson Canyon and up it and down to Kirkwood Pass, then on trail all the way down the West Walker River valley to Leavitt Meadow on highway 108.

Don't forget that a bear canister is required in Yosemite Park.

-Phil

There are some great tips here! I was leaning towards Piute Pass, but now I'm studying the Sonora Pass area and the Sawtooths. It looks awesome. Thanks!