Best 3 night out + back backpacking trip

[mxoyez]

Hey, I'm trying to figure out where I want to go backpacking in early august, and its especially tough since I want to avoid the overly dry areas while still seeing some of the big mountains.

info:
What level of backpacking experience do you have?
Level 2- Some backpacking trips, a lot of day hikes

What terrain are you comfortable with?
- Class 1

What is your main interest?
-lakes, meadows, alpine scenery,solitude

How many days/nights is your trip, not including travel to trailhead?
- 4 days, 3 nights.

How many miles did you want to do a day, any layovers?
- with a pack, ~12 miles. Without a pack ~15

Have you hiked at elevation before? Any prior issues with Altitude Sickness?
- Yes, done 11 hikes in the sierras. Altitude sickness first time, but not since then.

Do you have a route logistics preference: loop, out and back, point to point (which may require 2 vehicles or hitchhiking)?
- Strongly prefer out and back where I can avoid carrying a pack more than 1-2 days in a row. Ideally I could set up basecamp for 3 nights.

Is there a particular area in the Sierra that your most interested in (Yosemite, SEKI western sierra start or eastern start ect.)?
Somewhere that's not overly dry (or the least dry).

Thanks!

[Love the Sierra]

Try Emmigrant wilderness leaving out of either Crabtree or Ginelli Cabin.
Another good one but crowded is out of Agnew Meadows to Thousand Island Lake

[c9h13no3]

Yeah, "best" is subjective. Where you can get permits, how far you're willing to drive, and the type of scenery you enjoy play a role. Also if you've already done the trip before, it will be less interesting.

Where are you located, roughly. That will let us know the drive time.

The wettest part of the Sierra is higher elevation in the northern part of the range. So roughly Ebbetts Pass to Mammoth Mountain or so. But you also have the Tamarack fire to contend with. So I'd suggest something in the Mammoth area since it is the furthest away from the fire and should be nice.

[mxoyez]

Try Emmigrant wilderness leaving out of either Crabtree or Ginelli Cabin.
Another good one but crowded is out of Agnew Meadows to Thousand Island Lake

Ooh, sounds cool! Do you think emigrant will be smoky? Also how crowded is thousand Island lake (i.e. how many people per day would you see?) Thank you so much!

[mxoyez]

Yeah, "best" is subjective. Where you can get permits, how far you're willing to drive, and the type of scenery you enjoy play a role. Also if you've already done the trip before, it will be less interesting.

Where are you located, roughly. That will let us know the drive time.

The wettest part of the Sierra is higher elevation in the northern part of the range. So roughly Ebbetts Pass to Mammoth Mountain or so. But you also have the Tamarack fire to contend with. So I'd suggest something in the Mammoth area since it is the furthest away from the fire and should be nice.

I agree, "best" is subjective, but people here are more knowledgeable than I am, so their subjective opinions are better than mine. Thanks for the advice though! I think I might do a trip to thousand island.

[c9h13no3]

Yeah, "best" is subjective. Where you can get permits, how far you're willing to drive, and the type of scenery you enjoy play a role. Also if you've already done the trip before, it will be less interesting.

Where are you located, roughly. That will let us know the drive time.

The wettest part of the Sierra is higher elevation in the northern part of the range. So roughly Ebbetts Pass to Mammoth Mountain or so. But you also have the Tamarack fire to contend with. So I'd suggest something in the Mammoth area since it is the furthest away from the fire and should be nice.

I agree, "best" is subjective, but people here are more knowledgeable than I am, so their subjective opinions are better than mine. Thanks for the advice though! I think I might do a trip to thousand island.

Yeah, TI lake is a bucket-list type of vista. It's also crowded & hard to get permits for as you'd expect. Shadow Creek, the High Trail, and the River Trail are popular permits. Rush Creek is probably your best shot, but involves a bit more elevation gain.

[mxoyez]

Yeah, "best" is subjective. Where you can get permits, how far you're willing to drive, and the type of scenery you enjoy play a role. Also if you've already done the trip before, it will be less interesting.

Where are you located, roughly. That will let us know the drive time.

The wettest part of the Sierra is higher elevation in the northern part of the range. So roughly Ebbetts Pass to Mammoth Mountain or so. But you also have the Tamarack fire to contend with. So I'd suggest something in the Mammoth area since it is the furthest away from the fire and should be nice.

I agree, "best" is subjective, but people here are more knowledgeable than I am, so their subjective opinions are better than mine. Thanks for the advice though! I think I might do a trip to thousand island.

Yeah, TI lake is a bucket-list type of vista. It's also crowded & hard to get permits for as you'd expect. Shadow Creek, the High Trail, and the River Trail are popular permits. Rush Creek is probably your best shot, but involves a bit more elevation gain.

I found some availability on the river trail, so I think I might do that one. Any idea on how many people you'd expect me to see?

[c9h13no3]

I found some availability on the river trail, so I think I might do that one. Any idea on how many people you'd expect me to see?

Depends on the day of the week, where you camp, yadda yadda.

The best view at Thousand Island is on the east shore, looking back towards Banner Peak (you know, what you see when you Google "Thousand Island Lake"). This is where everyone camps, and the JMT passes by in that spot. You will almost never be alone there. The same applies to Garnet lake (similar views on the east shore). Setting up on one of the benches north or south of Garnet/TI will give you some more solitude with a similar view, especially if you venture off the trail just a bit. But do tread lightly, it's a heavily used area. And if you flip over a few rocks, you can probably find some TP if you didn't bring any.

Use the search feature to pull some trip reports for the region. It's a common destination, so you'll find plenty of information.

[mort]

I found some availability on the river trail, so I think I might do that one. Any idea on how many people you'd expect me to see?

Hello mxoyez,
Keeping in mind the other advice regarding day of the week & etc. The quota for the River Trail is 30 + 8 commercial. The quota for Devils Postpile North is 10 + 10, the High Trail is 20 + 15. Shadow Creek is 30 + 15. Since the Thousand Island area is now considered the great highlight of the JMT/PCT it gets lots of other visitors. I don't know the JMT use schedule. I think we've passed peak PCT for that area this year. So maybe there will only be an additional 20% on top of the local quota, so the most you might expect is about 160 on the trails around TI lake. Anybody want to guess how many camp at Thousand Island? I think there are about 5 good campsites around the lake. There are many poor sites, and also many that are technically illegal (too close to water or in the trail), yet continue to be used. There are 2 that I look for. one on the south shore about mid way along the lake, however it might be closer than 100 feet from the shore. The second spot I like is above the west end of the lake somewhat south of the use trail going up to Lake Catherine.
There are several days of day hikes of every level of difficulty and ease. Lake Catherine is a fun little side trip, if you take lunch and have all day, you can get over to Twin Island Lakes. If you are really fast off trail maybe you could get to Bench Canyon and back. Of course Ritter and Banner are right there. There are a few especially nice areas on the North Fork of the San Joaquin you might get to. Hemlock Crossing has a nice double fall - cascade, And where the trail crosses Dike Creek is awesome. And all the lakes on the east side of the Minarets are worth a visit.
Have a great trip. The natural beauty and varied geology make this a wonderful area to visit.
-mort

[Love the Sierra]

How many people? LOTS because people day hike it. I think that Shadow Creek May be more popular but I am not certain on that. River trail is lovely and probably has flowers this time of year.
Do take the side trail to Eliza, it is very pretty.