High Sierra Topix

I've searched some older topics to get a sense of what the bushwacking would be like in this area; it sounds pretty awful honestly; I'm wondering if anyone can attest to how awful: Is it brush grabs and holds on so tightly to you that it prevents any forward motion bad, or just thick and annoying but you can fight your way through it bad? Is the brush continuous the entire route between the 2 points, or are there some open spaces with opportunities for a break?

Reason I'm asking: I'm putting a loop trip together for next year that involves starting and ending back at the Copper Creek Trailhead in Cedar Grove KCNP. It would include Lake 10,565 via Observation Peak Pass, and from there my intention is to head back to the Middle Fork of the Kings River along the JMT via Adventurer Pass before crossing Palisade Creek and heading down the Middle Fork trail to Simpson Meadow and out over Granite Pass to Copper Creek. I'm looking at a potential Plan B back to the Middle Fork trail in case the navigational challenges I've heard about getting to the outlet of Lake 10,565 and/or getting over and down the other side of Adventurer Pass turns out to be too....well.... adventurous for me. I would be fine with backtracking from the lake out over Observation Peak Pass again and then navigating back to Lake Basin and down the Cartridge Creek Trail if it's doable. I have already been up and down the entire Middle Fork trail as well as Granite Pass and The **** from both directions several times, just never tried to venture up the old Cartridge trail from the camp that it ends at there by the Middle Fork along the creek.

There are several posts on this by "johnz" from 2020-21- he went down the route. Search "Cartridge Creek", author johnz. I would add a link but there are several.

Wandering Daisy wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 9:42 pm There are several posts on this by "johnz" from 2020-21- he went down the route. Search "Cartridge Creek", author johnz. I would add a link but there are several.

Thank you so much, I missed those in the original search (should have used quotes versus plus signs). Very helpful information.

By the way, I first did a "google" search (Cartridge Creek Sierra Nevada). In addition to the HST posts they have several other articles that you may want to look at.

Wandering Daisy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 02, 2024 8:07 am By the way, I first did a "google" search (Cartridge Creek Sierra Nevada). In addition to the HST posts they have several other articles that you may want to look at.

Good point, I will take a look there too. And thanks again for pointing me to johnz's posts; I had a fun surprise reading through one of them, in which he and his party came down the drainage below Dumbbell Lake to get to Cartridge Creek near Triple Falls. I had been looking at that way too as an alternative to going over Dumbbell Pass twice. The only thing that I knew about that route was reading about it in an old Sierra Club Bulletin - turns out that LeConte and party came down that drainage (with stock!) during a 1908 JMT trip - when they couldn't get stock up to the Palisade Lakes, they detoured out over Cataract Creek Pass and down that drainage to get back to Cartridge Creek and continue south over Cartridge Pass. It was great to see actual photos of it in the post. BTW, in case you are curious about reading those SCB articles, I put links to them in this post; their old photos are always so much fun to see too: viewtopic.php?t=23917