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The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 5:50 pm
by Zenmaster
Disclaimer :) I have browsed the forums, looking for as much info as i can, but havent found a destination that has stuck with me yet. I'm looking for advice, links, pictures, past forum posts, anything you might deem helpful! thank you!

Our situation:

I am finishing up a work stint, and my girlfriend is meeting me in LA on May 19th. I will be driving a 2wd car with low clearance and we plan on heading directly for the sierras. We are both experienced backpackers and in excellent physical condition, I have a decent amount of x-country experience but we are not necessarily looking to exhaust ourselves. Trails welcome, especially considering we don't have much time to do research. More looking to get away from it all for about 3 nights, spend time relaxing, visiting, hiking, seeing the beauty of the sierras. Length of hike open for discussion. Would definitely consider keeping the same camp for 2 nights.

Idealy, I would opt for a nice, secluded little swimming hole a day or two away from civilization, somewhere we could spend some time by ourselves hanging out hiking, fishing and swimming in mild water. However, i cannot imagine that is very practical in May.

Another thought I had was Hotsprings.

Which brings me to question 1: Would kern springs be passable at this time of year? Anybody been near the lower kaweah basin/pickett creek/kern river in the past few weeks? Snow...?

Question 2: Are we dreaming? we both have thoughts of sun and warmth on our minds (She is still in minneapolis... brrr). Are we better suited for another destination? Neither of us has been to the High Sierra area and are really excited about the chance, but would consider other hiking/wilderness destinations.

Please feel free to share any experiences or thoughts (or links to other discussions)!

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:19 pm
by rlown
Cancun comes to mind.. :)

otherwise search for "hot springs" in the search area. We're all busy.

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:35 pm
by maverick
Hi Zen,

Welcome to HST!
Zen wrote:
Which brings me to question 1: Would kern springs be passable at this time of year?
Anybody been near the lower kaweah basin/pickett creek/kern river in the past few
weeks? Snow...?

Question 2: Are we dreaming? we both have thoughts of sun and warmth on our minds
(She is still in minneapolis... brrr). Are we better suited for another destination? Neither
of us has been to the High Sierra area and are really excited about the chance, but
would consider other hiking/wilderness destinations.
Kern Hot Springs from the south, up Kern Canyon would be the only way, but is it
worth it, to me no, and it would be a long hike. Picket area will be snowed in and
not reachable so early. May 19th is way to early for the High Sierra, even in the
drought year, look at the recently posted TR's, all show lots of snow high up ( above
10000 ft).
Would highly recommend the Waterwheel Falls area out of Tuolumne Meadow in Yosemite.
The falls will still be worth seeing even in in this drought year, and if you stay away
from the Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp area you'll have solitude you want.

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 7:57 pm
by KathyW
There's always Jordan Hot Springs if the road to the Blackrock Trailhead is open. It doesn't sound like there's much snow in the Cottonwood Pass or Cottonwood Lakes area (Horseshoe Meadows).

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 8:21 pm
by Zenmaster
Thanks maverick. I dont think yosemite is on the docket this time (saving the first views for the approach for my first Nose attempt later this season).

Thanks Kathy! thats definitely the general area i was hoping to find something in. ill check it out.

I had a hunch that was going to be the consensus on kern springs, but i read through a bunch of "hotsprings" search results and couldnt find any T.R.s explicitly stating the May conditions, so i thought id ask.

Maybe i should have been more clear when I said "sunny and warm". we are leaving LA for a reason. We are not looking for a late-season snowpack trudge w/ 5 day packs to a windy, snowblown ridge. What we are looking for is a moderate hike in later May that gives a good introduction to the sierras at nice altitude (the 9000 neighborhood). solitude would be cool. Swimming, like i said, a pipe dream. The pictures of the waterfall pool baths just looked so damn perfect, i had to try. A nice trout hole would be a bonus, but Ms. Partner doesnt fish, so certainly isnt crucial.

If anybody else can share a favorite spring spot in the southern sierras for a couple newbies, we'd greatly appreciate it. the help given already is greatly appreciated.

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 8:23 pm
by tim
Iva Bell hot springs. According to another thread, Devils Postpile is scheduled to open May 17. All this is below snow line and is a great out and back from Reds Meadow. You can camp two nights at Island Crossing and spend the middle day going to the hot springs.

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 8:27 pm
by Zenmaster
Thanks Tim. I did see that the approach to Iva Bell was supposed to be open. Slightly skeptical of scheduled weather dates, but that is an option. Thanks for the camping suggestions. Thoughts on midweek popularity? will it be overcrowded? (seeing another party or two, not the end of the world) Edit: Of more concern is copious amounts of snow. Iva Bell was another destination i had not found a recent report for.

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 8:38 pm
by tim
The highest point of the whole hike is the trailhead. Check the webcams on the Devils Postpile website but there should be no snow by now. There are a couple of minor stream crossings. Mid week in mid May I would be astonished if you saw anyone.

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 5:01 pm
by maverick
TR posted on trip to Kern Hot Springs: http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthread ... #Post36409" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: The ubiquitous "Help me out" post

Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 10:20 pm
by schmalz
I think that Sykes Hot Springs in the Big Sur area might be a good fit for what your very specific trip request. Just make sure you go mid week if you want any chance at privacy at the springs.

Edit: Totally spaced out on Iva Bell Springs, which could possibly work but there might be some snow travel involved. Either way, the nights in the Sierra high country will still be pretty cold so Big Sur might be more up your alley to enjoy getting out of winter.