High Sierra Topix

Hello - the kids are finally able to walk and carry a little (8 and 9 years old) and our big dog is already backcountry skiing with us all winter. We are looking for a very scenic route, easy and fun for everybody.

We are leaving next Thursday morning from the bay area (Alameda)

At first I was looking at Little Lakes Valley near Bishop but I am worried about not getting a permit - and that it will be too crowded.
Then I thought about Saddlebag Lake and the 20 lakes basin : trying to fish would be fun!

the bummer is that there is no campfire...
Do you have a better route to sugest? How is the mosquitoes situation at Saddlebag Lake and the 20 lakes basin (I will not put DEET on the kids) , do we need a bear box ?
Thank you everybody!!!

campfires anywhere right now is a bad Idea. Most Natn'l forests are campfire prohibitive since July 1st. Drought!

The bears are getting hungry so you should always carry bear cans to be safe, even if they say you don't have to.

Pick a spot and deal with a next day permit or secure one through recreation.gov. search on wilderness permit.

Mav would probably like an Intro as well. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4205

Here is my intro then : we are level 2 hikers - we mostly like backcountry skiing around Tahoe in the winter, our favorite ski hike being Elephant Back by the Carson.
Our interests are broad but our goal this time is lake and scenery, and mostly introducing our kids to the bog outdoor -
Our dog is a Leonberger, 130lb mountain dog so she cannot walk that long if it is really hot -

Saddlebag resort: http://www.saddlebaglakeresort.com/index.html

The water taxi appears to be running and most of the areas are flat walking around the trails.

Still, no fires.

Emigrant wilderness is dog friendly, fairly easy terrain for the kids, and permits are never a problem. Plus it is closer to the bay area. you could go to Bear lake out of the Crabtree 3.8 miles one way. or you could take the Gianelli TH to Powel Lake (2.3 miles), Chewing gum Lake (4.6 Miles). You could actually go to Powel the first night, then Chewing Gum the second (2.7 miles) then hike out the last day. Those would be three nice easy days for the kids. There are no quotas and I'm 90% sure that fires are allowed.

Fire restrictions are in place: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/stanisla ... ecid=15107

Check out the alerts and warnings upper right..

Still a good area. drop the campfire requirement. Not ok this year.

The areas I was suggesting are in the low area. Fires are allowed. Not sure I would have one this year but they are allowable.

Thank you very much for the emigrant wilderness suggestion Mountain Minstrel, I am going to check that right now - we probably will skip the fire this year -
Are mosquitoes still a problem right now? I was thinking not bringing repellant at all but I am double guessing it now - I am going to check the post about it
My 9 year old girl got her backpack this afternoon - it is making her very excited about the trip-

I haven't been up in a while but this time of year there should not be a problem with skeeters. I would still take some deet just to be safe though.

Thank you! I think I am going to pick et migrant, because it is lower altitude it should be easier on everybody, and a shorter drive sounds great. I will try to post pictures if I figure out how to do this