Family Backpacking Trip: Suggestions Needed

[janky]

Less than 2 months now for my backpacking trip with my boys and my wife to Dinkey Lakes. Now my worry isn't the people but the snow. Any reports out of Dinkey Lakes on what's going on up there? Is it 10 feet deep with snow? I saw a video of Tioga pass today and it looks completely buried. Might have to start researching lower elevation trips.

[janky]

Closing this thread by noting that I never went on my Dinkey Lakes trip. Instead I did a backup trip to Grouse Ridge area. See this thread:

http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... es#p120119

[janky]

AlmostThere: Revisiting this thread! We did Dinkey Lakes in July 2018 and it was amazing. Now we're visiting Lillian Lake this year (this week actually). If you have any tips on Lillian Lake let me know. Thanks for the suggestions thus far.

You may want to reserve permits if you go to Dinkey. You can reserve a year in advance and that area is popular with a capital POP on holiday weekends. Walk ins can be obtained a full day before the date on the permit so I frequently take off from work on a break, drive to Clovis ranger station, get a walk up permit, go back to work, head to the trailhead on Saturday -- I am not alone in this. Locals have the edge on walk ups. Cliff trailhead is on a paved route, the main trailhead at Willow Meadow is on a road variably described as "rough" to "no freakin' way am I driving my car on that again, I had to realign all the wheels"

Another nice one similar to Chain Lakes is on the other side of the peak from Chain -- the lakes in Ansel Adams. Short rough dirt roads to Fernandez or Norris trailheads, after a long drive on Sky Ranch or Beasore, and great scenery. Fishing depends on the lake you're at, of course. Lillian had some nice ones.