High Sierra Topix

Hello,

A friend pointed me towards this website recently and it is indeed very helpful; thank you all.

I am seeking your advice on lower-elevation backpacking trips. Our original plan was to go from Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead (Golden Trout Wilderness) around to Crabtree Meadow, Mt. Whitney, and then to exit at the Portal. Along the way, we were to summit Langley and possibly Muir. We had all the right permits and have done this same trip several times in the past. This was for mid-late June (cannot change the dates).

After all the snow began falling, I cancelled our permit and looked for something lower in elevation. Agnew Meadows to Mono Pass (north) via Gem Pass and Koip/Kuna Pass was a trip I've always dreamed of walking and there were permits available. Great, reserved a permit. We were going to start off slow around Ediza, Garnet, and Thousand Island Lakes before heading north and bagging Koip/Kuna, Parker, and Mt Gibbs. But at this point, I'm worried that the snow may be too high for us to have an enjoyable and safe trip here too. One of my friends has already asked about this possibility in thread 19428 and the group provided us with some good advice.

So, are there any lower-elevation hikes that you would recommend for mid-late June? Here are some considerations:

• Trip should be 35-55 miles (ideally there would be a few spots we could stay at the same campsite twice in order to do some day-trips/exploring)
• Group size is 10 people
• A loop or point-to-point trail is preferred, we'd like to avoid too much backtracking
• We'd like to summit several peaks during the trip
• We'll have a few amateur photographers along the trip who were really looking forward to Garnet and Thousand Island Lakes
• Our trip leaders have a fair amount of experience with off-trail navigation and other backcountry skills
• In general, the higher the better but we're not ready to be mountaineering through the snow for a week
• A couple days in the snow would be fine (even fun), but this should not be a ski trip on boots
• Obtaining a permit this late may be difficult

Thank you for your time and advice,
Josh

So, are there any lower-elevation hikes that you would recommend for mid-late June?

Welcome to HST!
Keep in consideration that the Reds Meadow Road opened on 6/15/18 last year, and 7/21/17 the year before, and snow levels are similar to 2017, so I would not count on the road being opened by your planned trip.

Whitney, Langley generally get less snow accumulating late season than the Yosemite/Mammoth area. It's further south, and in the rain shadow of the Great Western Divide. Elevation isn't everything.

Where you driving in from? There's good options north & south.

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Thank you maverick, the opening of Red's Meadow Road is one of my main concerns.

Thank you c9h13no3, I have guys coming from the greater LA area and also from the Central Valley, so we probably want to stay south of Hwy 108... although I could go as far north as Tahoe for the "ultimate" trip.

Thank you rightstar75, I will look up more info about Golden Trout Wilderness.

hstjoshua wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 8:21 pm Thank you c9h13no3, I have guys coming from the greater LA area and also from the Central Valley, so we probably want to stay south of Hwy 108... although I could go as far north as Tahoe for the "ultimate" trip.

Yeah, I'm up in SF, so the Southern Sierra isn't my expertise.

This map is pretty useful for finding holes in the snow. The data in that map is modeled, so it doesn't account for things like slope aspect, forest shade, blah blah, but it's a great way to get a quick idea of where the snow is. The real data is here, but it's harder to quickly sort through.

You can see on that map that there's a lot of light blue from Whitney to Olancha peak. I'd think your original trip idea would go, if you can get your old permits. Obviously notoriously bad passes for snow like Old Army Pass will still be bad, but WanderingDaisy has previously recommended the Sky Blue Lake & Miter Basin area as an early season option. Probably want to use Cottonwood Pass to get over the crest.

The 10-person group size may be your most challenging problem this late in the game. Is there any possibility to split into two groups and do two entirely separate trips? Otherwise you may want to look for non-quota trailheads.

Thanks you c9h13no3, those links to the raw data are helpful.

Thank you SSSDave, I did look around the forum a bit before posting but probably could have been more diligent with my searches. Your trip up Cherry Creek looks promising. Maybe start there and head up towards Kennedy Meadows and Sonora Pass area. I believe there are some non-quota trailheads we could use (thanks Wandering Daisy).