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@bobby49 I've seen so many mentions of camping near SBL that I never thought about illegal sites, kind of stupid of me
@Jim F 1)Thanks for those details, I was planning on staying high vs. dropping to Rock Creek, this tarn sounds like a good destination, maybe stop or maybe continue to Upper Soldier. Also thanks for mentioning the use trail up towards Langley, not sure I would have thought of going that way vs dropping to the New Army Trail. Maybe I'll try to bag Langley on my way out.
Good to know about the low water level, I was assuming the Kern would not be a problem, but sounds like it should be cake.
The Miter is the isolated midget peak to the right of center in the nice photo. Neighbors Corcoran, LeConte (a few feet shy of 14K), Mallory, and McAdie are all more than a 1,000' higher than the Miter.
A related question - what's the camping situation in lower Miter Basin along the creekside use trail? Hard to tell from satellite but the terrain seems suitable in the 10900-11000 ft range. Or what about in the large meadow down around 10700? I'm hoping to camp lower in the basin and then day hike farther in.
@sukhoi_584th from what I remember, there are not a lot of possibilities between about 10700 and 11000 along Rock Creek. There was an obvious site at 10700 right next to the creek. You can almost certainly find a place in the meadow where the outlet from Primrose Lake enters Rock Creek. There were also a couple sites in a stand of trees along Rock Creek at about 11200.
We ended up camping at the 10700 ft site at the upstream end of the big meadow. Rather than camping at the obvious spot next to the trail right before the creek crossing, go back a couple hundred feet on the rock bench. It's a fantastic spot with great views, plenty of granite to lay out gear, and keeps you out of the cold and moisture of the meadow/creek at night. IMHO it's the best camp spot for Miter Basin if you want to stay solidly below treeline.
There's also a great campsite just below treeline on the trail down from the Army Passes. When the trail crosses from the south to the north side of the creek stay on the south side and go down the ridge just a bit - not more than 1/4 mi. Fantastic sunset views of the southern end of the Great Western Divide.
