High Sierra Topix

I can get permitted for:
1) High Trail - 8.5 miles to Thousand Island and 2,400 foot gain
2) Rush Creek - 7.4 miles to Thousand Island and >3,300 foot gain

High Trail is 7.8 miles from AM, and by your mileage, you must be considering the route south of Agnew Lake, don't do it, very steep, dry, and dusty trail, did I mention steep, not what you really want to start your trip off with. HT is much more scenic and depending on when you are going, the wildflowers (and mosquitoes) will be abundant.

maverick wrote:

I can get permitted for:
1) High Trail - 8.5 miles to Thousand Island and 2,400 foot gain
2) Rush Creek - 7.4 miles to Thousand Island and >3,300 foot gain

High Trail is 7.8 miles from AM, and by your mileage, you must be considering the route south of Agnew Lake, don't do it, very steep, dry, and dusty trail, did I mention steep, not what you really want to start your trip off with. HT is much more scenic and depending on when you are going, the wildflowers (and mosquitoes) will be abundant.

Cool. You confirmed what I suspected. I calculated High Trail 8.5 miles on Sierra Mapper, while River Trail 7.5 miles (although I don't have that permit, but will opt for that if I can get it). Thanks!
https://awhite4777.pythonanywhere.com/S ... /m136/m143

I assume you will do a loop - in the high trail to Thousand Island Lake and then JMT to Ediza and out via Shadow Lake, dropping to the lower section of the River Trail (this is the most scenic option). Or off-trail via Roper's High Route to Ediza. If instead you are going out from Garnet Lake, you can connect to the River Trail. Getting from the Garnet Lake bridge to the River Trail is a bit obscure.

I have gone in via Rush Creek from Silver Lake. You do not have to go up that steep trail from Agnew Lake. Although longer, you can continue west and connect with the PCT and then south to Thousand Island Lake. This route will have a snow until about mid-July this year, or even later. I did it in 2010 and it was solid snow past Waugh Lake early July.

Wandering Daisy wrote:I assume you will do a loop - in the high trail to Thousand Island Lake and then JMT to Ediza and out via Shadow Lake, dropping to the lower section of the River Trail (this is the most scenic option). Or off-trail via Roper's High Route to Ediza. If instead you are going out from Garnet Lake, you can connect to the River Trail. Getting from the Garnet Lake bridge to the River Trail is a bit obscure.

I have gone in via Rush Creek from Silver Lake. You do not have to go up that steep trail from Agnew Lake. Although longer, you can continue west and connect with the PCT and then south to Thousand Island Lake. This route will have a snow until about mid-July this year, or even later. I did it in 2010 and it was solid snow past Waugh Lake early July.

No loop; trying to figure out if I can knock off the first 30-40 miles of JMT this summer. I need to cover Thousand Island Lake -> Yosemite Valley.
So its hike in from High Trail or Rush Creek to Thousand Island then northward. If my buddy joins me, we may start day earlier and right now only area permits we can get are Rush Creek or Red Cones/Mammoth Pass...
Trip would not be until end of August.

Lots of trail closures from Rush Creek- cannot get to Thousand Island Lake from Silver Lake unless the trail ban is lifted. Has to do with the stability of the Waugh Lake dam. If it is truely a dam safety issue, this may be in effect for the whole summer and I doubt permits will be issued.

Not necessarily for your trip, but for those who cannot get a permit out of Agnew Meadow, and if you have an extra day, you can go in from George Lake via Mammoth Pass and drop to Reds Meadow to intersect the PCT/JMT. This may be an easier permit to get.

Sorry, but I meant go in from Horseshoe Lake over Mammoth Pass, not George Lake. A PCT hiker has reported his route- he went out Mammoth Pass to resupply at Mammoth Lakes. I suspect that the stream crossing he refers to is Minaret Creek. This was June 25, so conditions likely to have changed by now.

http://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/570697

This fellow has gone through the Sierra- some good information in his journal, however he seldom identifies the stream crossings, so you have to just fiugre this out. It seems like his group were basically following a GPS track. Another fellow seemed to be the "map guy". They are going north from Sonora Pass now.

Cool. On personal level we're still gonna debate Deadman's Canyon depending on Elizabeth Pass conditions - and our ability to get camping at Lodgepole (or close by) post hike. Seems SEKI doesn't have the walkup backpackers camp like Tuolomne. Versus permitted out Horseshoe Lake to Mammoth Pass up to Tuolomne. We'd have 5 days to cover 40 straight miles, but we may do some nice side trips off JMT, particularly around Vogelsang. I covered that ground last summer and really wish I had gotten moment to check out Bernice or Emeric or Boothe Lakes.

Sambieni wrote:

I covered that ground last summer and really wish I had gotten moment to check out Bernice or Emeric or Boothe Lakes.

That's to bad, Bernice and the string of lakes that lead back to Hell Hole Pass are great. Emeric and Boothe are fine, though the last time visiting those lakes, they were still covered in snow.
Here is one at Emeric Lake and another from Vogelsang Pass, May 08.

I know Bernice, but where are those lakes and Hellhole pass?
https://awhite4777.pythonanywhere.com/S ... ault/start