TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

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pudgygroundhog
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TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by pudgygroundhog »

I know, I know, like y'all need another JMT report. :) But this board was helpful when I had questions earlier this summer and I wanted to come back with our trip report. We were supposed to do a modified Big SEKI loop, but got a little nervous about some water crossings (especially with our nine year old), so ended up reconfiguring our trip. We hiked from Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake in 12 days (two nights at Kearsarge Lake for husband to hike out to Onion Valley for resupply). In a nutshell, we had an amazing trip!

Everything is posted here: http://www.pbase.com/pudgy_groundhog/jmt2017

And here are a few favorite pics:

Hitchcock Lakes hiking up to Mt. Whitney from Guitar Lake
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Glen Pass
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Glen Pass
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Sunset at Lake Marjorie
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Sunset at Lower Palisade Lake
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Descending Bishop Pass
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The Milky Way over our campsite at Kearsarge Lake
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Rae Lakes
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Forester Pass
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Hiking to Guitar Lake from Crabtree Meadows
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Our little hiker at Kearsarge Lake
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High Lake
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Thanks for looking and for being a great resource on the Sierra Nevada. :)
Last edited by pudgygroundhog on Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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cgundersen
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by cgundersen »

Hi pudgy,
I just spent several minutes figuring out where those shots were taken, and given your route, most of them looked pretty familiar, except for the last one. But, I'll look at your more-detailed post to see whether that takes up the slack. Regardless, you guys obviously hit a great patch of weather and that is a stunning route that you can use as a benchmark for any future trips. And, I did like the ratio of pack sizes between your husband and daughter! Congrats on a great trip, Cameron
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pudgygroundhog
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by pudgygroundhog »

Thanks! The last one is High Lake (not on the JMT - so an outlier to my trip report title :) ).

We were definitely the sherpas on this trip (especially my husband)!

ETA: I went back and added captions
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jeremiahkim
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by jeremiahkim »

Looks like it turned out to be an amazing trip. Really fun to see how it turned out based on your earlier posts. Planning a trip from distance can be such a roll of the dice. Some great memories were made, I'm sure!
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by maverick »

most of them looked pretty familiar, except for the last one.
Cameron,

It is just east of NAP, just outside the SEKI boundary.

Thank you for coming back and posting this wonderful TR and pictures, some of the best scenery in the Sierra, is located in that section of the JMT. :nod:
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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pudgygroundhog
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by pudgygroundhog »

jeremiahkim wrote:Looks like it turned out to be an amazing trip. Really fun to see how it turned out based on your earlier posts. Planning a trip from distance can be such a roll of the dice. Some great memories were made, I'm sure!


Thanks! The permit situation was a little stressful and the hardest part. So thankful my husband was able to snag a permit online the week before our trip. We were fortunate to have great weather, so I figure that was a fair tradeoff for the pre-trip stress. :D
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pudgygroundhog
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by pudgygroundhog »

maverick wrote:
most of them looked pretty familiar, except for the last one.
Thank you for coming back and posting this wonderful TR and pictures, some of the best scenery in the Sierra, is located in that section of the JMT. :nod:
Thanks! The scenery was amazing. Even though we didn't do the whole JMT we felt we hit most of the highlights. My husband is already plotting our next Sierra trip. :D
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by maverick »

My husband is already plotting our next Sierra trip.
If you need input, don't hesitate to ask. :)
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by cloudlesssky »

I bumped into you guys at the water crossing in Rae Lakes basin. I ended up doing the same route (Horseshoe to South Lake). I was really in awe of your family and in particular your daughter who seemed to be having a great time. Keep up the adventures!
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Re: TR: JMT (Horseshoe Meadows to South Lake) August 2017

Post by hjldennis »

While reading your report, I found so many similarities. we did the rae lakes about 15 yrs ago and said we will be back. We finally went back during our family's jmt this year (kids are now 11 and 13). Wanted to do wonderland, and we actually did it last year, and I am the family mule too haha.
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