High Sierra Topix

giantbrookie wrote: ↑Mon Aug 10, 2020 4:50 pm
... East side.
5. Hiking out of Virginia Lakes (near Bridgeport). You get into beautiful territory with very little hiking, like Little Lakes Valley, but it's less popular.
6. Hiking out of Green Creek (as above). Similar to above but you have hike a bit more (3 mi) to get to the first lake (Green Lake). Probably less popular than Virginia though so may have higher probability of getting permit ...

As these 2 (not sure about Lundy ?) are Humboldt-Toiyabe NF trailheads, they are reservable on Recreation.gov -

https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4458 ... 2020-09-04

... for Labor Day weekend, it looks like Fri, Sat starts - for Virginia Lakes and Green Creek - are booked up (you could go back in a couple weeks to see if they’ve downloaded their “walk-in” quotas), but Sunday has lots of permit slots left.

Leavitt Meadow is just off Highway 108. It is not very hilly, and there is a succession of small lakes as you make miles.

Lots of good ideas here already. We have a section in starter hikes on our website (link in my signature) which offers about 10-12 options.

If you want to car camp beforehand, Yosemite will be a challenge, unless you're happy in the backpacker's campgrounds...

Weaver lake in Jennie lakes wilderness is a great first time trip. I believe it's 3.5 miles from big meadows trailhead to the lake. No permits needed and it's very easy to get to, there's a self registrar that has permits half the time but they are voluntary. I've seen lots of 8-10 y/o kids there, the wilderness area is managed by the forest service so you can still have a fire too. Bear canisters aren't required there though in my opinion there aren't any suitable trees to get a proper hang. I always take a canister

rtd4379 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 10, 2020 10:12 pmJennie lakes wilderness is...managed by the forest service so you can still have a fire too.

Sorry, not true this year. Fires are shut down through the entirety of Sequoia NF: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sequoia/ ... ?aid=58934

Thanks all. So many good ideas here and really helpful.

Not to worry about the Labor Day weekend permit rush - we're flexible a few days before/after if need be and going to go for the 15-day advance permit release lottery. She REALLY wants Yosemite (but Dad can push it if need be).

Thinking of a request in following order:

1) May Lake. Just 1 mile hike in from trailhead off of Tioga Road. Super easy, short hike. Way shorter than I would like, but as a first time backpacker, may be right to make her feel comfortable and at ease and not worry too much about the hike.

2) Lower Cathedral Lake. 3.5 miles and gorgeous, but hear the first 3/4 mile may be a tough slog/intro for a little one.

3) Lyell Canyon: 5 or so miles; touch longer hiking than would like, but with zero zero elevation change may be fine.

If permits fail, Jennie Lakes does sound like a good backup.

Could always do Saddlebag Lk. It opens up to many different lakes on the North side, but again no fires, but very flat.
At that point, you can look at the map and go wherever your child would like to see. The Eastside trail is preferable for a young child.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/cali ... lake-trail

http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... ag#p140602

sambieni wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:37 am
1) May Lake. Just 1 mile hike in from trailhead off of Tioga Road. Super easy, short hike. Way shorter than I would like, but as a first time backpacker, may be right to make her feel comfortable and at ease and not worry too much about the hike.

There is a lake just east of May Lake, maybe 2.5-3 miles from the same trailhead, all on trail. Looks pretty nice from a trip report I saw a while ago. Never made it there, but it is a little longer and maybe less people.

rlown wrote: ↑Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:43 am Could always do Saddlebag Lk. It opens up to many different lakes on the North side, but again no fires, but very flat.
At that point, you can look at the map and go wherever your child would like to see. The Eastside trail is preferable for a young child.

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/cali ... lake-trail

http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... ag#p140602

Ooh, like this option. Thank you.

There are already tons of great ideas here, many of which we have done with our kids (currently 9 and 11). To throw in my two cents for an easy hike in Yosemite, Polydome Lake, off the Murphy Creek trailhead, is another good one. It's ~2.5 to 3 miles with ~600 feet of elevation gain. We went several years ago in September and only encountered one other family camped at the lake. The mileage in is pretty short, which is good for getting used to carrying a pack, but once you're at the lake you can climb Polydome and get some views of Half Dome and into Yosemite Valley.