Wandering Daisy - I'd defer to your experience (6500 posts!!!), though I did the Tully/Big Horn/Mott Lake X-C route once and was one of my least favorite routes (not sure why) ... but I would add that in my experience late snow generally makes X-C passes a lot easier and more fun - in Summer, not Spring or Winter, of course. The X-C passes I mentioned are not too demanding in dry conditions and I am pretty sure, by late July at least, they would be fine. If there is a cornice at Hopkins, that might be a problem but with good trail alternatives (McGee Pass, etc.). With snow, Bunny Lake Pass could be a LOT easier going UP and, if coming back down after a visit to Lake Dorothy area it would be a big, fun snow slide [A note: I have had the most fun on X-C and high elevation trail passes in late Spring into Summer with lots of snow. IF the snow is right consistency, of course. Icy hard snow any time of year can be dangerous w/o axe or crampons. But afternoon snow slides down hundreds or thousands of feet off a pass can be amazing fun and save so much effort (wet pants, though).]Wandering Daisy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2023 12:54 pm jrad, not to be a spoiler, but the route you describe is a fine route, but not one for anyone with "little off-trail" experience, no matter how fit they are and how many miles they can do on trails. Plus, that route will have SIGNIFICANT snow on all the passes.
This year it is wise to be prepared to simply bail out and return the same route you entered if you run into dangerous conditions.
Anyway, plans have 2-4 more weeks to formulate. A lot can happen with coming accelerated melt.
And there are alternatives further South, of course.
- The High Sierra Trail is a big consideration with looping options of all sorts ... into Kern Canyon? Up Soda or Rattlesnake Canyon? Back via Sawtooth/Glacier or Franklin/Timber Gap.
- Mineral King has been a mainstay for me for decades: Over Sawtooth looping back via Franklin or maybe Sawtooth trail/Glacier Pass over to Black Rock and loops back via Franklin or Crystal Pass (a tricky/sketchy X-C pass I love but suggest with caution, wet or dry).
QUESTIONS: how many miles per day average is desired here? How many lay-over days desired? How far is it for you to Mammoth area (is Eastern Sierra not an option)?
MORE NOTES: It sounds like Isaac/friend are in at least as good a condition as I ever was and I'm now 76 and would not hesitate to any part of the trip I suggested ... in a month or so anyway. So "little off-trail experience" means little to me and I've already commented enough on snow situation vis-a-vis doing passes (crossing on or above lakes? THAT is a whole other, potentially lethal matter!). BUT if doing much X-C, I'd suggest serious boots, not cross-trainers! That's maybe a barrier to some folks. I almost 100% wear serious boots (ankle support/traction), not OLD school serious like 3 pounds each but real boots (current favorites: cheap Timberland (1.1 pound each) .
FINAL NOTE: a lot of X-C hiking, usually slower, can be a lot easier than trail use where trails are degraded anyway. Of course there have been times I've almost wept with relief to finally get back on trail. But the (admittedly maximal) route I suggested has mostly easy X-C terrain. Hardly any long slogs up loose talus and such. Nice open Basin country.