High Sierra Topix

How generous of you! It's a combination of old age creaky stamina and complications getting away for several days, but who knows what next year will bring? I will not dismiss the idea. Thank you for your offer!

This is a great idea. For the past few years, that time period would be almost perfect for me. However, next summer is shaping up very differently for reasons I won’t elaborate on at the moment. But I will keep those dates in mind and if it’s possible, I would love to join everyone. I hope you all have a marvelous time.

Hopefully your circumstances will change allowing you to come Laurence
and join us.

I've hiked most of the various iterations out the Horseshoe, Portal, Shepherd & Onion THs, except for the section between Wales & WLB. A mini through hike from Horseshoe to either Shepherd or Onion via Wales/WLB has long been on my to-do list.

If anyone else is interested in this kind of hike, it would be very cost effective to share a shuttle ride. I've got some good contacts in Lone Pine that I guestimate would charge around $125-150 for 2-3 people between Onion/Shepherd & Horseshoe. (Total ie $50-60 per person.)

A single shuttle is preferable to shuttling cars, IMO, since each person is free to determine their own itinerary & pace. For instance, a perfect example is Horseshoe. There are 3 (4 if count the newish x-c path up to Langley being discussed over @ the Whitney board) ways over the crest, and different peaks/lakes/side-trips depending on energy levels & interest.

There's no way I'd want anyone dependent on me (or me them) to get them back to their car @ some specified date/time. Rather, to continue the example above, all roads lead to SBL and the Crabtrees. So, each person would most likely still hook up at the end of the day, without any anxiety/commitment that they must do so. If they did show up, great, if not, oh well, maybe further down the road. No biggie.

I'm thinking Vaca Russ might be a good candidate, but would like to hear from any others that might be interested. In true Hobbes like fashion (cat), things might or might not work out as far as timing, but a general discussion could be helpful in terms of future trips.

Sounds like a good idea Hobbes. Horseshoe - Shepherd would allow for some potential x/c (crabtree & rockwell) along the way. I'm interested. Dave was still doing shuttles in the area last summer.

Bluewater wrote:Sounds like a good idea Hobbes. Horseshoe - Shepherd would allow for some potential x/c (crabtree & rockwell) along the way. I'm interested. Dave was still doing shuttles in the area last summer.

I used Dave last year, but hooked up with some guys from Elevation this year. (In fact, I ran into him on the street while grabbing a beer and shot the sh!t for awhile.) There's a small crew of store personnel, guides, etc who are pretty flexible and looking to make an easy buck. Tie into that network, and there will generally be someone available for a fair price.

Re Crabtree & Rockwell. If properly motivated, one could do some variation of:

- go up 'Thompson col' to Langley (http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum ... #Post96104" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)
- struggle up Discovery from #3 to hit Whitney
- boogie over to Wales/WLB on the PCT
- go up Tyndall (and maybe Willie)
- exit out of the bowl down to Shepherd

The beauty of this itinerary is you could do all, none or some combination thereof without effecting your initial start & ultimate destination. I'm sure everyone here has had days where they feel dog tired, and others where they feel like Superman (woman), so each day would simply unfold as one felt as they awoke in the morning.

Thanks for the tip re the guys at Elevation. Dave has been talking about retiring for a while, plus his old truck doesn't have a/c (tough during the 100 degree summers).

Thompson Col looks like a fun alternate route and I haven't been up Tyndall or Williamson. With plenty of good options between HM and Shepherds it shouldn't be difficult to organize a shuttle group.

Hey Bluewater,

I am considering doing Vacation Pass again as a way into Wallace Lakes Basin after
reading this TR, http://peaksforfreaks.blogspot.com/2013 ... rnard.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; especially after seeing Heller Lake after 20+ years.

That is a beautiful route Maverick, and a very detailed trip report. I've read about the approach to Mt. Williamson via George Creek but I never considered Heller & Vacation Pass. There is so much to learn on HST!

The lower portion of George Creek looks like an unpleasant bushwhack. How was your experience through there (20 years ago)?

Do not remember the bush being that thick, but it still ain't no big deal, just a
touch more of a challenge.
My only concern would be getting to the trailhead, would not even try with my
Honda Civic.