Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board east sierras - short loop hike advice

I'd like to make a short loop hike, maybe 5 days, from the Eastern Sierras in July. I prefer a loop to backtracking hike, but the 2nd is an option. This will be a solo hike, so I'd prefer to stay on the main arteries. About 8-10 miles a day is a comfortable distance for me.

I was thinking of requesting a permit to come in either from Onion Valley or Taboose Pass. I can see some possibilities on the map, but I thought I'd ask for recommendations. So, any recommendations? Some other trailhead?

Thanks in advance, S

Here's a thought...farther north than Whitney, but a very pretty area:

Start off at Agnew Meadows (just west of Mammoth Lakes) and head up the High Trail (Pacific Crest Trail). Pick up the John Muir Trail by Thousand Island Lake and head south past Garnet Lake and Shadow Lake, then out by Devil's Postpile. You can hike back the road to Agnew Meadows or take the shuttle bus.

You'll see "my" <a href="http://www.mtritter.org">mountain</a>, Banner Peak and the Minarets along the way, plus some of the nicest scenery around. Good trails the whole way, plus if you want a side trip (with a little backtracking), head up the Shadow Creek trail to Ediza Lake and spend a day or two there. Plenty of climbing opportunities, as well.

If you want to go out of Onion Valley and stick to the main trails your only real option is to do an out and back over Kearsarge Pass. Otherwise your options are some hard cross country routes over Shepherd Pass or University Pass . The only thing that I know about Taboose Pass is that it is steep.

A good circular route is the North Lake to North Lake route out of Bishop. You can do a 85/15 main trail/cross country route that has a fair amount of ups and downs. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire Sierra can be found along this hike. You start at 9300', go up to 11,200' at Piute Pass and then down,down,down to Hutchison Meadow at about 7500' where you join up with the John Muir Trail. From here you turn south and hike to the Darwin region, this is where you deviate from the JMT and go "cross-country". This is in actuality, not cross country, there is a fine trail that will take you through Darwin Bench, up to Darwin Canyon and over Lamarck Col.From the Col you head down about 5 miles to North Lake where you started. This is a good 4-5 day hike.

Here is a website that has the above route in an abbreviated version; it's starting in the opposite direction, going over Lamarck Col first. The mid 2/3 of this route over Alpine Col and around Goethe lake is all cross country and is very difficult.(The link shows the route bypassing the descent into Hutchison Meadow, the link up with the JMT and bypassing the Darwin area, which, I think is the nicest part of the trip). If you are not comfortable with 35 degree talus slopes stay away. The pictures though, show the wonderful scenery along the route.
http://171.64.169.61/.mh/darwin_0902/index_web.html

I did South Lake to North Lake last year with a side trip to Lamarck Col, and it was a terrific hike. I'll look into the suggested hike around Devil's Postpile. I did the JMT a few years ago, and I still have dreams about the hot springs at Devil's Postpile. What a treat at the end of a hike.

A nice "backup" hike starts from the Cottonwood Pass trailhead, but heads over Trail Pass, then down Mulkey Creek to catch Golden trout Creek, and heads north to Rocky Basin Lakes/Funston Lake area, then north over Siberian Pass to Lower Rock Creek, then north along Rock Creek, over New or Old Army Pass to the Cottonwood Lakes, then back to the trailhead. Many options along the way.

BUT, best thing about this......there is no permit quota over Trail Pass.

It is more of a "lollypop" than a loop but you could go in from Onion Valley, catch the JMT and do the Rae Lakes Loop, finishing back out to Onion Valley. If you're not familiar with the loop it incorporates the JMT, Bubbs Creek Trail, heads north through Paradise Valley along the Kings River to Woods Creek and back over to the JMT. You could also reverse this direction. Total miles - about 50 depending on who you talk to. I think it's closer to 48.

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate having suggestions from people who have been there. I'm going to call for permits and see which of these options I can work out. - Sarah

I did the North Lake-Lamarck Col-Alpine Col-North Lake loop back with my wife in 1982.
It was a wild ride as we were on snow most of the time from the base of Lamarck Col to nearly Piute Pass.

But what a spectacular route. Darwin Canyon is hard to believe. We did it in early July and used ice axes a good part of the time. There's very few people in that area.

Also try Cottonwood Pass-Siberian-New Army out of Horseshow Meadow. There's a bunch of other short loops I've done (3-5 days). I can dig out my topos and give you ideas, just email me.

Don