Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board North Lake to Humphreys Basin (upcoming)

My hiking pal and I are taking an upcoming trip out of North Lake over Piute Pass into Humphreys Basin. Does anyone have a past trip report that would get us familiar with the area? We are going in on a Sunday morning & coming out on Tuesday. Monday will be the layover day to do some cross country exploring. Should be alot of fun.

Does anyone have a few good lakes/campsites that they can recommend in the Basinas it looks like there are plenty of lakes to choose from?

Also, should we be concerned about lightning out in the open as our basecamp will be treeline at appx 11,200 feet / any precautionary steps we should take? Are the afternoon storms still coming in? I know the weather is completely unpredictable but I thought I would get your thoughts/suggestions Our trip is in 3 weeks.

Thank you for any input you may have as most people on this board have a wealth of knowledge to share.

Jason

An amazing desolate area, that feels like it truly deserves the label "moonscape".
You can camp near pretty much any lake, and you have a lot of choices. You can travel the basin point-to-point, as it is reasonably level, Humphreys provides orientation, and the terrain, until you are on a mountain/rustic pass, is benign.

Not sure where you are going to find a tree at that elevation.
I vaguely remember some I camped in at one of the Golden Trout Lakes, but there are sure not many in the basin, proper.

I've been in the basin in major weather/lightning, and did not feel at risk, with lots of high things around. Of course, no guarantees.

Be prepare for a lot of steps between the trailhead and the pass.

Ken mentioned Golden Trout Lakes and I will second that one as a good destination. We camped at Desolation Lake, and it was aptly named, on our way to Seven Gables.

I liked the area a bunch.

Neat thing about this area; there can be many people there and you still have your sense of solitude. One of my favorite places to go.

Golden Trout Lake sounds like a good option. Has anyone camped at Tomahawk Lake which appears to be a bit of cross country action?

The solitude sounds real good about now, can't wait.

Also, we are probably going to drive to the trailhead at about 2am and sleep till sunrise and hit the trail. Is the true trailhead near the parking area as I have never been to Northlake?

Thanks again for these replies.

Jason

Actual Piute Pass TH is about 1/2-3/4 mile south-ish along the road from the parking area. After you turn right (towards the Pack Station), it's an easy walk along the road to the campground, where the trailheads are located.

Have a great time. Considering this myself in the near future.

-L

A few years back we backpacked into Humphrey's Basin and camped at Mesa Lake for a couple of nights - it was really pretty there. Here's what it was like from our campsite:


We did a day hike from Humphreys Basin to Pilot Knob while out there - there's a very nice view from the summit and it's a fairly easy trek if your camping in that area.