My favorite hiking trail in the ES

[2NAKLLR]

Mountain bikes don't $#!+ on trails.
Just sayin'.

[SnowDal]

Great thread! Thank you for all the pictures. Feeling the Sierra vibe big time.

[Paradise Guy]

After just visiting, I like the trail to Walker Lake...Shhhhh

[windyscotty]

That trailhead up there used to be a real dump. They did a nice rehab on the place, and it is looking good now for dispersed camping. I love the Mono District as much as anybody ever could. It would take me years and has to begin to describe it.

[cjk]

not much of a trail to follow but a trip up George Creek is worth the effort

[cjk]

convict canyon is impressive from any angle

[skibiscuit]

OGT.....about that hike..........

[cjk]

Kearsarge Pass is an easy hike from a high trailhead with with amazing views into the Bubbs Creek drainage of Kings Canyon National Park.


park boundary


this is a five photo stitch
kearsarge lakes & pinnacles in the center
bullfrog lake below mount bago on the right
the great western divide in the distance


mount brewer & north guard zoom
great western divide

[Ulysses61]

This is a great thread, loved reading all the responses.

I've hiked in the Sierras since I was 18 and that's almost 30 years of hiking every summer and autumn. My favorite ES hike is
Big Pine Lakes (or Seven Lakes Basin), above Big Pine.


I also love as day hikes:

Kearsarge Pass to Lake Charlotte
Coldwater Campground to Purple Lake
Hoover Lakes Basin
Rush Creek to Alger Lakes (this is a long day hike of 21 miles)
Mosquito Flat
Dusy Basin

And countless others. Nothing compares the Sierras for me.

[Paradise Guy]

Even in the my prime of my youth I don't think I could day hike South Lake to Dusy Basin and back again, all in the same day. Must be near 18+ miles rt. Dawn to dusk I guess. I never considered trying it back then but it would be sick if you could pull it off...

[SurfnSnowboard]

Even in the my prime of my youth I don't think I could day hike South Lake to Dusy Basin and back again, all in the same day. Must be near 18+ miles rt. Dawn to dusk I guess. I never considered trying it back then but it would be sick if you could pull it off...

I did Whitney as a day hike about 10 years ago. 10 hours without rushing. I did start to feel a little altitude sickness at the peak so I headed down without much delay.

The next day I did a 6 mile hike up around the Ancient Bristlecone Pines.

[windyscotty]

This is exactly why the Peruvians chew on coca leaves.

[trenchdigger]

Haven't posted on this board for awhile! A series of injuries and a bad snow year really killed my buzz. But hiking season is here

I have to say the trail from Whitney Portal to Forester Pass and exiting Kearsarge is pretty incredible for expansive views! I just wish I finished the JMT.

What do you guys think of going over Mono Pass and into Pioneer Basin for the last weekend of June? I'm still researching the deets but do you vets think it's too hard for my wife's first ES trip? We get 2 nights and 3 days. I am having ACL reconstruction next month so this will be the one and only backpacking trip we get this summer. I want to make the experience awesome for her and the mistress, er, my new Olympus OMD camera

[swshrd]

Haven't posted on this board for awhile! A series of injuries and a bad snow year really killed my buzz. But hiking season is here

I have to say the trail from Whitney Portal to Forester Pass and exiting Kearsarge is pretty incredible for expansive views! I just wish I finished the JMT.

What do you guys think of going over Mono Pass and into Pioneer Basin for the last weekend of June? I'm still researching the deets but do you vets think it's too hard for my wife's first ES trip? We get 2 nights and 3 days. I am having ACL reconstruction next month so this will be the one and only backpacking trip we get this summer. I want to make the experience awesome for her and the mistress, er, my new Olympus OMD camera

Hi TD, We are trying to finish the JMT this year and we are going to do the Kearsarge to Whitney Portal trek with a sidetrip to climb Mt Tyndall in Aug. Beautiful, but challenging! Glad I have until the middle of Aug to get in shape for it!

I have hiked Mono Pass to Pioneer Basin (18 mile RT) as a day hike and it is difficult. The climb back up from Pioneer Basin to Mono Pass is brutal! Not sure if that would be the trip I would choose for my spouse's first ES backpacking trip Where were you planning on camping? 2 nights in Pioneer Basin?

[Grumpy]

I agree. That is a grinder for that amount of time with a first timer.