4 night Sierra trip from eastern TH

You might take a look at going in over Piute Pass to Humphreys Basin.  It’s an easy hike over the pass, and Humphreys Basin has a lot of options for exploring in generally easy terrain.  If you look at it on the Tom Harrison Bishop Pass map, you’ll see a lot of possibilities.  Packsaddle Lake, Pilot Knob, Honeymoon Lake, Desolation Lake, are but a few of the options available.  Fishing can be good in Piute Creek, if that is something you like to do.  Worth a look, IMO, based on your criteria..

Both the Kearsarge Pass/Rae Lakes and Thousand Island Loop are beautiful routes, but based on the criteria of a slow paced loop, the age of your kids, and accumulation, I’d recommend the Thousand Island loop;  it’s much easier and at a lower elevation.  Agnew Meadows to Thousand Island lakes is 7.8 miles and starts at 8340 feet and ends at 9840, an elevation gain of 1,550, so 200 feet/mile.

Onion Valley to Kearsarge Pass is 4.7 miles and starts at 9185 feet ends at 11845, an elevation gain of 2,660, so 566/feet per mile, almost 3 times steeper. Then you go down 1000′ to get to Charlotte Lake area, back up 1200′ to Glen Pass, then down 1400′ to Rae Lakes.  And the distance from Rae Lakes to Glen Pass is only 1.9 miles, so 762 feet/mile. That’s not going to go well with the kids.  So this route is substantially more difficult.

The Thousand Island lake route also allows multiple different loops(PCT, JMT, River Trail, I’d recommend the PCT-JMT route, exit at Devil’s Postpile), so you don’t have to repeat any routes, plus there’s no need for a private shuttle.  Just use the existing bus shuttle system that runs on Red Meadow Road during the summer.

Disadvantages with the Thousand Island Lake trip is slightly warmer temps and more people.  Advantages are easier route, easy exiting, closer to major airports(Reno), no backtracking and the big plus is you can acclimate in Mammoth Lakes; it’s a fun town for a family, it’s a resort town, lots of restaurants, hotels, fishing, shopping, bicycling, and site seeing(Devils Postpile, Minaret and Rainbow Falls, Mono Lake). For a family trip, it’d be a lot of fun.

K

Went on a 4 day hike with my 9 year old nephew Rio and 2 of my dogs. Day one was the longest. The other days were 6-7 miles.
From Devils Postpile, we climbed to Minaret Lake the first day for 8 miles.
Day 2 we climbed over the pass to Ediza Lake.
Day 3 was to the overlook prior to 1000 Is. Lake just before Sapphire Lake.
Day 4 was a to 1000 Is Lake and fun hike in the rain down the River trail back to Agnew Meadow.
Seemed to beat us all up a little in the end with the final cold rainy night and all the rocks with the dogs. The Minaret’s are amazing!!!
Great trip!

since you are already considering Thousand Island Lake,

you might consider Agnew Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows.

yes it is point to point, but if you get to Tuolumne campground store by 6pm or so you can take the YARTS bus back to Mammoth and then next morning take the shuttle back to your car at Mammoth ski area.

this trip is roughly 30 miles depending on route, with interesting variation. there are 2 ways to Thousand Island :

easier shorter – River trail

harder longer – via Shadow Lake and Garnet Lake, but more interesting I think.

from Thousand Island to Tuolumne you are on the JMT the whole way.

the last 8-10 miles is downhill and flat, in case the kids are tired by then.

this trip has slightly more involved logistics, and a bit more altitude going over Donahue pass, but a very nice trip.

Hi Angie,

My family with 9 and 11 yr olds have been backpacking for a couple of years now.  We began taking them out after we felt comfortable that our daughter can handle more mileage, and we started off slowly with a couple of overnighters, gradually building up to 5-6 days now. Our Kids are normally archenemies, but become BFF on the trail, lol

If this is your first backpacking with kids, keeping the elevation gain minimum as well as the mileage is a good idea.  Your 6-7 miles target should be good as long as there isn’t too much elev gain. Over 9-10 miles maybe pushing it unless it’s flat, at least for my kids. I think anything out of Roads End (Kings Canyon) like part of Rae Lakes Loop might be a little challenging.  I do my best to keep our packs light,  but always end up with pretty big load, and it gets challenging for parents too, especially on the first days with all the food for 4 ppl.

One of our first outings was in Little Lakes Valley out of Rock Creek.  It may not have the total mileage that you are looking for, but it’s a very gradual trails with many possible places to camp not far from the trailhead.  Main trail and lakes will get crowded,  but we camped at Chicken Foot lake and we were the only ones there for two nights.

Another good potential is 20 Lakes Basin near Tuolumne.  This one has been recommended for us many times and still on our target list.  If you take fishing poles, both of these destinations will give your family some good easy fishing opportunities as well.

I have an un-substantiated theory that younger kids are more prone to altitude sickness. My daughter still vomits on our first day when we are 9-10k, but she is a trooper and handles it pretty well. Of course we watch her closely, take frequent rest and keep her hydrated.  I think her issues might be not enough pre-hydration since she is not a big water drinker. Again, you are on a good track to plan for a couple of days for acclimatization.

Where ever you decide to go, it will be great. Have fun!

It sounds like you have not backpacked with the kids before or taken long hikes with them over Sierra Nevada passes.  I would recommend something REALLY easy like a loop in Rock Creek Canyon out of the Mosquito Flat TH. Go up to Ruby or Gem Lake and base camp. Stop at the Pie in the Sky Cafe on the way out. If you have dogs or like fishing, Rock Creek will be like heaven.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I’ve looked into all of them. Our 9 year-old has offered to bail on this trip (she has other options and hiking is not her “thing”). If we bring her, I’m loving the looks of the Little Lakes Valley. If we don’t, we might stick with 1000 Island Lakes. Our son is more than capable of keeping up without complaint. In fact, he would prefer for us to leave his sister at home because he wants “a challenge.” Personally, since we have to travel to the Sierra from Arkansas, and can’t make it there every year, I’d like to do one of the “bucket list” hikes in the area. My question is whether the Minarets are really that much more scenic than Little Lakes Valley. And how do crowds compare on these two hikes? At this point, my decision is whether to drag my daughter along and try to get her hooked on backpacking. But selfishly, I don’t want to choose the inferior route.

LLV has easier access and will have more people including more day hikers.

For challenge+bucket list, maybe you should consider Rae Lakes again, or… Whitney?  It is definately a challenge for 12 yr old, but very doable if you go longer route.  My kids didn’t have too much trouble and we did it from Horseshoe Meadow (I posted a video in post trip section), but of course ymmv.

We’ve been brainwashing the kids (it’s working so far) and my daughter still needs peptalk. Setting up a basecamp somewhere in LLV and do day hikes with lots of playing/fishing might be fun for everyone and good way to get them started.

“My question is whether the Minarets are really that much more scenic than Little Lakes Valley?”

I’ve spent over 50 days in the Sierra’s in the last 10 years and the Minarets have been my favorite.  You can see the Minarets from other trails, but doing the loop gets you up close and personal.

I haven’t seen LLV; I’ve heard it’s beautiful and has relatively easy access.  But I’m in full agreement with Aaron regarding the Minarets.  I’ve been able to get around 350 miles of backpacking in the Sierras in the past two years, from Whitney to Lake Tahoe, and the hike from about two miles north of Agnew Meadows to Thousand Island Lake along the PCT has been one of the tops for me; absolutely beautiful views of the Minarets.  The PCT portion of the loop looks across the canyon so you get the wonderful scenic view.  The JMT portion is at the base of the Minarets, so you get the view looking across lakes with the Minarets at the other end of the lake, so much closer views, still beautiful, but a different perspective.

But I don’t think you can go wrong with either the LLV or the Thousand Island Lakes loop.  I think it really depends on your kids experience, who goes and what are their capabilities.  To me it’s really going to be about what’s the most fun; if the kids aren’t having fun, it doesn’t matter what the views are. Hopefully someone whose been to both locations can add to the dialog and can provide some comparisons.  Hope this helps!

K

Thanks again, for all of the thoughtful feedback. This forum is really a great resource! I think I’m on the right track with the Thousand Island Lake loop if my daughter stays home, and that seems to be her preference right now. I’m afraid a Whitney summit might be too much of a challenge for all of us at this point. Really looking to just have an enjoyable (and classic) Sierra backpacking experience. So….starting and ending at Agnew Meadows, how’s this for an itinerary? High Trail in and JMT/Shadow Creek trail out with overnights at Thousand Island, Garnet, and Ediza Lakes (or nearby). That’s only 3 nights and we can do 4, so maybe we’d spend 2 nights at one of those locations. Or maybe at Summit Lake on first night if anyone is struggling with the hike in? I’ve read about the XC option over the saddle between TI and Garnet so maybe we’ll attempt that (looks pretty simple). Perhaps we’ll also make it up to Iceberg Lake. Do you guys have any suggestions for where our layover day should be or whether to do this route in the opposite direction? I’m also game to exit at Devils Postpile if there’s something on that section of the JMT that is not to be missed. But otherwise, I think we might be ready for the most direct route at that point in the trip. Seems a little silly to plan this far ahead in this much detail. But I’m excited and that’s how I roll. And we’ll actually be able to reserve our permit before too long…

During the summer, Reds road is closed to vehicle traffic from 7AM to 7PM.  If you can plan around these times that’d be great, but if you exit the trail head at 1PM, you’ll have to wait 6 hours before you can leave.  The easy work around is to take the Red’s Shuttle which runs between Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort and Red’s Meadow Resort.  It usually comes by every 20 minutes.  There’s plenty of parking at MMSR.

The first day hike to Thousand Island Lake via the PCT for the incoming portion. This would be around 8 miles.  Spend the night at Thousand Island Lake and do the same the next night, so Thousand Island Lake, Day 2 would be the rest day.  The lake is beautiful for both sunrise and sunsets, so if I was to spend two nights at the same place it’d be here.  Or just use it as base camp and go to Davis Lake or Island Pass for the 2^nd day.  Day three, hike to Ediza Lake and spend night three there.  It supposed to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the Minaret’s.  Day 4 you can hike out or spend another night there and head west on the trail from Ediza for a day hike.

Shadow Lake is closed to camping.  Heading south on the JMT after Shadow you hike up towards Rosaline Lake, about a 1000 foot climb.  After that it mostly forested, so not really too much to see.  The section from Rosaline to Devils Postpile is about a six mile stretch which is OK, but to me not worth the day’s hike.  So hiking out, if you want it to be easy take the river trail back to Agnew.

Let us know what you decide to do and how it works out.  You and the family will enjoy it.

K

I’ve got pretty limited backpacking experience in the Sierra, but I’ve done 1000 island, minarets, and one I haven’t seen mentioned yet, horseshoe meadow.  1000 island is gorgeous, I took the high trail (PCT) out of Agnew, which is an easy (but slightly longer) way to do it.  Like someone mentioned, you get nice vistas across the canyon the whole way.  The thing that makes it easier is that you get 500′ gain right off the bat on the switchbacks, while it is still cool and you are just starting out.  After that a decent portion of the trail is following contour lines.  I added a trip past Summit and Clark Lakes, which were beautiful, on my way to 1000 island.

As I said, Horseshoe Meadows is another good option.  The road takes you to over 10,000′, so you start at a nice high altitude.  If you want to hike without going over any passes, you can just check out all the cottonwood lakes for a very easy trip.  Cottonwood Pass, if you decide to do that, is an easy pass and Chicken Springs Lake makes a gorgeous place to camp, and is right in your mileage goal for the first day.

Minor correction regarding Red’s Meadows: One can drive a car out at any time of the day on night, but if before 7:00 PM, there will be fee collection at the kiosk.  Kiosk is open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. You can drive a car past the kiosk before 7:00 AM; pay upon exiting.

Jim:  Are you sure about being able to drive out?  I thought the NPS allows certain exceptions, but backpacking was not one of them. http://www.nps.gov/depo/planyourvisit/reds-meadow-and-devils-postpile-shuttle-information.htm. The really odd thing if you bring along a gun and claim to be a hunter you’re good to go!

Another idea:

Tuolumne Meadows to Yosemite Valley via the JMT.

You can’t get any more spectacular than this and there is a bus to bring you back from Yosemite Valley. And it’s mostly down hill.

billy

Re: Kiosk information above. The kiosk OFFICIALLY opens at 7:00 a.m. as Jim stated. However, I was advised several years ago that a staffer is often there early to raise the flag and get ready to officially start the day. If they are on duty you may be turned away and have to return to the parking lot and take the shuttle. I believe that every time I have driven there in the last few years a staff person is there about 15 minutes before 7 a.m. Play it safe if you want to drive and go past the kiosk by 6:45 a.m. If it’s important to have your car for convenience, go a little early. Also several times we’ve returned to the Agnew Meadows TH at night, after the shuttle has stopped, and it is very nice to have the car waiting for us so we don’t have to hitch a ride into town.

Kenneth re: Driving out of Red’s Meadow, Agnew Meadows, etc. Yes, definitely you can drive out at any time of the day or night-we’ve done it and recently, too. IF you have a permit to stay in a campground you also can drive in/out but people who are backpacking for the night before they leave for their trip cannot drive in past 7:00 a.m. They must take the shuttle if they don’t have a campground permit or are not staying at the few cabins at Red’s Meadow Resort (by the store and cafe).

Kenneth,

The National Park Service (Devil’s Postpile) web site says backpackers must use the shuttle, but same web site also states cars may enter before 7:00 AM and after 7:00 PM.  Many backpackers drive past the kiosk before 7:00 AM/after 7:00 PM and park long term at various trailheads, all of which except Devil’s Postpile are National Forest (Forest Service), not National Park.  I go in and out of Red’s Meadows numerous times every summer.  Red’s Meadows is a catch-all name for the area, which includes Agnew Meadows, Devil’s Postpile, Rainbow Falls, Red’s Meadows’s, etc.

Jim, Jane: That’s good to know regarding exiting, thanks for the clarification!

K

One other thought about the Red’s Meadow road/kiosk/shuttle topic——-

Some people may think their Wilderness/Backcountry permit is the same as a campground permit-of course it is not so you can’t use it to gain entry past the kiosk after 7:00 a.m.with your car. To avoid confusion just go past the kiosk a little before 7 a.m. and you’re OK to drive your car in/out. We do this whether we’re dayhiking or backpacking-like to get an early start from the TH.

“The really odd thing if you bring along a gun and claim to be a hunter you’re good to go!”

Kenneth, my guess is they are trying to cut down on the number of rifles on the bus…  Hahaha ;-)

I normally just park my car on the side of the road just prior to reaching the Mammoth Mountain Inn, and take the shuttle bus.  But when I hiked to Minaret Lake I drove my own car in before the gate opened.

I did the Thousand Island loop with my son (then 6) the same direction you’re considering, July before last. Awesome trip. We stayed the first night up above Clark lake. Summit Lake was stagnant and full of mosquitos. It made it so we got to thousand island lake early and had the day to explore and fish. We took two days going down the river trail so we could have a campfire, which my son loved.

Thanks again. I secured a permit for the High Trail in August. Your suggestions and information have been very helpful. This is becoming my favorite website!