Trips ideas: Sierra from the east side with my son.

[W I S N E R !]

Howdy all…looking for a few ideas for a short trip, entering from the east side, with my 11 year old son. Heading out next Thursday morning.

*I'm in the LA area…Don't want to drive further than Bishop.
*Planning on 2 nights and 3 days. Drive early/get permit/hike to first camp day 1, hike to camp 2 on day 2, out and drive home day 3.
*Low mileage; maybe up to ~6 per day (~10 is OK for day 3) I'd like to spend a bit more time fishing/hanging out than hiking on this one.
*fishing

So my ideas so far:
***Cottonwood Lakes area, maybe out to Muir Lake. I like this because the trailhead is so close of a drive and there seems to be a good deal to explore up there. I don't like this because everyone who has ever backpacked in the Sierra seems to mention this area (I've never been there)…Which makes me wonder if I can get a permit on short notice or if it'll be an absolute zoo.

***Enter Onion Valley, night one around Gilbert Lake to get my son acclimated, night two at Kearsarge Lakes, day 3 back over the pass and out. This is the trip I'm leaning towards because I know the area but my son has never been…plus we'll get the reward of climbing the pass. Only drawback here is it's nowhere new for me.

***North Lake area. Just came out of there and saw a lot of good stuff for kids. Either up to Lamarck Lake(s) or up towards Piute Lake. Maybe stay camped at Piute for both nights but day hike up into Humphreys Basin and back on day 2. Maybe spend night 2 around Muriel or Goethe Lake. Drawback here is an extra hour or two of driving.

??????

Any ideas that could fit the bill? Looking to get permits (hopefully) before closing time tomorrow. Gonna go over some maps with my son right now and see what inspires him.

Thankya!

[Dave T]

The Cottonwood Pass road is far south for you coming from down there, and gets you WAY up into the High Sierra. Could hike to Chicken Springs Lake, up Mitre Basin as far as you want, come back over Soldier Pass (new or old) and back to car. Not sure how many miles we did out there, since we also hopped over towards Whitney and JMT. Could also climb Mt. Pickering for a great view. Probably too many miles though. Just a thought!

[David Lutz]

We had a great time at Kearsarge Lakes with the kids last year.

The pass is not difficult, the scramble up to the upper lake is fun, lots of (small) fish around, etc. The boys swam in the ice water.

There are people around but it's not too bad.

Nice place for a mellow trip.

[W I S N E R !]

Looks like I'm going to do Kearsarge; my son wants to climb the pass and it's one of my favorite spots. Now I have to hope for a walk in permit.

Thanks all.

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