California Long Weekend Suggestions – Early June

[Paul S.]

My brother lives in S. Cal and wants do a long weekend trip as a birthday present to himself.  I’m up in the PNW so I’m not familiar with the area so I’m looking for some suggestions.

• Timeline: 2-3 nights in early June so I’m assuming we need to avoid the higher elevation treks
• Permits: I’m guessing we’re too late on any lotteries.  Since I’m flying down we won’t have flexibility to change dates if we don’t get a permit.
• Distance: We’re in decent shape but neither of us are ready for >10 mile days.  I’m UL but he doesn’t get out much with 3 small children so he’s at best LW.  I hope to supply him with surplus UL gear.

He was originally thinking of the Sequoia National Park area but I’m thinking there will be too much snow and too difficult to obtain a permit but I could be wrong.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lori P]

There’s a few feet of consolidated snow in Sequoia around 7k. The Middle Fork trail is snow free at the moment.

There are no lotteries – what you’ll do to reserve a permit for SEKI is to get the form pdf from the website fill it out and email it in. You pay the same whether you reserve or walk in, unlike other places where you can get a free permit when walking in, so might as well reserve. If there is space on the quota you’ll get your permit.

You can also go to Jennie Wilderness or Golden Trout, both free and Golden has no quotas, you get the form on the website and drop it off on the way to the trailhead. Jennie has a loop that could be a leisurely three day. There might be patchy snow but I suspect, with the current warming trend, that what little snow there is will be gone by June unless you’re going to 12k.

Golden Trout, btw, has had very little trail maintenance over the years. Jennie gets regular attention from the High Sierra Trail Crew. SEKI has a lot of trail and the CC starts with the most popular and works down to the less popular, so there are some deadfalls on the Middle Fork trail as you climb toward Bearpaw. Going toward Redwood Meadow might be a good early season choice. There is a bridge over the river.

All locations are likely to have mosquitoes…

 

[David D]

Joshua Tree National Park is in Southern California and a lot of fun. It is a lesser known National Park therefore draws less crowds and doesn’t require lottery permits. If I remember correctly the campsites are first come, first serve and a small fee around $10-20 per night. As for trails, there are plenty of options and good scenery. Joshua Tree is better known for rock climbing, but you can have fun backpacking there too.

-Dave

[Paul Wagner]

You don’t mention where you are flying into…but that makes a difference.  Lake Tahoe is only three hours from SF and less than two from Sacramento.  Kings Canyon is much farther, unless you fly into Fresno.

BTW, if there is still snow on the trails we’ve had some good trips hiking on some of the USFS roads that are closed for snow.

[Lori P]

The only lottery permits in California are for Half Dome and Whitney.

Joshua Tree in summer. Interesting concept…

[Paul S.]

Great suggestions so far. I’ll dig into them more.

I’ll be flying into the LA  area and then we’ll drive to our destination, ideally within a 4 hour drive.

[Rex Sanders]

Chunks of the Trans Catalina Trail could be fun:

https://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=visit&p=hike_the_trans_catalina_trail

— Rex

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