Sierras off-trail route planning – Big Pine South to Palisades Basin?

[lisa r]

Many months ago (maybe even pre-Covid it was that long ago??) I hurriedly and late at night grabbed a reservation for Big Pine South entry, without doing much (or any really) route planning. Now that the trip is fast approaching in early Sept – I’ve been busy with other trips this summer – I’m finally starting to look at maps. What quickly became apparent is that Big Pine South is a bit of a dead end. That’s probably why I chose it in the first place, thinking maybe as a dead end it wouldn’t have quite as many people on it. Question now is, how do I get over the Palisades? I’m aiming to be out for ~6 days for a mix of on and off-trail hiking, but hoping to keep the off-trail parts to nothing terribly hair-raising.

In my initial research all the beta I’m finding for the area is for peak bagging in the Palisades. I simply want to get over to the other side. Anyone have suggestions for routes I should consider? I’d probably do up to class 3 if it’s not for long stretches and without very risky exposure. No glacier travel.

For reference, last year I comfortably did a route in northern Yosemite that included elements of Skurka’s Yosemite High Route and the Sierra High Route, specifically Horse Creek Pass, Matterhorn Pass, Stanton Pass, Slide Canyon, Crazy Mule, Rock Island Lakes, and Ice and Maltby lakes.

Thanks all!

[Pedestrian]

I know you’re asking about the southbound trail but I felt that you should also know about the other direction; that whole area is *very rugged* and one should exercise caution over some of those off-trail passes. Jigsaw pass is one such pass in the northbound direction which has seen some bad falls; one example:

http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/43928/JIgsaw_Pass_Accident

https://inyosar.com/jigsaw-pass-recovery/

Take care.

 

 

[Amy Lauterbach]

I suggest that you buy a copy of The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails, by R.J. Secor. The book discusses many off-trail routes and passes. Perhaps Birch Creek Pass might be a solution to your route finding problems. In my experience, Secor has quite useful information and most of it is quite accurate.

Have a great trip.

James (and Amy)

[Ben C]

It’s pretty tough going over the Palisades. I planned a trip out of the North Fork down to Whitney. We went from Seventh Lake up the pass to Thunder and Lightning Lake. It was not an easy pass but i think much easier than anything I could find over the Palisades.

[Author]

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