Summer Alpine Trip Ideas

[Brad Rogers]

I normally have my summer backpacking trip planned by now, but work has been crazy (I just finished working 39 13+ hour days in a row) but now things have settled down and I am trying to figure out what I want to do.  I did the Wilson Dixon WRHR this past September and am looking for something similar, both in quality, and difficulty outside of WRR.  What do you guys/gals recommend?

I prefer a mixture of on/off trail , nothing more than class 3, either a loop or shuttle service available.  One week sometime in July or August, preferably without intense bug pressure.

I have looked at the Sawtooths, Wallawa Wilderness (OR), Trinity Alps.  I have looked at some of Skurka’s stuff too, but I’m looking for something more like the Wilson Dixon WRHR rather than the Skurka version.  Things like the west gully from Wind River Peak, does not look appealing to me.

I would love to see a Trip Report or CalTopo route of something you guys have done before.

I would also be interested in planning something together or jumping on another trip if someone is interested.

 

 

 

[Ben C]

Have you looked at the Southern SIerra High Route by Wilson and Dixon?  I did a modified version and really liked it.

[J-L]

I have looked at some of Skurka’s stuff too, but I’m looking for something more like the Wilson Dixon WRHR rather than the Skurka version.

Could you elaborate?

[Brad Rogers]

@ John H.     The Wilson-Dixon version is easier than the Skurka version.  I have talked to several people that have done the Skurka version and the decent from Wind River Peak via the West Gully is something several of them said they would not try and repeat.  Another example is the Skurka version going over New York Pass instead of Texas Pass out of the cirques.  New York pass seems steeper and more exposed.

 

[Brad Rogers]

I have looked at it, and almost did it last year.  The amount of exposure going up the Mt. Whitney Mountaineers Route scared me off.

[Lester Moore]

Here are two classic 5 – 7 day options in WA state: the Bailey Traverse and the Glacier Peak circuit. Both have a mix of on-trail and off-trail. The Bailey range route is about 50/50 on-trail and off-trail, starting and ending in the Elway River area (the trailheads are in the same drainage but several miles apart). The Glacier Peak circuit has only a day of off trail travel (High Pass area), a day on unmaintained trail (Indian Creek trail) and the rest on a mix of heavily to lightly used trails (PCT, Buck Creek, Little Giant Pass, Boulder Pass). Below are two good trip reports:

Bailey Traverse:
http://cwillett.imathas.com/local/bailey/index.html

Glacier Peak circuit:
https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2017-09-06.1533728935

[Brad Rogers]

Thanks Lester two more good options to look at.

 

Does anyone have experience with this “Absaroka-Beartooth High Route in Montana?  I found this route in Caltopo that looks interesting, I would just want to make sure that it’s all class 3 or below.  I bet Ryan Jordan knows this area.

https://caltopo.com/m/FUAC

[Curt Peterson]

Brad –

Great list! This looks a lot like my annual “big trip” list. Me and a couple buddies do an 8-10 day life list trip each September. Getting too old to put them off. We’re now 10 years in and I look forward to it all year long.

We’ve done the Wallowas, Beartooths, Yellowstone, Glacier NP, Glacier Peak area here in WA, Goat Rocks, Alpine Lakes/Enchantments, Selkirks, and more. I think the biggest challenge on your list will be the bugs & fires. We used to plan a single trip for 9 months and then go. Now we have an A, B, C, and D trip all planned out due to fires. Every year they’re impacting where we go. Bugs are worst in July  and early August in my experience. That’s part of why we go in early September. Starting the Friday before Labor Day gives us a busy first day or two (mostly travel & car camping) but then solitude the rest of the week. We did an awesome 6 day trip in Yellowstone and saw 1 group of 2 about a half mile away the entire time. Beartooths saw one older couple on the last day. Wallowas are pretty busy. Glacier NP was waaaaay too social for our taste – a result of their backcountry regs.

I’d plan a few trips. Looks like it’s going to be a low snow year in the Cascades. Great for early access to the high country, but usually means bad news for fires.

Happy to provide any info on specifics. I’m just starting to plan our trip now!

[ben .]

“The amount of exposure going up the Mt. Whitney Mountaineers Route scared me off.”

there are a few easy ways to skip the mountaineers route and still have an absolutely amazing sierra hike.

you could use the PCT/JMT to get between wright lakes pass and cottonwood lakes (bypassing whitney, miter basin, etc);

you could enter/exit via the traditional whitney trail (skipping the last few miles of the route);

you could skip whitney entirely and enter/exit at shepherd pass (skipping a few more miles of the route).

forgive me if you’ve already thought of and rejected these options!

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