Tips on Inferno Lakes to Lake Eleanor Lake via Kendrick Creek Canyon (Yosemite)?

[Jim H]

Anyone hiked the Kendrick Creek Canyon downstream to Lake Eleanor in Yosemite?

I’ve got a weekend coming up with a rare opportunity to do a 2-car hike, so I’m trying to force-fit a couple areas I haven’t visited in Emigrant and Yosemite. Caltopo link: http://caltopo.com/m/QM1Q

I was thinking of starting at the Crabtree/Pine Valley TH in the Emigrant Wilderness and wandering my way to a campsite along Cherry Creek Canyon just north of the Yosemite border at the foot of the trail up to Boundary Lake. Then I could spend another day exploring this corner of Yosemite, ending up at the car along Lake Eleanor without spending a night in the park (and thus not needing to carry the bearvault).

To add a section of less-traveled trail, I was looking at dropping from Inferno Lakes down to Edith Lake and then following the canyon down to Lake Eleanor and follow the shore to the car. Anyone know how slow the walking in the Kendrck Creek Canyon would be? The elevation is low enough that I was wondering if I’d be bushwacking? Google Maps aerials seem like it might be a little of both, but hard for me to tell. <span style=”line-height: 1.8;”>And, does anyone know if there is a shoreline route around Lake Eleanor? </span>

<span style=”line-height: 1.8;”>I’m trying to inform whether I’ve got time to take do the Yosemite portion in a day. I’m fine with a 10-hr day, which would be about a 2mph avg for the day, but much longer than that and I’ll be getting home late enough that the next day is shot anyways, and I may as well add a night or change the route. The age old problem of whether to burn that additional vacation day or take the shorter/faster route.  </span>

Thanks

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