Winter Backpacking in Sequoia/Sierra

Not sure of anything like that in SEKI, Bishop of Mammoth…maybe others can contribute advice there.

But in Yosemite there’s a pretty popular snow shoe route out of badger to Dewey point/Crocker point area.  Haven’t done it myself yet…but I think it’s 4-5 relatively flat miles.

If you’re willing to venture to Emigrant, there’s some snowshoeing routes there.  There was a 5 mile loop I did starting at crabtree road ….er….like 11 years ago I think.

Hetch hetchy area has some more options too.

Sorry for the late reply Dennis, your trip has probably come and gone, but I wanted to offer a suggestion for you, or anyone else who may have a similar question.

Aside from the actual drive of getting there, I think Mammoth Lakes is about the easiest place in the Sierras to access high-elevation fun anytime of year.  I know a place that would fit your requirements perfectly.  Drive out of town to the Mammoth Mountain Inn, the road is open year round, and ends in winter at the Inn itself.  The Inn makes a perfect “base camp”.  From there you take the road to Devil’s Postpile, which is a ski-snowshoe highway in the winter.  A mile or two out you get to the overlook before the road drops down to Agnew Meadows.  Instead of continuing down the road, hang a right (north), and go as far as you like up the San Joaquin Ridge.  Great vistas looking across the valley towards the Minarets, Banner, and Ritter peaks.  And the nice thing is that San Joaquin Ridge is such a wide, flat, gentle incline.  Perfect for beginning winter camping/ backpacking trips.  It is also close enough for an easy bail-out to town if things get uncomfortable.

I honestly can’t think of a place that would better fit your criteria than that.

hey Doug, thanks for that suggestion.  We’ll try that route probably little later in the season.

On our departure day we actually changed destination three times, lol.  First we were going to tag along with my sister going to Mammoth in her RV, just to get free ride, but ended up missing the departure time.  Then we headed to Panther Gap, but I ended up not getting off of 99, but continue onto Yosemite.   We ended up going to Dewey Point and had a blast with great weather.

Thanks everyone with your inputs!