Who Are the SEKI Experts?

From the west there are only a few entry trails to the east - the 'good stuff'.  End of Road in Kings Canyon, Giant Forrest/Crescent Meadows and Mineral King.  Along US 395 there is an entry at almost every wide spot in the road from Lone Pine to Mammoth.  The Sierra have a relatively gentle slope uphill from the west and a long approach.  From the east most trails start around 9500' +.  You get to lakes in 3 miles and a pass to other lakes in 6 or 8 miles.   There is a reason why the JMT/PCT run near the Sierra 'backbone'.

The problem you will have with what follows is that it is the start of the High Sierra Trail and you may come to grief getting permits.

From Giant Forest/Crescent Meadows to Bearpaw Meadows is a long(ish) first day, undulations up and down with little altitude gain. Bearpaw has a B&B and a *gasp* bar with a grand view of what you will be seeing the next day. Up to Kaweah Gap S l o w l y it is beautiful and might plan on spending a night in 9 Lakes Basin then down the Arroyo a bit for the trail to Little Five Lakes the Big Five Lakes (and I agree with HSF - Sawtooth Pass - ugh). But the trail up to look down at the three lakes below on way to Black Rock is one of the more spectacular pictures to take.

mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.46954,-118.55870&z=14&t=T
(looking South toward Spring Lake).  Somebody may come up with that picture. It is a wow even with a pin hole camera!

You could spend a few more days and come out at a pass farther down south - Franklin even. Then you have a slog a couple  of days from Mineral King over Timber Gap and Cliff Creek to Bearpaw Meadow and out.

 Figure on 10 miles a day. On Tom Harrison maps its about the length of a .9mm yellow pen P209. We just lay the pencil along the trail and figure we will camp somewhere near it.  Sometimes short of it just because and sometimes a push for a few more miles.  If you are out of camp at 7am and keeping a 1.5 mph pace you can stop for a cooked lunch (suggested) and able to quit mid afternoon to explore - or collapse.

You can save the suffering on Sawtooth by doing this counter clockwise, but Valhalla is best going up hill where your body slows you down to enjoy it. This might solve your HST problem by exiting at Crescent Meadows.

There is the east side of the Sierra (most seem to migrate there over time). Not a lot of loops but one that takes a short hitch to get up the road to where you leave your car at Onion Valley. Depending upon which way you go, you will either leave a car at Onion Valley (west of Independence) or at the Shepherd Pass trail head (3 mile dirt road from Onion Valley road). Starting at Onion Valley, make first camp at Kearsarge Lakes the other side of Kearsarge Pass.

mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.76275,-118.37198&z=15&t=T&marker0=36.77302%2C-118.37673%2CKearsarge%20Pass%20CA

From here you can do a day hike to Rae Lakes - another popular loop from Kings Canyon. Next camp would be up as close as you can get to Forest Pass (13,200') perhaps at top of Vidette Meadows where the JMT/PCT go right and Center Basin to left. Along the way a side trip to Vidett Lakes is a good rest stop. Getting across Bubbs Creek might be an adventure tho. Unfortunately the best way over Forest (scenic wise) is north bound. Camp at Tyndall Creek somewhere. Your last day out will be up Tyndall and down Shepherd Pass to Symmes Creek.  That close to Mt Tyndall you might consider a walk up to the summit and back.

mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.70352,-118.33773&z=14&t=T&marker0=36.77302%2C-118.37673%2CKearsarge%20Pass%20CA
(Tyndall is lower right of map and Symmes in upper right)

This could be done clockwise, but the first day up to Anvil Camp is a bun buster and for the first few hours is dry. I prefer that route as Shepherd Pass is the express way to the High Sierra. You should plan time to stroll over past South America Lake (no reason to be there) and get up to look over Harrison Pass as a possible trip sometime.

There is a wizbang cross country (later summer) from Lake Colby over Longley Pass (sometimes an adventure early summer because of cornice) to Reflection Lake then over Harrison and out or down to Bubbs Creek and out.

East side again is a car shuttle from Horseshoe Meadows over Army Pass (Old Army is shorter/lower but easier to follow the second time) down Rock Creek to Crabtree Meadows, across Walker Creek to Tydall Creek. You can sometimes pickup Whitney from the 'back side' easier than winning a lottery ticket from the east.

mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.47996,-118.21019&z=13&t=T

speacock- Have you ever been to Amphitheater? From either Monarch or Crystal? That's been on my list for a long time,

Rae lakes Loop is accessible from the east from over Kearsarge Pass out of Onion Valley, pending issues of smoke effects maybe come in from that side instead?
www.recreation.gov/permits/Kearsarge_Pass_Jm31/r/entranceDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72203&entranceId=315513&permitTypeId=1009473456&entryType=1

There are open dates.

Inyo's Kearsarge webpage:

Onion Valley Campground has openings so you might be able to sleep at the TH.

One thing: you'd need a different Wilderness Permit, the trailhead quota is managed by Inyo national Forest.

IF we determine that Sawtooth Pass is manageable, my thought is to head north from Mineral King to the Black Rock Pass trail junction, east across Black Rock Pass to Little Five Lakes, wander in that area for several days, and then loop back ultimately past Columbine Lake and across Sawtooth Pass. Mike White's book says this loop is 26.5 miles, so a week-long trip should allow a good bit of wandering. Make any sense?

HSF lots of years ago my wife and I made it up to the saddle between Crystal and A. Lake. It looked more likely to get to the lake by heading north and enter the lake from the north. We didn't see a good direct route - but then it was raining by then. We got kicked off by a t-storm, and haven't had the energy to get back to Crystal

WOW! 150mph that is some photo show. Great pictures, glad you signed up. Can always use some excellent trip reports like The Great Western Divide.

Quailhiker

I knew somebody would come up with the picture of the lakes from near the top of Black Rock Pass. Look at 150mph's picture "Columbine Lake(top), Cyclamen Lake and Spring Lake, below massive sheer cliffs" I think that picture is speaks volumes about the Sierra. You are looking north to south. The map link I gave you up above just doesn't do that cirque with three hanging lakes justice. The high lake is Columbine. Note the scramble up a trail from lost canyon. Columbine seems almost like a basin of water flowing the wrong direction. The three lakes are almost like an axle pivot point for the trip you want to take there.

Thanks 150mph.