California dreaming 🌞 Rae Lakes 🏕️ a gem in the Sierra’s

I have a permit for 6 to go to one of my favorite destinations along the John Muir Trail in California’s Sierra’s. This will be a difficult trip with 6500' of accumulated elevation gain (AEG) 🥵 and require a week of your time. This trip will be in the Inyo National Forest and Sequoia National Park which are west of Independence, CA. We’ll do 2 nights of camping at 9000’+ to get used to the thinner mountain air. Then 4 nights out on the trail and at higher elevations.

We’ll meet early on Friday 9/5 and make the long drive (10 hours) in one day 🏎️We’ll drive partially up the Sierra’s eastern side to Onion Valley and the TH where the trail up to Kearsarge Pass begins (9200'). We'll be ending our trip here so no need to shuttle cars. Here we’ll camp for two nights to get used to the higher elevation. On our full day at the campground I plan for us to day hike to nearby lakes to pass the time.

We’ll start our trip on Sunday with a climb up and over Kearsarge Pass (117000') which is 2500’ AEG from the TH. We'll then drop down to Kearsarge Lake (10600') where we will camp. This will be a 6 “ish” mile day with plenty of time left to explore around the lake.

The next day we’ll hike 6-7 miles up and over Glen Pass (12000') and down to Rae Lakes (10500'). I’ve spent a few days exploring these lakes and have a secluded campsite in mind. You’ll have to trust me on this one, it’s off trail to get to but nothing crazy 😜 We’ll spend two nights at Rae Lakes. On our down day I intend on hiking into the somewhat close by Sixty Lakes Basin. You can stay at Rae Lakes instead and chill if you'd like. You do need a permit to fish 🐟

We’ll pack up the next day, climb back up and over Glen Pass and camp at Kearsarge Lakes or at one of the lakes closer to Onion Valley. It’s about 13 miles from Rae Lakes to our vehicles. I once was forced into hiking out in one day and then riding all the way back to Phoenix. It was the worst drive I was ever in, I don't recommend it, it ruined the trip 😡 Instead we'll have somewhere between a 2-6 mile hike out on the last day before the drive back. If anyone is interested, I'm planning on a short two night backpack after this trip near Bishop. I just found out about a restored ghost town 👻 in a nearby mountain range. It's a 3000' hike up.

Things I forgot to mention:
*Due to the unpredictable fire season 🔥 this trip maybe cancelled last minute. If that happens we will do another trip but in Colorado.
* There's a fee 💰 for this trip to cover the permit and campground costs, it’s $110 divided by the number of participants. There will be other costs such as gas and a restaurant stop or two.
*Bear canisters 🧸 are required.
* I'll be wait listing everyone.
*This is a near end of season trip so the nights will be chilly 🥶 but it should be warm enough to go for mid day dips into the lakes.

I'm by no means a professional guide but have spent hundreds of nights out on backpacking trips. I don't do this for profit but instead for the satisfaction of bringing people together and creating new friendships. Most of the places I venture to are remote with help being many hours and sometimes days away. When you attend my trips you must realize that you are responsible for yourself and bad things can happen. I intend on using good judgement when leading but won't be with you at all times. In an event that something bad happens, I intend on giving help and our getting help as soon as its safely possible. I expect the same in return, I watch your back and you watch mine.