Backpacking in Humphrey's Basin and French Canyon, California

The Trip

Hiking in the Humphreys Basin is the experience of a lifetime. This trip is designed for hikers who want to combine the pleasure and satisfaction of hiking a spectacular route with possibilities for exploring or simply “being there” along the way. Our eight-day hiking journey will include two planned layover days to savor the spectacular surroundings.

We begin by hiking to Piute Pass, our gateway to the vast and convoluted Humphreys Basin. Over several days, we will hike past tranquil alpine lakes in this high, barren country, all the while enjoying vistas of Mt. Humphreys and the Glacier Divide. We will leave Humphrey Basin and head on-trail through French Canyon where Merriam and Royce lakes await us.  We will have two layover days with opportunities to explore, relax, and swim. We end our shuttle trip by hiking over Pine Creek Pass and to the trailhead.

This trip is planned strategically to bring us to wonderful locations and maximize our time for taking photos. Participants who are up for it can enjoy taking some spectacular photos early morning to capture Sierra alpenglow and late nights for starry skies.

Many of our campsites will be at or above 11,000 feet. Given the elevation and extra weight of some camera equipment, good conditioning, excellent balance, and a patient, tolerant attitude are required for the trip.

The lands that we will travel through have been inhabited for over ten thousand years by the Paiute (Nuumu), Shoshone (Newe), and Timbisha peoples. These lands are called Payahuunadu and Panawe by the Nuumu and Newe peoples, respectively. This land acknowledgment is a recognition of the original inhabitants of the Eastern Sierra and is intended as a show of respect for Native peoples.

Our hiking schedule is not rigid. How far we get each day and where we camp depends on the weather, how we feel, and other factors outside of our control. Flexibility is important, and the itinerary described here should be taken as a general plan and there could be changes to the route.  Being prepared for and embracing unpredictable conditions will enhance your enjoyment of this trip.

Day 1: We will meet at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 24th at a group campsite in the Bishop Creek area. We will have this site reserved so that we can meet and begin to acclimatize to the altitude. The first thing we will do is shuttle cars to our exit trailhead at Pine Creek. Following the car shuttle we will do introductions, check/weigh packs, divide up the group commissary, and take care of any last-minute details. Dinner will be provided this evening.

Days 2-5: After our first provided breakfast, we will drop off our resupply at the packer station. Our hike starts at the Piute trailhead (9,400 feet). We'll ascend, first through aspens then lodgepole pines, to enter an open glaciated canyon. We will plan to cross over Piute Pass (11,000 feet) and into Humphreys Basin, where we will spend the next 4 days. This will be a hard day since we will still be acclimatizing to the elevation while carry heavy backpacks. It is approximately 5 miles and a 2,300-foot ascent to Piute Pass.

Our campsites will be dictated by weather conditions and photographic opportunities. We plan to have 2-3 different campsites during our visit to the basin, with hiking distances varying from 3 to 4 miles, ascents between 200 and 700 feet, and some amount of cross-country travel. One of our four days in Humphreys Basin will include a planned layover day, and we will receive a well appreciated resupply during this section of our trip.

Days 6-7: We will depart Humphreys Basin via a short cross-country route to the trail that will take us to Hutchinson Meadow. After crossing multiple streams, we will turn onto the French Canyon trail. We will make a steep ascent to the outlet of Merriam Lake and plan to camp at that lake for the next 2 nights. Our time will be spent here enjoying the beautiful diversity the area offers, including granite basins, stream fed meadows, and high peaks including Feather (13,240 ft) and Merriam (13,100 ft) peaks. (Hike to Merriam Lake - 8 miles, 2,000 feet of elevation gain, campsite elevation: 10,800 feet)

Day 8: We will depart and descend from Merriam Lake, and after some brisk morning stream crossings we will continue to hike up French Canyon until we get to Pine Creek Pass. From the pass we will climb westward off-trail over gentle terrain to enter Royce Lakes Basin, where we will make our final camp, enjoy the play of light on the face of Merriam Peak, and, skies permitting, be treated to a wonderful star-filled sky. (4.5 miles, 1,800 feet of elevation gain, campsite elevation: 11,700 feet)

Day 9: On this final day of our adventure, we will enjoy a short stroll past the largest of the Royce Lakes and descend two miles off-trail out of the lake basin to meet the Pine Creek trail near Honeymoon Lake. From Honeymoon Lake we will hike 6.4 miles on-trail and descend over 3,000 feet to the vehicles we left parked at the Pine Creek trailhead.

Getting There

Our trip begins on Saturday at a campground near Bishop, California on the eastern side of the High Sierra. We finish our trip at the Pine Creek trailhead, 25 miles from the campground where we will meet.

Bishop is on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, about 200 miles from Reno, 265 miles from either Las Vegas or Los Angeles, and 300 miles from San Francisco. Trip members arriving from other parts of the country should explore the option of flying to one of these major cities and sharing a rental car or arranging a ride. Eastern Sierra Transit offers bus service from the airport in Reno, NV to Bishop, CA.

Please do not make travel arrangements until the leader has confirmed you as a trip member. We also recommend that you do not plan to fly on the last day of the trip as we cannot guarantee completing the trip at a specific time

Accommodations and Food

We will meet at a campground near the North Lake trailhead, where we will have introductions and review personal gear. Dinner will be provided.

All meals and snacks will be provided beginning with breakfast at the campground on the second day through lunch on the final day. We will offer a variety of nutritious, easy-to-prepare meals. Vegetarians can be easily accommodated, but other dietary restrictions should be reviewed with the trip leader prior to signing up. Since all food must fit into bear canisters, we ask that participants not bring their own food.

Participants will be responsible for bringing their own toilet paper, personal first-aid kit, and method of water purification (chlorine tablets, filter, steri-pen, etc.).

Cooking and clean-up duties will be shared by all participants on a pre-assigned basis.

Trip Difficulty

The trip is rated 4 on a scale of 1-5 where 1 denotes the least difficult and 5 the most difficult. The trip is intended for experienced backpackers who are comfortable carrying weighted packs at high altitudes over rough terrain. We will hike between 5 and 8 miles per day and sometimes elevations will exceed 11,000 feet. Possible snow-pack through the passes and high water levels at stream crossings can add significantly to the physical demands of the trip. 

Participants must have the ability (demonstrated by previous experience) to hike at high altitude with a fully loaded backpack. In addition to your personal equipment, you will be expected to carry between 10- 12 pounds of group gear and food. It is essential that all participants maintain a year-round exercise routine and commit to a pre-trip training program starting well in advance that includes carrying a loaded pack on mountain trails for distances up to 7 miles. Because of the altitude, the leader strongly recommends that you spend at least two nights at altitude prior to the first hiking day to help you acclimatize. One of those nights will be at our campground near North Lake. The leader can give you advice on how to prepare for this adventure, so that you and others can fully enjoy it.

While we may arrive on this journey as individuals, we are a team during the hike in the wilderness. This requires all participants to be mentally and physically prepared for the demands of backpacking. Flexibility is essential and is a requirement for this trip.

Equipment and Clothing

In addition to food, the Sierra Club will also provide cooking gear (stove, fuel, lightweight pots, and pans), an emergency first-aid kit, a tarp, and bear-proof canisters for storing food and toiletries. You are responsible for providing and carrying your own camping gear, clothing, toilet paper, personal first aid kit, and water purification method. Because you will be carrying up to 12 pounds of commissary gear and food, it is essential that your personal equipment weigh as little as possible for a total (before group gear) of 25 pounds or less.

If you do not have a lightweight pack, tent, and sleeping bag suitable for high altitudes, you should consider purchasing new equipment. The leader can give you advice about suitable gear, and stores such as REI provide details about many lightweight options even if you choose to purchase or rent equipment elsewhere.

A recommended packing list will be provided to participants. For more information, please refer to: http://www.knapsack.org/basic_equipment.html.

References

Please plan on bringing your own map(s) and compass. Not only is this a matter of safety, but you will have a better appreciation of where we are going and where we have been. 

Maps:

• USGS 7.5-minute quadrangles, entitled: Mt. Tom, Mt. Darwin, and Mt. Hilgard.
• Mono Divide High Country Map published by Tom Harrison Maps (www.tomharrisonmaps.com)
• The two-sheet map set for the John Muir Wilderness and Sequoia/Kings Canyon Wilderness published by the U.S. Forest Service

Books:

• Secor, R.J., The High Sierra, Peaks, Passes, and Trails. Published by The Mountaineers. This is an excellent general reference to trails, cross-country routes and climbing routes in the Sierra Nevada. 
• Roper, Steve, Sierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country. Published by The Mountaineers. 
• Laws, John Muir, The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada. Published by Heyday Books. This is an excellent field guide to the plants and wildlife of the area.

Conservation

The Sierra Club is an environmentally focused entity. We are concerned about conservation and sustainability of resources, both locally and globally. Our work is accomplished by volunteers and aided by a salaried staff, encouraging grassroots involvement. Our outings seek to empower participants toward greater understanding of, advocacy for, and participation in the goals of the Club.

The magnificent wild lands of the Eastern Sierra are home to over 35% of California’s native species, 200 endemic plants and unique animals, and some of the most spectacular scenery and recreational opportunities in the world. Upwards of 90% of the land in the Eastern Sierra is public land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management or National Park Service (Dept. of Interior), or the U.S. Forest Service (Dept. of Agriculture). We will enter the John Muir Wilderness Area in the Inyo National Forest on the first morning and hike in it until we descend on the last day, when we cross an in-holding for an operating tungsten mine. Although much of the high and mountainous portion of the Eastern Sierra, such as the region we visit on our trip, has been designated as Wilderness, the vast majority of these Eastern Sierra public lands still do not have Wilderness designation. This land where the desert meets the mountains deserves diligent protection.

Although we seek to minimize human impact on the wilderness, clearly we do have an effect on the environment. Using the principles of Leave No Trace, our trip provides a good opportunity in microcosm to consider our own impact on the land. See the Leave No Trace principles here.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.