Hello All!
I am planning a backpacking trip with a group of between 5 and 10 people from June 3rd to June 11th, 2017. We have a mix of highly experienced outdoorsmen and some very inexperienced party members. For this reason, I am thinking that our best bet is to find a secluded lake that is about a half day/full day hike from a given trailhead and set up a main/permanent camp there.
This will allow the more experienced members of the party to venture out and take day or multi-night trips, while the less experienced members can just chill at the main camp, and take trips at their leisure. It is important that the inexperienced members have the ability to easily hike out at any time if they find that living in the outdoors for a week or more is too much to handle.
A little background regarding my experience: I did a 55 mile loop around the Clark Range in 2012 (Mono Meadows > Merced Peak > Red Peak > Post Peak > Fernandez Pass > Mono Meadows) over the span of 5 nights and 6 days. I am fully aware of the need for bear canisters and freeze dried food, proper storage of food at night, need for planning out water sources, extreme elevation gain when hiking out into the backcountry, the fact that there are no creature comforts and multiple "annoyances" (mosquitos, etc), and the fact that a lack of hiking/backpacking experience will be rough for newbies.
That being said, here is what I am looking for in terms of the main campsite:
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~ Within Yosemite, a four to eight hour hike from whichever trailhead we start at
~ Trailhead does not necessarily need to start in Yosemite Valley or Tuolumne, since we want a backcountry spot, away from populated trails and popular areas
~ Potentially on a route that allows horses/pack mules if some of the less experienced members don't want to schlep their own gear or hike in
~ A lake that is secluded (i.e. it's ok if there are other campers at the lake, but I would prefer that it not be on a main thoroughfare and that it not be a lake frequented by a lot of people)
~ A lake that we can catch fish in
~ A location that offers access to some good circuits for day or multi-night trips
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Any suggestions that you may be able to provide would help our team greatly in planning this trip so that all levels of backpackers can have a great time.
Thank you very much!