by Phil » Wed May 08, 2019 6:18 am
You have 5 days, and that's a 3 day hike. Does that mean you can take a leisurely pace? You also didn't say when you're going. That can mean a lot on site availability. That's a heavily impacted trail, but weekdays are always better, and water availability gives you more choices of where to camp.
Your first night can be Upper Cathedral Lake. You can poke around on the north side of the lake and find lots of sites there, or you can go over to the south side and back a bit, or you can resign yourself to walk to the water a little more and find something up in the rocks to the east (left side of main trail before you do that last stretch up to the pass). Also, as Balzaccom mentions, head up to Echo Lake.
Again dependent on when you go, that creek past the HSC doesn't flow too far into the summer. Earlier on, count on it. Don't later. That's also where people that want to avoid the HSC are headed. Some sites, but not a lot. The tap at Sunrise is also there only to serve the camp's needs. No opening, and I doubt they'll turn on the water because they chlorinate it. Tastes lousy, but wet is wet. If it's early enough, you can also grab water at Long Meadow Creek, but you're really not allowed to camp there because of HSC proximity.
Yeah, those sites down by the JMTxCR junction get packed. We all know why. If you can time it to where you get there earlier in the day, so much the better for finding something decent, but lots of other people lock them in and use them as base camps for day hiking to the dome and back.
So you indicated that you know the area somewhat. When you descend Sunrise Mountain and come off the rocky switchbacks down to where Sunrise Creek begins and is actually just a seep, sites start in there, both creekside and up above to the left of the trail. Poke around. Where to start looking is where you make the first hop over the creek itself. There are some sites hidden pretty well that'll take some effort to find, but they're there. That area burned, and I haven't been there since. Nice area if it's not torched, and it's primarily outside the area where most people think to stop for the night. It'll be more JMT hikers than HD folks, so the impact will be less.
Again, the second area you mention it that junction for Merced LakexJMTxForsyth Trail. Yeah, there are sites in there, both creekside and just off the JMT in all directions. It doesn't necessarily put you in great position for a day hike of HD, but it is a good alternative.
I guess the final alternative is to go up CR and head out cross country...if those upper creekelets still have some flow. Lots of sites up there, and the terrain and proximity to the dome, along with an earlier start, will put you hours ahead of most other people for the que up the cables.