Suggestions Please :)

[alleyehave]

Me and a friend are looking for a short backpacking trip, two nights...with the peak as a destination...Pref. a loop but there and back would be okay, we've been looking at a tom-garrison and have some ideas but just wondering if anyone out there has some ideas. Also we would be going the end of June, what is weather like typically then? THanks a lot, and I apologize in advance if this is a common question :/

Nate

[Ken7]

The campground at Round Valley (or Tamarack) is convenient and has water. The hike from there to the peak is about 4 miles. You can make part of the hike a loop by going back to the tram from Round Valley on the 1.1 mile crossover trail that connects Round Valley with the Willow Creek Trail and taking the Willow Creek Trail back to the tram.

If you want a longer hike, you could start at Humber Park in Idyllwild, hike the Devil Slide Trail to Saddle Junction. From there you can make a loop that includes the peak by hiking the Willow Creek Trail towards Long Valley and then going to Round Valley for the night. I think you are likely to find water in Willow Creek on the way. After hiking to the peak you could go back to Round Valley for the night and hike out over Wellman's Divide, down to the PCT, back to Saddle Junction and down the Devil Slide Trail. Alternatively, instead of returning to Round Valley, you could head back towards Saddle Junction directly from the peak and camp in the federal wilderness. I don't know whether you will find water at the end of June going that way though. If you do find water before you get to Saddle Junction, you could stop and camp after you find the water.

Right now there is plenty of water in the creeks.

The weather is typically mild at the end of June. The day will probably be pleasantly warm in the sun and the night pleasantly cool. The humidity will probably be comfortably low, although sometimes by the end of June and in July and August, we do have humidity that can be be somewhat uncomfortable.

[Hikin_Jim]

If you take an extra half or full day, you can do a pretty nice "grand tour" type loop.
Day 1: Tram to peak, camp Little Round Valley
Day 2: Little Round Valley to Strawberry Jct to Saddle Jct, camp Laws Camp
Day 3: (half day if you get up early) Laws Camp to tram via Hidden Divide

This is just how I did it, and it worked well for me. You could also do it in reverse if your half day is going to be on the front end of your trip. The middle day is tougher because of how the trail is routed between Saddle Jct and Strawberrry Jct and because you have to climb up to LRV at approx. 10,000 ft.