Re: Anyone done the River Trail to Thousand Island Lake in a day?

Just curious how doable this hike is in a single day? I've seen lots of hikers do it and camp out there, and I've done Ediza lake in a single day (15 miles round trip as opposed to 18 on this trail) but I just wanted to hear any experiences before I attempt this. Any advice helps!

I haven't gone there and back in a day, no, only camped there. But on different trips I've hiked to Ediza, hiked to Thousand Island on the High Trail, taken the JMT between Garnet and Thousand Island, and hiked almost the entire River Trail in two different chunks. I'd say that if you could do the Ediza 15-mile round trip, you could do this 18-mile one. There are long stretches of the River Trail that are quite easy and cruisey.

I've done it in a day. Started at red meadow at 630, followed river trail to 1000 Island lake. We then headed to garnet lake and shadow lake before dropping back down to river. Back by 530 with lots of relaxing along the way. Spectacular hike!