Winny, I think Paul has a good idea. Forget the named trails, there are trails that wander all over the Sierras, less traveled, less tromped, having nice unexpected camping spots. I like to just wander off trail myself and camp where ever it seems really cool. I have spent a lot of time between Sonora pass and Lake Tahoe. Its mostly in the 6500 to 8500 foot range, has lakes and water and for the most part is pretty underused. There's a lot of glaciated granite and then you get up to I80 and into the land of fire and ice where volcanoes poked through the glaciers. Its nice country, not as dry as down south, or as high. The really high country is mostly park and monument and you need permits and stuff. Well I guess you need permits everywhere and its hard to tell them that you're just gonna wander around, you can always claim to be lost, at least in the national forest they're not as uptight as in the parks like Kings Canyon..
Jim