High Sierra Topix

Thanks again for all the great advice. I like the day hike idea near major trails. I'm going to try that. I'll report back.

As my trip report was mentioned, I figured I should chime in although I am just echoing the comments.

I would definitely not advise Haeckel as an intro pass. In fact, I told an experienced backpacker friend that this was not a good trip for him to join in due to his lack of high Sierra, off-trail experience. It is important for my partners to feel comfortable owning their own safety and exposure limits esp. due to the required micro-navigation.

Even with many years of cross-country experience, I would likely never take this route solo due to the risks involved if something went wrong (at least without a PLB/SPOT). As with many of these routes, it could be a very long time before someone wanders by. Some passes (such as Lamarck) get a bit of traffic, but many do not. In addition, a person could easily walk within a couple hundred feet and never see you (even if you are yelling).

If you like this area and want to do some cross-country, there are many routes to navigate as day hikes or sections as suggested.

A bit off topic but Lamarck Col gets more traffic than you might expect. One of the unfortunate consequences of the quota system is that when the Bishop Pass and Piute Pass quotas fill, many of the remaining people are "pushed" onto the Lamarck quota until it is filled. Some of these people don't have the experience for even an easy pass like this.

Thanks Snowblind. I plan on heeding the advice given by you and the others to try short and easy day hikes proximate to main trails to start with.

One more question. Several of you have mentioned never going solo and/or joining with someone with cross-country experience who could help me learn. I don't have any friends with cross-country experience. Short of hiring a guide (which I'm not necessarily unwilling to do), any suggestions on how I might find hiking partners. I'm a little wary of going into the wilderness with anyone I don't know well, and I suspect that anyone with experience would not want to take the responsibility for helping a beginner through potentially dangerous terrain. I checked the board index and didn't see any areas devoted to finding hiking partners. Everyone here had to start someplace. I'd be interested in hearing how some of you gained your experience.

rrrice wrote:
I checked the board index and didn't see any areas devoted to finding hiking
partners. Everyone here had to start someplace. I'd be interested in hearing
how some of you gained your experience.

HST Meetup in Wallace Basin would be a great place to gain some experience.
Not only can you gain some xcountry experience on this trip, but also meet some
members in person with who you may be able to hook up with for some great trips
in the future.
Otherwise check out some local hiking clubs, or possibly go on some Sierra Club
outings.

I operate two meetup groups. While I do not teach or coach or allow people who do not have the experience for a particular trip to go, it is an opportunity to meet other hikers of similar or more experienced levels and to pick up some of these skills by going on intermediate or easy trips.

odds are pretty good that if you're not in the area my groups tend to cover, there are hiking meet up groups close to you that do similar things.


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