2015 Group Trip ?
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2014 12:05 am
Now in November even our few late season enthusiasts have put 2014 backpacking to sleep as each of us turn to whatever winter activities. Sunrise here in the SF Bay Area today was at 6:35 pst with sunset 5:06 PST or just 10 hours 30 minutes of daylight. Even if one has some interesting place to take a trip to in the winter season, the long long nights can gnaw at anyone's patience with today's night 13 hours 30 minutes. In this person's case, my last trip was about Labor Day and during September pretty much completed looking at plans for summer 2015 as is my usual habit. Oh I did try to get out for a fall leaf road trip but that never reached a threshold to pry me away from other activities.
In past years there have been suggestions for general membership group trips and this year that was up in the upper Kern Basin. There are a number of obvious reasons why such trips are difficult to bring together with good attendance. All of us backpack in the High Sierra, but live all across this large state. The Sierra is a long range with many of the best areas a very long drive especially for we urban folks. Most of us are m-f 8-5 or whatever regular working people with limited time off in this era often called PTO We may have complicated involved lives tied up with family, commitments, and schedules.
Those of we experienced backpackers often have rather specific interests when out in the backcountry with peakbagging, fishing, photography, and terrain exploring common. We have different physical capabilities with some carrying average weights, others minimalist weights, and a few really heavy packs, so that very much affects how far and the rate each of us usually hikes. There are also different trail styles with some pretty much hiking all day spending little time away from camps at destinations while others base camp reaching destinations and spending many hours even days there. And some of us already have multi year lists of places we want to visit so trying to fit in a group trip can get in the way of those plans. Thus trying to come up with trips that have general appeal to many members and are then actually well attended is something difficult to size up. So the purpose of this thread is for members to make some community input on their thoughts about what when where how to make that happen.
My first input would be that people are more likely to attend if the length of a trip is not too short or not too long, not just a weekend trip but not a week long trip. Weekend trips are fine if one lives close to the Sierra, but for the many working in the land of jobs, too much road travel for little time in the backcountry. So that means something like 4 to 5 days around a weekend. If a quota trail, probably starting on a Thursday or Friday so open spots are likely. And instead of a single group wilderness permit, better for each person or small group of persons to get individual permits as otherwise linking up at trailheads and to and from travel become complicated. That also allows flexibility and freedom in the backcountry to link up and participate as much or as little as desired. Four or five days also means better to have a destination a single day's hike in from and back out to a trailhead versus two days in and out. Otherwise there would be little time for a group meetup since as noted above, staying together on the hike is not a practical goal for larger diffuse groups. Unfortunately that eliminates many of the best destinations in the range however there are still a few fine destinations just a day in and out.
A destination basin with multiple lakes, at least some with decent interesting fishing would work better. There would need to be some interesting places to hike to and to peak bag. And it would need to be reasonably scenic. A destination like the Cottonwood Lakes fits those requirements but is way too far a drive for those living in the northern part of the state. In fact the Eastern Sierra beyond an hour's drive from Lee Vining is simply too far. Generally areas on the western slopes of the southern Sierra are probably most central to all parts of the state.
One place that fits all the above about mid July would be the Graveyard Lakes basin out of TE Edison Reservoir. Another would be East Lake out of Green Creek. Also Hilton Lakes up Rock Creek. Several of the Ritter Range destinations would work except that permits become a serious issue at the time of summer it would be worthwhile.
In past years there have been suggestions for general membership group trips and this year that was up in the upper Kern Basin. There are a number of obvious reasons why such trips are difficult to bring together with good attendance. All of us backpack in the High Sierra, but live all across this large state. The Sierra is a long range with many of the best areas a very long drive especially for we urban folks. Most of us are m-f 8-5 or whatever regular working people with limited time off in this era often called PTO We may have complicated involved lives tied up with family, commitments, and schedules.
Those of we experienced backpackers often have rather specific interests when out in the backcountry with peakbagging, fishing, photography, and terrain exploring common. We have different physical capabilities with some carrying average weights, others minimalist weights, and a few really heavy packs, so that very much affects how far and the rate each of us usually hikes. There are also different trail styles with some pretty much hiking all day spending little time away from camps at destinations while others base camp reaching destinations and spending many hours even days there. And some of us already have multi year lists of places we want to visit so trying to fit in a group trip can get in the way of those plans. Thus trying to come up with trips that have general appeal to many members and are then actually well attended is something difficult to size up. So the purpose of this thread is for members to make some community input on their thoughts about what when where how to make that happen.
My first input would be that people are more likely to attend if the length of a trip is not too short or not too long, not just a weekend trip but not a week long trip. Weekend trips are fine if one lives close to the Sierra, but for the many working in the land of jobs, too much road travel for little time in the backcountry. So that means something like 4 to 5 days around a weekend. If a quota trail, probably starting on a Thursday or Friday so open spots are likely. And instead of a single group wilderness permit, better for each person or small group of persons to get individual permits as otherwise linking up at trailheads and to and from travel become complicated. That also allows flexibility and freedom in the backcountry to link up and participate as much or as little as desired. Four or five days also means better to have a destination a single day's hike in from and back out to a trailhead versus two days in and out. Otherwise there would be little time for a group meetup since as noted above, staying together on the hike is not a practical goal for larger diffuse groups. Unfortunately that eliminates many of the best destinations in the range however there are still a few fine destinations just a day in and out.
A destination basin with multiple lakes, at least some with decent interesting fishing would work better. There would need to be some interesting places to hike to and to peak bag. And it would need to be reasonably scenic. A destination like the Cottonwood Lakes fits those requirements but is way too far a drive for those living in the northern part of the state. In fact the Eastern Sierra beyond an hour's drive from Lee Vining is simply too far. Generally areas on the western slopes of the southern Sierra are probably most central to all parts of the state.
One place that fits all the above about mid July would be the Graveyard Lakes basin out of TE Edison Reservoir. Another would be East Lake out of Green Creek. Also Hilton Lakes up Rock Creek. Several of the Ritter Range destinations would work except that permits become a serious issue at the time of summer it would be worthwhile.