Cross Country Route

[RoguePhotonic]

Rogue, if you get to Bubb's Creek and find the water too high to cross, it would be best to look for crossings upstream, not downstream, as the water flow will only increase as you move downstream.

True but only .2 of a mile up stream the landscape begins to climb steeply.

I'll probably go with the Milestone Pass route because it will cut a day of hiking out which I can use as a possible catch up day or break up miles even more. One thing about the Bubbs Creek crossing day is I am supposed to make the 14 mile trek from Lake Reflection to Roads end and if I find myself bushwhacking down Bubbs Creek it will just make the day that much longer.

[East Side Hiker]

I agree with slade's comment above about this being an informative exchange of comments. I'm amazed actually. Its going to be interesting to see what reports come in after summer.

[RoguePhotonic]

A piece of planning that perhaps those of you that have spent more time camping in Yosemite Valley can help me with is my plans at one point are to arrive in Yosemite Valley and spend 2 nights before continuing on. I know there are a couple backpackers camps but generally how often are they full? I can easily imagine myself strolling into Yosemite Valley in the after noon to find no open camp sites. What then? Lounge around and spend the night sprawled out on a park bench some where? Dispersal camp illegally into the forest? And if I did get a spot in a backpackers camp they only allow one night.

I suppose the only real issue is night one because what ever I do I can get up early and get a site.

[maverick]

Get to Camp 4 as early as possible, it's first come first serve, and you should get a site
especially on a week day.

[markskor]

Seems there is always room for 1 more in the Valley BP site (Stables) - anytime, but...
Wilderness permit and obvious backpacking gear are necessary, especially if trying to spend that second night.
Rangers usually will cut you some slack on the second stay overnight - (Buddy meeting me and he is running a day behind...bla bla bla?), but only if you have a permit, look the part, are amicable, and you do not abuse the system. FYI, I often see PCT'ers taking a zero day or two here, with no apparent consternation. Thus no 6-man, 2-story tents and no coolers.
Rangers daily do check closely.

[RoguePhotonic]

Well i'll certainly look the part as if I make it that far without problem I will have been on the trail for 2 months.

I'll probably stroll into the valley around noon or so mid week.

[Cross Country]

Mark wrote exactly what I wanted to write "Ya think?", and Mark and I have been over LOTS of cross country passes (he, more than I).

tom

[tim]

I just wanted to say thanks to Rogue for sticking with the board despite some of the concerns expressed over his plans earlier. I've really enjoyed his photos and just wish I could spend months each summer in the Sierra.

I remember doing some pretty ridiculous things in my 20s also, that I now look back on and think I must have been crazy (in particular the 2 week hike through a 13000ft mountain range in Turkey in the pre-GPS days, with only a 1:250K map drawn by the British Army in 1941 and thick fog 60% of the time - think US hikers now in Iran). In a way I'm glad there weren't message boards where people could have told me I was mad and dissuaded me from an amazing and unrepeatable experience.

Nevertheless, I'm sure the various pieces of advice and cautions are helpful - I too am now at an age where caution overtakes boldness/foolishness most (if not all) of the time, and it is great to learn of the challenges I and others might not have thought about from those with many years of experience in these beautiful mountains of ours. Its just that if someone had told me "no that's impossible", as opposed to "these are the difficulties, some of which you might not be able to overcome, so you might need to backtrack, re-route or whatever", then (especially at that age) it would have been easier to ignore their advice than to take it on board.

[RoguePhotonic]

I'm more then happy to keep posting even if people are hostile towards me. At least your overt about it and that's what's important. I left another hiking forum after learning I was about ready to get banned and that many of the people hated me when I had no idea anything was wrong at all.

In general I like talking about hiking because it's all I have in life that brings me any happiness to get back into the mountains and I only know two people in person that "sometimes" hike. One describes a view such as Glacier Point as being "nice but is just what ever". The other being my dad that rarely goes and is more annoying then good company on the trail.

As for my trip if I do make it through as planned I certainly will be experienced at cross country!

I spent some time today reviewing my route and analyzing the profiles of cross country days and other then some days with extreme altitude gain i'm fairly confident with what I have planned.

This is the final plan:

SJune 26 - 1 - Grasshopper Flat
MJune 27 - 2 - Rifle Creek
TJune 28 - 3 - Aspine Flat
WJune 29 - 4 - Monarch Creek
TJune 30 - 5 - Kaweah River
FJuly 1 - 6 - Moose Lake
SJuly 2 - 7 - Emerald Lake
SJuly 3 - 8 - Lodgepole
MJuly 4 - 9 - Bear Paw
TJuly 5 - 10 - Lonely Lake
WJuly 6 - 11 - Layover
TJuly 7 - 12 - Colby Lake
FJuly 8 - 13 - Lake 10,760
SJuly 9 - 14 - Lake Reflection
SJuly 10 - 15 - Cross Creek
MJuly 11 - 16 - Roads End
TJuly 12 - 17 - Cross Creek
WJuly 13 - 18 - Charlotte Lake
TJuly 14 - 19 - Lake 9560
FJuly 15 - 20 - Gardiner Lakes
SJuly 16 - 21 - Dragon Lake
SJuly 17 - 22 - Layover
MJuly 18 - 23 - Arrow Creek
TJuly 19 - 24 - Cedar Grove
WJuly 20 - 25 - Middle Fork
TJuly 21 - 26 - Middle Fork Kings River
FJuly 22 - 27 - Tehipite Valley
SJuly 23 - 28 - Layover
SJuly 24 - 29 - Simpson Meadow
MJuly 25 - 30 - Lake 9702
TJuly 26 - 31 - East Kennedy Lake
WJuly 27 - 32 - Cedar Grove
TJuly 28 - 33 - Granite Creek
FJuly 29 - 34 - Small Lakes 11160
SJuly 30 - 35 - Marion Lake
SJuly 31 - 36 - Amphitheater Lake
MAugust 1 - 37 - Below Potluck Pass
TAugust 2 - 38 - Bishop Lake
WAugust 3 - 39 - Parchers Rainbow Village
TAugust 4 - 40 - Leconte Canyon
FAugust 5 - 41 - Muir Hut
SAugust 6 - 42 - Lake 11910
SAugust 7 - 43 - Layover
MAugust 8 - 44 - Merriam Lake
TAugust 9 - 45 - Lake Italy
WAugust 10 - 46 - Mono Creek
TAugust 11 - 47 - VVR
FAugust 12 - 48 - Cotton Lake
SAugust 13 - 49 - Minnow Creek
SAugust 13 - 50 - Iva Bell Hotsprings
MAugust 14 - 51 - Layover
TAugust 15 - 52 - Reds Meadow
WAugust 16 - 53 - Cecille Lake
TAugust 17 - 54 - Lake Catherine
FAugust 18 - 55 - Harriet Lake
SAugust 19 - 56 - Red Devil Lake
SAugust 20 - 57 - Lower Ottoway Lake
MAugust 21 - 58 - Illilouette Creek
TAugust 22 - 59 - Yosemite Valley
WAugust 23 - 60 - Layover
TAugust 24 - 61 - Near Tenaya Lake
FAugust 25 - 62 - Tuolumne Meadows
SAugust 26 - 63 - North of Green Treble Lakes
SAugust 27 - 64 - Small Lakes above Return Lake
MAugust 28 - 65 - Twin Lakes
TAugust 29 - 66 - Kerrick Meadow
WAugust 30 - 67 - Benson Lake
TAugust 31 - 68 - Layover
FSeptember 1 - 69 - Return Creek
SSeptember 2 - 70 - Tuolumne Meadows
SSeptember 3 - 71 - Echo Lake
MSeptember 4 - 72 - Clouds Rest
TSeptember 5 - 73 - Babcock Lake
WSeptember 6 - 74 - Tuolumne Meadows
TSeptember 7 - 75 - Below Donohue Pass
FSeptember 8 - 76 - Reds Meadow
SSeptember 9 - 77 - Layover
SSeptember 10 - 78 - Purple Lake
MSeptember 11 - 79 - VVR
TSeptember 12 - 80 - Sallie Keyes Lakes
WSeptember 13 - 81 - South Fork San Joaquin
TSeptember 14 - 82 - Martha Lake
FSeptember 15 - 83 - Lake 9840
SSeptember 16 - 84 - Cartridge Creek
SSeptember 17 - 85 - Marion Lake
MSeptember 18 - 86 - Muro Blanco
TSeptember 19 - 87 - Paradise Valley
WSeptember 20 - 88 - Cedar Grove
TSeptember 21 - 89 - Roaring River
FSeptember 22 - 90 - Tamarack Lake
SSeptember 23 - 91 - Soda Creek
SSeptember 24 - 92 - Columbine Lake
MSeptember 25 - 93 - Mineral King
TSeptember 26 - 94 - Forester Lake
WSeptember 27 - 95 - Little Five Lakes
TSeptember 28 - 96 - Mineral King

The changes are:

Will take Milestone Pass after Colby to the Upper Kern Trail.

I decided instead of crossing Frozen Lake Pass then Upper Basin Crossing it would be a nicer route to take Dumbbell and then Cataract Creek Pass.

On the return trip South I changed the miles and days up to make the bushwhacking a more realistic goal to get down to the Middle Fork of the Kings.

I decided to take the crazy bushwhacking route and go up Cartridge Creek but instead of Cartridge Pass which is more heavily traveled i'll take Pete's Col and then down through the Muro Blanco. I figure if I make it that far I will have been on the trail for over 80 days, probably 45 pounds lighter in body weight, in great shape and done more than enough cross country to want to take on some mean bushwhacking.

The last note in general is that this is only my planned route. If I reach it's end and am in good shape and the weather isn't turning on me yet and I still have the money to keep going then I will just keep hiking.

[whrdafamI?]

Removed after re-evaluation of contents.............