High Sierra Topix

WOW!! That is an itinerary. Have Fun and Stay Safe.

I enjoyed reading your TR from last summer. Have a great journey!

Hey people. Sitting at lodegepole trying to type on this damn thing.

Been hard starting being out of shape but getting along.

Went six days without seeing anyone around mineral king. Got caught in blizzard conditions at amphitheater lake and i judged it to bee too dangerous to cross crystal pass at the time so i went dowm soda creek instead. Also since the laks in kaweah basin are going to be still frozen i decided to do my two week out and back to mt russell and then go to kaweah basin. I am also going to summit kaweah queen and red kaweah. Red is callimg to me and i must get to the top!

There is so little snow i took the chance and sent my ice axe home so hopefully i wont need it.

So far nothing but one or two mosquitoes.

Ill post again in two weeks.

Glad to hear you are OK. Good luck on your next leg of the journey. Isn't the low snow amazing. I fear for forest fires later in the season. Hope you survive civilization without going crazy. I bet you cannot wait to get out in the mountains again.

Back at lodgepole again. Completed section two as planned. Climbed mt. Russell and returned by the six cross country passes as planned. Although crossing cloud canyon and going up to copper mine pass was one of the worst things i have done out here. It was thigh deep post holing and i had to crawl on my knees. As a result i m not going back that way as i move north. Its just impossible. I will probably go out to roaring river and then on to my route.

Getting in better shape a i go for sure. I was going to do the kaweah basin trek next but if i do i will be as much as five days behind schedule. As it is a am five days ahead. I will have to just save that trek for another day.

Saved a baby deers life today so that was nice. Ill have to tell that story another time though.

Ill be here the next two days so i will check back.

And yea the lack of snow is crazy!

Thanks for the update Rogue, good to read that your doing well.

As always, it's a pleasure to (hear) from you and of course I'm looking forward to your report of that special lake.

Hey Rogue- Mt Russell is a good climb - we have to make a rock climber out of you! A lot of experienced climbers hesitate on Mt. Russell. I have been in that basin at the head of Deadman Canyon in early season- and it IS snowy - paid my dues with plenty of post-holing. Give us a good update on mosquitoes.

Yeah mt. Russell was fun and beautiful. I eacaped with only a bashed right knee, two big gashes in my left leg, a bashed and gashed left arm and a gashed right wrist. Other then that it was fine lol.

As for mosquitoes they have been very mild. I have yet yo camp where they were bad enough for deet or even putting on my head net. They have only been bad in meadow areas while i passed through.

Met lots of great people already. Ran into yogi at junction meadow. He is out for 120 days so i still have him beat lol.

Pants pass was allot of fun riding that scree down. Even when twice the whole hill side began to go on me both above and below. I had to run across to get out of the way or be taken with it.

Other then cold it has been nice weather. Only snow one day and a tiny bit of rain on another.

GO ROGUE!!