I'm planning on doing it in 3 nights in a few weeks. Actually 4 if I count the first night just getting up to N Lake, shuttling my car to S Lake, and making it to the the upper Larmarck lake (2.5 miles) by late afternoon:
D1: Larmarck - Wanda 12 miles, 8-9 hrs @ 1.4-5 miles per hour
D2: Wanda - LeConte, 11 miles, 6-7 hrs @ 1.7 mph
D3: Dusy - S Lake, 13 miles, 7-8 hrs @ 1.7-8 mph
On all my trips, I carefully track my time (mileage is already plotted on maps), not just for the day, but for each particular section. After building up a pretty good reference base for all kinds of x-c terrain & tails, I have a pretty good idea of what it takes for me to get somewhere.
For instance, my estimated D1 avg of 1.4-5 mph is actually composed of two sections:
Lamarck @ .85 mph
Evo - Wanda lake @ 1.8 mph
These time estimates are actually all padded - in reality, I generally keep going, oftentimes walking 20 miles on the last day to just get out.
south lake north lake loop question
- Hobbes
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- Wandering Daisy
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Re: south lake north lake loop question
I have a spreadsheet that calculates estimated travel time given miles, elevation gain, and my own personal travel rate, based on previous experience with trail, off-trail, etc. I know it sounds kind of geeky, but it does answer the question of how feasible a proposed route is. I too "pad" my rate - would rather overestimate the difficulty than underestimate and get stranded. For everyone with a spreadsheet software and especially if you have a map program that easily does profiles, this is something you can easily do. In order to refine my personal travel rates, when I return from a trip, I then adjust the travel rate to match the actual time it took me for each segment of the trip. Over time you get a really good idea of how far you can go. In fact, for shorter trips, I often can skip the actual calculations.
As I get older, I find that daylight hours usually exceed my energy! So I no longer can "plan" a 12 hour day. My old body just does not do this very well anymore. If I want to enjoy a trip I plan to stop at 3-4 in the afternoon so I can explore without my pack on, wash up and photograph in the good late afternoon light. (I am an early riser so can easily get on the trail by 7-8AM).
As I get older, I find that daylight hours usually exceed my energy! So I no longer can "plan" a 12 hour day. My old body just does not do this very well anymore. If I want to enjoy a trip I plan to stop at 3-4 in the afternoon so I can explore without my pack on, wash up and photograph in the good late afternoon light. (I am an early riser so can easily get on the trail by 7-8AM).
- Hobbes
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Re: south lake north lake loop question
LOL - we should exchange spreadsheets. Mine also have elevations, gain/loss, etc, broken down & subtotaled by day and detailed individual sections. Like you said, if you're really honest with yourself & conservatively pad it on the down side, you can be fairly confident of what you can accomplish and where you should be at the end of the day.Wandering Daisy wrote:I have a spreadsheet that calculates estimated travel time given miles, elevation gain, and my own personal travel rate, based on previous experience with trail, off-trail, etc. )
It's funny when you see/say something like walking out 20 miles on the last day, but it really is true for certain trails. A great case in point is heading north over Donahue with a planned stop by the bridge. If you've already done 10-11 miles, and for some reason blew over the pass and find yourself sitting there @ 2-3pm, the idea of humping it quickly to TM becomes pretty alluring. Easy slight downgrade, maybe get up to 3mph, and you could find yourself back in civilization in under 4 hours.
Shepherd also falls in this category, as does Cottonwood (pass) from Rock Crk: 10-12 miles of down/flat/semi-grade trail with visions of car, food & shower @ the LP hostel beckoning you forward. Even if you roll in around 8-9pm, it's all gravy when you turn the engine over.
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