Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself =)

If you've been searching for the best source of information and stimulating discussion related to Spring/Summer/Fall backpacking, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada...look no further!
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js hill
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by js hill »

Hello there. I have posted a few questions on HST but haven't shared a trip I've been on. I started backpacking in the Sierra in 1971 and have been hooked ever since. My early equipment was sturdy but heavy. I think my unloaded pack weighed 5 lbs. and my pair of indestructible hiking boots was well over 3.5 lbs. But who cared because 50 lb. plus loads were not out of the ordinary. Now at 63 years of age, I count every ounce and my wife and I are able to go for up to 10 days carrying under 30 lbs. In a couple of weeks we are going to hike up to Mt. Whitney. Our other planned hike this summer is to finish the JMT. The last leg of the trail we have to complete is from Reds Meadow to Yosemite Valley. We may not be able to do this until late August and I am concerned about the water availability this year. HST has been a wonderful resource for me. The vast amount of info I have taken in from this forum has been incredibly valuable. I promise to post a trip this year. p.s. is there a thread for old timers to share what it was like in the "golden age" of backpacking? Thanks, js hill
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maverick
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by maverick »

Going back over your previous posts I see you haven't been welcomed to HST.
Welcome to HST! :) Looking forward to reading about your adventure on the
JMT.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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JosiahSpurr
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by JosiahSpurr »

Hey Exodus!

And anyone else, but especially Exodus for the FISH: Want to try for lakes near Mt. Williamson in eastern Sierra? Crazy about the ES, like Lubken Creek, Carroll Ck, Diak Ck, Tuttle Ck... the unique reason to go to the Williamson lakes is it has some special fish. My days off are Thursdays and Fridays June-Dec 2013 and would rather hike with someone than do the usual solo. This summer starting SOON! You can write email to yahoo dot com using this id. It will probably take 2 or 3... attempts to get to the fishing spots off-trail. Cheers ROBERT CYMBALA
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old and slow
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by old and slow »

Hello all,

another lurker finally stepping out of the shadows....just want to say how much I enjoy the forum; it is entertaining, informational, inspiring and just a whole lot of fun! I came to backpacking late, my first trip came at age 57, five years ago. I had done lot of day hikes and some car camping but got the backpacking bug from my son (rather than the other way around as would seem to be the norm). I have mainly done a couple of short (2-3 nights) trips a year e.g. Henry Coe, Big Sur, Point Reyes, Yosemite. I have two trips planned for later this summer to Yosemite to Young Lakes and Mono Pass/Parker Pass. However, from all I am learning on the HST forum I am already preparing for longer trips to the Southern Sierra in 2014. So, thanks again to the entire HST community for the great information and inspiration.

Chris
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maverick
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by maverick »

Hi Chris,

Welcome to HST!
You'll really enjoy Parker Pass and the Young Lakes. We all here are looking forward
to reading your TR's when you get back from these wonderful adventures.
TR's of Henry Coe, Big Sur (Ventana), and Point Reyes are all welcome to be posted in
the "Beyond the Sierra Nevada" section at the bottom of the forum page, no matter how
old. :)
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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sashe
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by sashe »

Hello! Longtime lurker and very infrequent poster. I've had Maverick help me out with some info years ago in the Lion Lake Pass area, and finally getting around doing a loop from Crescent Meadow, up Elizabeth Pass, along the ridge line to Coppermine Pass, down Cloud Canyon, over Colby Pass, Kern River, Moraine Lake, over Keweah Col, then home.

Its great to hear peeps trip reports, and I should repay the website with one from this trip. BTW my name is Steve, and I'm from Sacramento.
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Kris
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by Kris »

Hello All! My name is Kris. I'm a bonafide lurker here from time to time. :paranoid: My most sincerest apologies. I get out multiple times a season but have never contributed a TR. And yes I have gleaned some fishing info. I usually pick an area on maps that look promising and are remote and then dive into this website to see what additional info i might be able to find (if any - and sometimes there isn't). I've been hiking into the backcountry long before I found this site and consider myself and bit 'old school' in that I'll just go for a destination with little to no knowledge of the area. I have hiked into many, many destinations throughout the range and consider myself a relative wealth of info (like many of you do...and are.) I have contributed 'two cents' from time to time but no TR's and that fact pulls on me every now and then. No excuses, however, I do not have a camera, never have, and have always thought TR's with photos is the best way to go. Pathetic excuse, I know. I will have a TR coming soon from a Northern Yosemite Trip done in the beginning of May into some amazing country on and off trail... and I brought a disposable camera! Now the delay is in getting the film developed (not as easy as you'd think anymore). Thanks to all who have contributed and I look forward to officially joining those ranks soon.
~We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time.

T.S. Eliot
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esco
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by esco »

Thanks for starting this thread... Pulled a lot of us out to the open. I'd also like to express my appreciation for those that take their time to provide information that helps a lot of us less inexperienced with our planning for enjoying the Sierras.

I've been reading this forum for approximately one year. All of my life I have loved being up in the mountains and have spent a lot of time outdoors in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Death Valley and other places less often. It wasn't until two years ago that I had the chance to get out further than the crowds usually travel on the Lakes Trail in Sequoia (although I now understand that many consider a trail such as that "crowded"). Since then I have day-hiked the Lakes Trail three other times and done it overnight one other time as my first backpacking experience. Needless to say I didn't know what I was doing. I brought along with me 5 other friends with no experience and only one of them in any kind of adequate physical shape. That time my backpack weighed around 90lbs.

I am married with three children so the wife and I don't get many opportunities to backpack. We do take the children on smaller day-hikes but have yet to find a hike that is easy enough and interesting enough to get them as interested as we are in backpacking. They love camping but we all know its not the same.

My wife and I have only done Emerald Lake (one night), Ostrander Lake in Yosemite (one night) and just this last weekend Cottonwood Pass / Chicken Spring Lake / Lower Soldier Lake /New Army Pass / Cottonwood Lakes (two nights) as backpacking trips but plan to do at least one a year until the children are old enough that we can get away more often. It was when planning our backpacking weekend last year that I discovered this site and really enjoyed it not only for my learning and planning but for living everyone's journeys when we don't have a chance to be out there. We are not near as experienced as many on the forum and I will only be able to provide one trip report a year it seems but I will contribute when I can... Starting with a trip report from this last weekend as soon as I get a chance to.
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cgundersen
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by cgundersen »

escro,
As you can certainly glean from prior threads, there are some extremely nice spots for backpacking trips that are also quite easy to reach with kids; my wife and I often host novices and try to tailor the trip to their skill set. Among our "go to" spots are the Rock Creek basin between Bishop and Mammoth and anything in the basin beyond Saddlebag Lake up near Tioga Pass. In addition to there being day hiking, fishing and "swimming" opportunities, the scenery in those areas is pretty sensational for being that close to the trailhead (for Saddlebag the advantage is you can take a boat for the first stretch, too). So, don't let the kids' diffidence scare you off....once the bugs are gone in August, these areas are incredible!
cg
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SoxGolf00
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Re: Lurkers Please Introduce Yourself

Post by SoxGolf00 »

Great thread. Nice to see people coming out and talking. I just recently joined and posted right away. Thanks to all the wonderful members, I have received great gear advice.

Speak up if you have a question. Your question is unique to your trip.
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