High Sierra Topix

Okay, a quick introduction. I am 53 and have been backpacking since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Have covered 100s of miles of Sierra trails over the years some solo, some with groups and some with my husband who is an avid fly fisherman. As a kid I went on the big Sierra Club trips along with Sierran legends like Norman Clyde and Phillip Hyde. Have done some long food cache trips (5 weeks in the backcountry), and trans sierran ski tris but that was a long time ago. These days I am much more interested in hiking to a place with fabulous scenery to paint and exploring an area for a few days rather than hiking every day with a pack. I like: swimming in glacial lakes with granite rocks to read on, wildflowers, meandering creeks in meadows. Dislike: mosquitoes, dustry trails with lots of horse poop, scree slopes. Looking forward to getting lots of good info from this community!

Hi Sierragirl,

Welcome to HST!

Sierragirl wrote:
I like: swimming in glacial lakes with granite rocks to read on, wildflowers, meandering
creeks in meadows. Dislike: mosquitoes, dustry trails with lots of horse poop, scree slopes.

You will find a lot of folks here on HST who share you like and dislikes.

Already got the welcome from Mav, but I figured I'd put in here.

Turn 30 next month and celebrating by backpacking for the first time in about 10 years (North Lake --> South Lake over Lamarck, hitting Goddard and Black Giant and maybe detouring into McGee Lakes). Grew up backpacking in Scouts, but recently it's been mostly skiing (tracked nordic, alpine, and tele/AT) and technical climbing, and little backpacking.

I've lurked for a while to find conditions reports, but I've been poking around a lot more recently. I have the same handle on the TGR and MTBR Forums, SCUTSKI on the seemingly-soon-to-be-totally-defunct TelemarkTips forums, SCUClimber on RC.com, SkiOrClimb on Summitpost, etc.

Thanks for the great resource.

Hey guys, I just signed up about a week ago.

When I was a kid in the late 80's my parents and grandparents would take me on vacation with them once or twice a year to Big Pine. We'd fish Big Pine Creek, Sugar Loaf Pond, Lake Sabrina, and The Owens river before it became the brushy, mosquito-infested cesspool it is today (at least near Big Pine. If anybody has any nice spots to check out I'd love to hear them).

I hadn't gone back for over 20 years and I decided to come up with a few of my buddies on a lark. We really liked fishing the valley but decided we should check out The North Fork Loop. We were unprepared for the hike and I ended up hallucinating from dehydration but we made it back before sundown.

I had never backpacked before but decided I wanted to give it a shot the following year and I gathered up a crew of friends. The first time out my pack must have weighed 45 pounds! But we made it up there and have been going yearly ever since.

I was stoked to find this place because we've been looking for other places to go!

Ok, guilty as charged. I fully admit I am a lurker. I have been hiding here over two years. I admit I am powerless and my life has spun out of control and that I can no longer hide behind…or I front of…the screen. Forgive me my sins…or don’t . As I prepare for yet another Sierra trip I am going to come out of the shadows. It’s time. I have been hiking the Sierras for over 20 years and before that the Rockies. You can usually find me trail running and tele-skiing the areas around VVR/Huntington Lake near where I live. Much of my activities are alone, which somewhat explains my lurking tendencies but doesn’t excuse it. And thus, I will expose my can to you and beg forgiveness for hiding.

Hi Enuf2B,

Welcome to HST! Funny intro. Envy you having the Sierra as your backyard, driving
5-6 hrs is not always pleasant, but definitely worth it!

Thanks for the welcome Maverick, Love living here even with a hour each way commute for work. I hope to become more social on here. I can always improve.

Hey Maverick,

What would it take to make this thread a sticky?

Thanks,

-Russ

I've been lurking around for a while, I've managed to make it 50 years without ever backpacking and aim to change that soon. This forum has been great source of information and inspiration! I tend to learn things on my own, and ideally will do a overnight trip this year somewhere pretty basic like 20 Lakes Basin, just to get my feet wet. I love the eastern Sierra, the Tuolomne Meadows area (the hike into Gaylor Lakes was sort of life changing for me, if that doesn't wet ones appetite, nothing will), Mojave National Preserve, and recently re-discovered the White Mountains/Bristlecone Pine area after having not been there since early teen years with my dad. I grew up camping at places like Lake Edison, Joshua Tree (the National Monument days), Yosemite, Jalama Beach, but we never backpacked. I work as a fine art handler, play guitar, live in Glendale, yadda, yadda.

I felt like for the longest time I had nothing to contribute. Since most of my excursions are solo, I came on here to grab inspiration from others.
I've been venturing into the Sierras over the last 3 years. The first year I decided to explore Kennedy Meadows --> GWD-->Peppermint Creek -->Kern and I was hooked. The expanse views, the level of solitude out there, wildflowers, lakes, animals, stars, etc....I knew the Sierras would be my new playground. Now I take my best friend with me every few months to go car camping and do some long dayhikes. I have done one backpacking trip, a solo, and hope to return to doing that this summer...the comforts of car camping are hard to beat
What do I like? Wildflowers, creeks/rivers/lakes for my dog to swim in, big mountain scenery, gradual climbs.
Thanks for letting me lurk for so long!