Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

A forum to initiate member meet-up. Looking for a hiking/climbing/fishing/skiing/etc. partner, or are you planning a trip where you wouldn't mind having some company? Last minute invites can be just as fun as a well-planned group trip (sometimes even better) so don't be shy! And be sure to post a trip report to the appropriate forum when you get back.
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by Bluewater »

Thanks for organizing the HST Meetup for 2015 Maverick.

I camped for two nights at Island Lake in Kaweah Basin this year. It was the first time I have ever taken a planned zero day. . .and I am still looking forward to going back. As you all know this is a beautiful basin.

The xc routes from the Kern Kaweah were fun scrambles even while carrying 8 days of food. For anyone interested in more info about the two easiest routes I did a trip report with some details (http://seatosummitultralight.blogspot.c ... -2014.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

I didn't bring fishing gear to Kaweah or Picket basins, but I saw 3 - 4 good sized fish swimming along the shallow shoreline of Picket Lake in the morning in late July this year. They looked about 12" and similar to other fish I saw in the upper Kern area. The lake is located at the north end of the basin, just before the drop off to the Kern Kaweah River.

Cottonwood Pass is the easiest pass into the area and the trail miles are mild on the approach. I still haven't been over Crabtree Pass or fished the lakes. I'm definitely bringing fishing gear this time and I have some unfinished business with Pyra-Queen Col and will probably use that as an exit route.


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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by Electra »

I am hoping to make it this year. I have never visited the Kaweah Basin and meeting you fine folks would make it extra special. I need to peruse the maps but would probably do a west side entry or via Cottonwood....
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by Hobbes »

Because I've been contemplating a trip through the Golden Trout Wilderness literally for years, I've got a file folder full of maps, routes/mileage and intelligence reports. The allure of where the state fish originated & the geological underpinning of how/why it evolved its golden red hue is pretty strong with me. As many may know, Golden Trout & Volcano creeks are where the original fish were caught by very early settlers who transported them in barrels to seed various lakes in the region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Trout_Wilderness" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://stevenojai.tripod.com/goldtrout.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.tucalifornia.org/cgtic/CGTbasics.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Probably the biggest reason I've kept putting this trip off is because I couldn't figure out a way to make an interesting loop out of Horseshoe Meadow. Other than return via a small stringer that doesn't have much fishing potential, the other option would add miles just to avoid directly backtracking. Since the mileage is pretty high - around 20 miles each way to Volcano falls, the thought of either backtracking or going further east just for a change of scenery kept putting me off.

Alternatively, I would periodically pull together ideas to construct a mini 'thru-hike' by heading up the Kern river - fishing all the way, 'natch - and then continuing north & exiting at either Shepherd or even throwing in a Whitney summit/exit just for the heck of it. So, it doesn't come as a big surprise that when Maverick suggested Kaweah basin for next year while we were sitting around @ Wales, the gears were already spinning in my head. Not the least of which is I'd rather use my feet for free than to pay for a guided trip:

http://www.kernriverflyfishing.com/gtw.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

To provide some basic background in terms of route/mileage, I thought I'd throw the following info dump out there on my expected route for those who may have an interest in the general region. Note: because Mav's 2015 meet-up location is so centrally located, there's a lot of different ways to get there or just pass through. From the west, there's the HST or Cloud canyon, from the south, GTW/Kern, from the north, Harrison/Forester/Kearsarge/Shepherd, and from the east, Whitney/Crabtree/Army passes.

Day 1 (Tues) - Horseshoe Mdw to Kern river bridge @ Volcano falls via Trail pass - 20 miles. Get permit @8am, on trail by 9am, shoot for 3mph pace (7-8 hrs), pull in before 6pm.
Day 2/3 (Wed/Thurs) - Bridge to Kaweah basin - 21 miles. Slow & easy 10 miles/day to allow fishing @ various pools along the way. Arrive at meet-up location Thurs afternoon.
Day 4 (Fri) - Kaweah basin to Crabtree mdw via HST/PCT/JMT - 10 miles. Leave after lunch, nice & easy.
Day 5 (Sat) - Crabtree to Horseshoe Mdw via PCT & Cottonwood pass - 20 miles. Try and jam 3mph (7-8 hrs), get to car before 2pm, home for dinner/beer.

As this thread progresses, I'll be able to post up additional information & resources, such as which USGS or T Harrison maps cover which areas, alternative x-c routes throughout the area I've done in the past, (not-so) secret fishing spots, lures/flies that have worked for me, etc.
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by SSSdave »

What would be useful at this point since Maverick has now set for 2015 this fine destination basin and there are several trailhead and route options, would be a sticky associated thread only writable by admins that would contain basic information. A long multipage general thread like we had in 2014 is fine for making input but at some point it becomes difficult to locate useful info everyone can use. If one uses the Search function with terms, hits only point to a thread, not to which page whatever is on.

So one of the useful items of info would be the mileage distance and vertical information for each route to the destination. I noticed last year there was usual confusion and hearsay regarding effort on routes. And of course we regularly see posts where people giving advice or asking questions only seem to understand mileage while ignoring effort going uphill carrying weight.

Generally most backpackers just vaguely look at a topo map to size up those parameters unless some guidebook or other source provides such. For decades I've been at the other extreme and in recent years all that information is on fancy Excel charts for each trip I've made plans for. For the purposes herein all that needs to be known is mileage and vertical up and down footage between primary trail and route junction and camping zone points. For instance from the dirt road end trailhead to Anvil Camp and then to Shepherd Pass etc. Obtaining such information off topo maps takes a minor effort especially if one uses a spreadsheet. I may open up another thread probably on our Campfire forum to describe how to do so and provide a simple Excel or Google starting template.
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by Cross Country »

I caught lots of fish out of Picket lake and ¨saint¨Diane caught a 16´ fish out the the small lake just above Pickett but this was a looooooong time ago before most of you were backing and many of you were born.
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by maverick »

Thank you CC for that additional, and useful info on the fishing. :thumbsup:
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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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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by Wandering Daisy »

This may be a good opportunity for a "key exchange" for a point-to-point route, since we would all be the same place the same time period. Something to think about. I am thinking Mineral King-Crescent Meadow; or; Horseshoe Meadow-Shepherd Pass.
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by rlown »

Don't get me wrong, Mav. I think it is absolutely marvelous that you are setting up the meet-up. The key phrase in CC's post was "looooooong time ago." Fish don't generally live that long unless restocked or SS.

I'll see how the year plays out and decide. Thanks again for setting the trip.
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by Hobbes »

SSSdave wrote:What would be useful ... would be a sticky associated thread only writable by admins that would contain basic information.
Dave makes a good point - I've got some detailed spreadsheets (Google docs) I could post up if I knew how to publish them directly to HST. As it is, I'll add some links to the public documents for now (see below).

I keep these detailed spreadsheets for both planning purposes and actual records. If you've ever seen me on the trail at major waypoints, I've got my micro-pencil out jotting down my actual times. My routes are typically broken down into 3-4 mile increments - usually notable sections, passes, ridgelines, lakes, etc, noting both elevation gain (highlighted in dark grey)/loss, etc.

With practice - and an honest assessment - I've found that I've gotten pretty accurate at predicting my own times/ability. Personally, this provides a crucial advantage for trip planning, since I can with moderately high confidence plot out a course and come fairly close to matching the predicted times.

Kearsage/Forester/Whitney:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shepherd/Wales:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

New Army/Langley/Crabtree/Whitney:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GTW/Kern/Cottonwood:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub ... utput=html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by Hobbes on Tue Nov 11, 2014 2:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Maverick's 2015 Annual HST Meet-Up 7/22-7/24/15

Post by rlown »

excel spreadsheets are postable on this site. just tested it. upload attachment and select the file.
Book1.xlsx
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