) All told, I figure if I really haul ass, I can hopefully be on the trail by 9am.D1 Tues 7/21 Shepherd -> Junction meadow [22 miles]. This will be my 4th trip on Shepherd. It doesn't matter if it's 9.5 miles, 10.5 miles or whatever, I can basically do it in 6+ hours. So that will put me on the top around 3pm. I like to hike until after 7pm, so I figure I can go another 10 miles - mostly downhill except for the rise @ Bighorn plateau - before it's time to pull in before 8pm. (I generally go stoveless and cowboy camp, so it takes me a matter of minutes to add cold water to my instant refried beans, eat, brush & jump under my quilt and crash.)
D2 Wed 7/22 Junction mdw -> Funston Creek -> Kern Hot Springs -> Whitney creek [16.5 miles] Did I mention I like to start hiking @ morning twilight? This day will be devoted to fishing the Kern river, and since I should be up & away before 6am, I should be able to reach my target with plenty of time to get back to Whitney creek by 7pm.
Jim, his buddy John & Randy will be hiking north along the Kern river towards Whitney creek on this day as well, so I'm planning on hooking up with them at some point during the day and then again that evening.
D3 Thurs 7/23 Whitney creek -> Meet-up [6 miles] I'm going to fish the Kern in the morning and try and catch my limit to bring up to the group in the afternoon. I know Jim is thinking the same thing, so if all goes well, we should have around 10 good sized fish to share for a communal fish fry.
D4 Fri 7/24 Meet-up -> 3 bay lake aka Kern basin [10.5 miles] I'm planning on leaving with Jim, John & Randy around noon to head up to the Kern basin for more fishing & general hanging out. Anyone planning/thinking of going in that direction is invited to come along with us if you can still stand our company.
D5 Sat 7/25 Kern basin -> Shepherd [16.5 miles] I'll probably get going before 6am to try and reach to my car before 3pm. I can get home in 5 hrs from Shepherd, so should be walking through the doors by 8pm.
If anyone else is going to be in the general vicinity, and you see someone with a distinctive, entirely green dyneema 210 backpack* (aka "the Green Goblin") with gatorade water bottles hanging off the front shoulder straps, that's me (Jim has the el monstro sunhat):
*This is my fourth DIY backpack - I'm really happy with the way it's turned out. It's really strong, but only weighs 18oz. My expected total baseweight should be around 8lbs, with 7+lbs of food, fishing gear, etc. Once my food is gone, I expect to walk out with a pack weighing less than 10lbs.
