High Sierra Topix

Interest peaked by mountaineer's trip report posted late this week, we set out on Saturday to snowshoe Mt. Ely. But when we arrived in Shaver, snow conditions at that elevation didn't look too promising. So instead we bought a snow park pass in Shaver and headed up 168 to Coyote about 1000ft further up the hill. Snow was good (considering how warm it was - high of 62F), and we were surprised to have first tracks in most spots - even on trail. Hiked the first ~1.5mi of the east half of the loop, and then had an itch to see the top of Kaiser Peak. Reached the top and then dropped down to meet back up with the western half of the trail.

Anyway, a few photos from the trip:

Beautiful!

Looks like a blast! And a great place for a daytrip

Yep, it was nice. I was outside in my long sleeve shirt, chopping the snow up some more on Sunday midday before the game. In the deep shade, it was still pretty cool on my overnighter Sat. night.

Thanks again for the stickers.

hikerduane wrote:Yep, it was nice. I was outside in my long sleeve shirt, chopping the snow up some more on Sunday midday before the game. In the deep shade, it was still pretty cool on my overnighter Sat. night.

Thanks again for the stickers.

You're welcome.

Just got the Quartz 2 four-season via UPS today, so hoping to take my first winter overnighter this weekend. Nothing exciting; just a gear check sleepover somewhere not too far from the vehicle. What sucks is I could easily get by with my 3-season tent in the weather we've been having. Where we were at last Saturday, only got down to a low of 20F. But forecast for the Central is rain/snow, gradual temp cooling and snow down to 5000ft by this coming Saturday. So maybe for better testing conditions I'll set up early Saturday while it's snowing, take a walk, and pack up on Sunday.

You should come on a NorthCA Hiking trip sometime. Lots of nice, knowledgeable folks go, gear testers in the group also. We'll work you over, a couple post here on occasion. They all live in the valley or bay area and from southern cal to norcal. Bring two pads to sleep on. I have used my Tarptent Squall on the snow in May and used just a groundcloth and my summer bag in mid Spring up in Lassen on a trip organized by mtsteve in Anderson. Nice nights there.

It was around 19 where I was, according to my temperamental zip-o-gauge. I was walking up the snowmobile packed road (who would do that?)? and liked the sunny, snow-free area, under some 20 something year old pine plantation. I wanted to go further than a mile but liked the sunny spot, so that is where I made camp. Had a rare fire and everything. No marshmallows though.

hikerduane wrote:You should come on a NorthCA Hiking trip sometime. Lots of nice, knowledgeable folks go, gear testers in the group also. We'll work you over, a couple post here on occasion.

Yikes! What exactly does that entail? Hazing? j/k
That's a nice offer. Thanks. PM me next time you guys organize a trip you think a couple of winter noobs like us wouldn't be a downer on.

hikerduane wrote:Bring two pads to sleep on.

At the moment, we only own two closed cell foam pads for the two of us. Same Ridge Rest pads we use on our warmer weather trips (though considering Z-Lite pads to replace them). Planning on purchasing two additional self-inflating pads for winter trips because I've read in a number of places that doubling up with foam+air is a must. But because I have yet to pull the trigger, and because we're not going to be too far from the vehicle that bulky gear will be such a huge issue, I thought I'd improvise just this once with some sheets of cheap foam.

hikerduane wrote:I have used my Tarptent Squall on the snow in May and used just a groundcloth and my summer bag in mid Spring up in Lassen on a trip organized by mtsteve in Anderson. Nice nights there.

Very nice - I like Squall's Tarptent. Bathtub floor is key... Sure beats the snot out of the siltarps I've been caught under in fall snow dumps over the years.

Do your research on those non-inflatable pads, they all seemed to have their downfalls/usefull life. I went with a GG Nightlite pad for a summer pad, at 4 oz for my support in my new pack. It isn't supposed to retain its thickness very long though. I want to add a Neo Air mattress later when they come out, at 9 oz for a short, my total mattress weight will be 13 oz., a big savings over my 24 oz. or so Thermarest 3/4 LE. I picked up a 3/8" or so blue pad years ago which I use just for snow camping, under my summer Thermarest 3/4 LE. I hope you will be warm enough, a warm bag will help overcome some of the cold coming from the snow.

Oh yeah, we'll be sure to take you snow snipe hunting too. Enjoy your trip.

hikerduane wrote:I want to add a Neo Air mattress later when they come out, at 9 oz for a short, my total mattress weight will be 13 oz., a big savings over my 24 oz. or so Thermarest 3/4 LE.

That's amazing for an inflatable. And packs down to the size of a 1-liter bottle, to boot. Maybe I'll wait until April.

Me too. Pricey, but thru REI if they get it, a small discount. I doubt they will have it before the dividend sale. I need a combo that my shoulders and hips approve of. Cutting firewood in the Spring and early Summer doesn't help any.

Post some pics from your adventure.