Beginner Overnight suggestion

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!
User avatar
chulavista
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 83
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 6:02 am
Experience: N/A

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by chulavista »

tstrauss wrote:thanks everyone for the awesome responses. to clarify, my 6-7 mile mileage is per day. we did a trip in the smokies back east last year (obviously much lower elevation) but day 2 did have a pretty steep climb. The guide did a great job of making us stop every hour whether we needed it or not, and kept things light hearted. The Smokies doesn't have the grand views that i believe SEKI has, so that should be a plus for the kids. We will be staying 1 night in Potwisha and 2 nights in Dorst to explore and acclimate. I will pick up a copy of Sierra South. My wife and i plan to carry the bulk of the weight to spare the girls, but each will be carrying something.

Tony

Are you flying into Fresno? I would head straight up 180 to one of the Cedar Grove campgrounds. Spend a few days there to explore and snag a permit for Paradise Valley. You will run into bears. Then head up to Lodgepole to car camp (get reservation) and do the watchtower, topeka falls, and giant forest day hikes. Make sure you hit moro rock. That would be an awesome trip for any family, but really hits on the stuff that an east coaster isn't exposed to.

I'm an ex-pat Californian on the east coast. If you can do the smokies, you can do these hikes. You also don't need to worry about acclimating to the elevation where you will be.
User avatar
balance
Topix Regular
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 12:26 am
Experience: N/A

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by balance »

You also don't need to worry about acclimating to the elevation where you will be.
You don't need to worry, but you do need to be aware. Some people get high altitude sickness as low as 7,000 ft. elevation. Children don't always verbalize their symptoms as well as adults. Do a little reading on what to watch for, and monitor how your family (including yourself) are feeling. Even at 5,000 to 6,000 ft. your energy level, digestion, sleep, etc. can be somewhat affected. What is it the Scouts say? "Be prepared". That's the key to making this a great family adventure.

I was once at Clouds Rest in Yosemite, elevation 9,931 feet. Magnificent panorama across the entire Yosemite Valley, and I had the view all to myself until these people showed up: Mom, Dad, and their five kids whose age range was about 6 to 14. They were all scrambling around and frankly, from my perspective, coming a little close to the edge of the drop-off. I thought that was one of the coolest families I ever met in my life.

You guys are certain to enjoy visiting the "Range of Light". You'll notice people from all over the world. Enjoying a little backpacking together is going to make things even more special.

Peace.
User avatar
chulavista
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 83
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 6:02 am
Experience: N/A

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by chulavista »

Maybe I should have said the elevations on this suggested itinerary are comparable to the Smoky Mountains in the southeast that the OP's family has backpacked. The Sequoia hikes being a tad higher, but not more than a 1000 ft or so. I find that a lot of people from the east coast are scared of the elevation not realizing that a lot of the west-side trailhead elevations are comparable to stuff in the east.
User avatar
balance
Topix Regular
Posts: 200
Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 12:26 am
Experience: N/A

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by balance »

Greetings chulavista

You make a very good point: There's no reason to let worry or fear stop you from hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada. I completely agree.

On a technical note, hiking to 6,500 ft. and then coming back down is different from eating, sleeping, and being active at altitude for several days, even if only slightly higher. Also, hydration is a big part of becoming acclimatized. Children get dehydrated more easily, and so having them drink a lot of water, which they might neglect, is important.

One time in the Whitney area I was careless about staying hydrated. The skin on my feet got so dry that they developed cracks at the heel and ball of my foot. Every step hurt. Now I guzzle water like a fish, and that's never happened again.

I'm very concerned about children nowadays being deprived of a happy experience with nature. Richar Louv wrote a good, popular book titled "Last Child in the Woods" describing this development. What tstrauss and his wife are doing, taking the kids outdoors, is wonderful. I'm sure every person on HST would love to hear a trip report someday, describing how they all had a great time visiting and hiking in the high-country. So you and I and the others here are contributing how we can to make this to happen. Thanks for your contribution.
Last edited by balance on Sat Apr 02, 2016 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
AlmostThere
Topix Addict
Posts: 2724
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:38 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by AlmostThere »

You don't need to worry, just be aware of the symptoms and realize that if they don't resolve themselves after a day or so, or worsen, the only real way to deal with them is to descend to lower elevation. And odds are good that the really serious symptoms of cerebral or pulmonary problems are incredibly unlikely below 9,000 feet, and sequoias don't really occur at high elevations, they are in the mid elevations. Most people who have elevation issues (if they have any symptoms at all) have a headache or a suppressed appetite. That's usually pretty easy to tolerate. Eat what you can and drink plenty of water, take an ibuprofen.
User avatar
tstrauss
Topix Newbie
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2016 11:12 am
Experience: N/A

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by tstrauss »

Thanks again everyone for the great info. I will definitely post a trip report complete w pics. Looking forward to my books arriving so i can read up on everything.

Tony
User avatar
wildhiker
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1109
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:44 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Contact:

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by wildhiker »

I'd like to put in a plug for Redwood Canyon as a backpacking destination. We did a day hike with our young kids down the canyon about two miles and then looping back past the Hart tree. I wish we had had more time to explore further down the canyon and camp by the creek. The giant sequoia trees here are just awesome. Huge trees everywhere. No people. No little fences to keep you back from the trees like the popular trails in Giant Forest or Grant Grove. What an experience to picnic leaning up against a giant sequoia that is about 20 foot in diameter! Plus, almost certainly no problem getting a walk-up wilderness permit and you can probably build a campfire - ask the rangers. Not classic high sierra scenery, but definitely a unique experience you cannot have anywhere else in the world.

-Phil
User avatar
AlmostThere
Topix Addict
Posts: 2724
Joined: Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:38 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by AlmostThere »

wildhiker wrote:I'd like to put in a plug for Redwood Canyon as a backpacking destination. We did a day hike with our young kids down the canyon about two miles and then looping back past the Hart tree. I wish we had had more time to explore further down the canyon and camp by the creek. The giant sequoia trees here are just awesome. Huge trees everywhere. No people. No little fences to keep you back from the trees like the popular trails in Giant Forest or Grant Grove. What an experience to picnic leaning up against a giant sequoia that is about 20 foot in diameter! Plus, almost certainly no problem getting a walk-up wilderness permit and you can probably build a campfire - ask the rangers. Not classic high sierra scenery, but definitely a unique experience you cannot have anywhere else in the world.

-Phil
Redwood Canyon never allows fires. If you see fire rings in there, they are illegal. Otherwise, Redwood Canyon is a wonderful destination -- the trail that goes farther down the canyon will take you to a meadow.
User avatar
dave54
Founding Member
Posts: 1327
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:24 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: where the Sierras, Cascades, and Great Basin meet.

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by dave54 »

tstrauss wrote:... I'm heading to Kings Canyon Sequoia (i guess you call it SeKi?) for a week in early July...
A pedantic point of explanation.

The NPS uses a shorthand when using talking about the National Parks internally. A four letter acronym using the first two letters of each word in a Park name. so Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP becomes SEquoia KIngs, or SEKI. LAssen VOlcanic NP is LAVO. GReat BAsin becomes GRBA. Single word names use the first four letters -- Yosemite is YOSE, Pinnacles is PINN, Yellowstone is YELL. These are mostly used for internal communications within the agency, publicly they use the whole park name to avoid confusion. Enough people here are familiar with the acronyms so the four letters are used. Saves typing out the whole name.

This is used nationally. There may be some exceptions if the acronym creates some inappropriate word, or confusion with another local feature. I cannot think of any exceptions off the top of my head, but there may be some.

The Forest Service uses three letters.
=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Log off and get outdoors!
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=
User avatar
wildhiker
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1109
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 4:44 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Contact:

Re: Beginner Overnight suggestion

Post by wildhiker »

After sleeping on it, I thought of another overnight backpack you could do in Sequoia NP to see big mountains: Wolverton trailhead to Alta Meadow. We last did this in August 2011 and had the camping area to ourselves. The trail doesn't get that much use and getting a walkup wilderness permit should not be a problem, especially on a weekday. A well-graded trail climbs about 1300 foot elevation in 3 miles from Wolverton to Panther Gap. The first part is shared with the trail to Pear Lake and gets a lot of use. After the trail splits, you see fewer folks. This trail section is in open woods with many small meadows and lots of wildflowers. When you get to Panther Gap, you have this sudden stunning view of the deep canyon of the Kaweah River below you and the peaks of the Great Western Divide to the east. Here's a photo. There was a big fire south of the park while we were there, so the smoke was obscuring the mountains a bit.
P1030649-GWDivide@PantherGap.jpg
From Panther Gap, it's another three miles gradually climbing about 900 feet more in a traverse along the open slopes with constant views and lots of wildflowers. You pass side trails going down to the High Sierra Trail and up to Alta Peak. Then you get to a small permanent stream running down from Tharps Rock (in a wildflower garden when we were there) - that's your water source. About 100 yards further, you top a spur ridge and look down on Alta Meadow, with campsites in the fir forest to your right. Here's a photo at sunset across Alta Meadow to the Great Western Divide (the wildfire smoke added to the red hue).
P1030685-GWDivideSunset@AltaMdw.jpg
-Phil
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], TahoeJeff and 127 guests