Lakes at Observation Peak

[maverick]

100 lbs pack, for how many weeks?
I quite carrying heavy after a trip 8 yrs ago to Northern Yosemite.
It was a 9 day trip which I took to 2 bear canisters and a 5lb tent
and promised myself that this was my last trip carrying heavy packs.
Now for 10 days my weight is at about 32 lbs+camera and lens.
Rambaud and Ladder Lakes are very pretty as are the lakes that
are just north of Ladder I visited the area in the early 80's.
I had planned a trip a few yrs back to go into Ionian and then cross
over the Black Divide to Lake 11654, but something came up and I
haven't gotten back to it yet(so many places to go).
I wholeheartedly agree that you must do exercise to have a chance
of extending you backpacking career into your latter years without
having to suffer from excruciating knee pain or arthritis.
I mainly go solo and understand how important my physical fitness
relates to my chances of survival in extreme conditions.
Some people dont like them, but for steep descents nothing takes
the pressure off you knees like a pair of trekking poles.
I dont use them uphill because they can put alot of wear and tear on
your shoulders.

[giantbrookie]

i think mine got damaged through the repeated years (30+) of carrying 100 pound packs (20 of the 30+ years) and much boulder hopping with no trails.

My goodness, 100lbs? Norman Clyde reborn. What were you carrying in there? My dad was a human pack animal, too. His pack was routinely 70+lbs and he weighed only 135lbs. On one trip (a rugged off trail backpack) we were rockhounding and he carried out so many specimens that his pack indeed weighed over 100lbs. In my best death march days with my wife (who weighs in the low 90's), I carried between 60 and 68 lbs (body weight usually between 165 and 170 lbs ) on the first day of a 7 to 9 day trip that usually included a hefty dose of off trail backpacking. With my current crew of closer to equal sized hikers my death march packs are more in the 50's range. I suppose when I start backpacking with my kids (now 1.5 and 5 yrs old), in a few years I will be carrying a very heavy pack once again (perhaps heavier than I've ever carried), but not on a nasty off trail backpack.

[lostcoyote]

my longest trip was about 26 days and my pack started out at 105lbs. much of the weight is consumed by heavy 4x5 camera gear. two years ago, i decided to weight all my equpment and i was able to shave off 20 pounds by going with pre-loaded film and a carbon fiber tripod. also got a 5 lb tent.

went into ionian many times over the years. always from north to south. the usual way for me was to cut in over solomans pass and wander around awhile. there is a twin lake just south of that long lake at the south base of goddard where, unbelievably, i snagged a big fat trout. it got away when the hook broke loose. i was just goofing around practicing my casting, not expecting any fish to be in that lake (11,800 in el approx).
for exit, i would just head on down to lake 10212 (10220 i think is the new el on the new maps) and then back up to martha or over the leconte divide into blackcap basin. chasm lake is really kewl as is looking down the gorge.

if i ever get to rambaud, i'd like to get over rambaud pass and camp so i can climb up the ridge that looks straight into and up the enchanted gorge.
i don't have much desire to actually pack in the gorge itself and then have to bushwhack through the deerbrush in the lower region.

[SSSdave]

giantbrookie >>>"...My dad was a human pack animal, too. His pack was routinely 70+lbs and he weighed only 135lbs."

Your Dad and I weigh the same. Note I'm 5'6". The huge 70+ pound pack weights are my most unpleasant situation for the last decade given heavy medium format and then large format camera equipment. Parts of my anatomy like where the shoulder pad, waist belt, and my feet take greatest forces never really get used to it. For someone my olde age carrying so much weight grates against conventional wisdom. Somehow I remain in the game though I feel more and more like an old man for longer recovery periods after each bout of hiking. ...David

[Moondust]

I hear you about the knees when it comes to off trail backpacking. Mine were repeatedly damaged while younger playing basketball (two operations 20 years apart) and also by a painful hyperextension while missing a landing while boulder hopping will a full pack. From the late 70's through the 90's I was able to overcome the damaged knee by keeping the legs strong by weightlifting and doing lots of hiking. Now I don't do enough hiking, have lapsed on my weight training, and I find myself very much shakier because the creaky knees are not as well supported as they used to be. I guess this means I just need to get up there more to get my "off trail backpacking legs" back.

If all you creaky-kneed hikers are not eating glucosamine, start now! It has made a huge difference in my joints. After about 6 weeks, my worn out knees felt a lot better and I could hike farther. Hiking farther got my supporting muscles in better shape and my knees feel even better. What really amazed me was how the glucosamine helped my elbows. Before glucosamine they used to be painful most of the time. A chronic case of tendonitis/arthritis/tennis elbow/whatever. Now they don't bother me at all. I still have to be careful with my knees (no high impact, no hyperextension, etc) but with reasonable care and an occasional ibuprofen after many miles of steep descent, they do great. I take 3 pills totalling 1500 mg glucosamine sulfate every day. My old dog has also benefitted and after one month on the stuff, he jumped on the bed for the first time in over a year.

Moondust

[gdurkee]

Nice area. Almost never visited.

If any of you are in that area, keep an eye out for aircraft parts. There's a T-33 that went down in the 50s that's never been found. The cowling was found below Devils Crags from when the pilot ejected. But the aircraft is still out there somewhere.

If you find it, report it to Sequoia Kings National Park or send me a PM here (or, better yet for the next 3 months, send one to Skibum).

You'd solve an ancient mystery and be a hero.

Thanks!

George