2009 Backpacking Recap

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
Ikan Mas
Topix Regular
Posts: 374
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:43 pm
Experience: N/A

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by Ikan Mas »

Thanks for the idea, makes me realize how lucky I was this year.

January 30, Gunung (Mount) Jafaar climb, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

May 23, Babyfoot Lake day hike, Kalmiopsis Wilderness, Oregon

June 5-6, El Capitan overnighter, Yosemite National Park

July 10-12, Ebbetts Pass to Raymond Lake and back overnighter, Mokelumne Wilderness

August 8-15, Marble Mountains trek, Marble Mountains Wilderness

August 22-25, Goat Rocks-Snowgrass Trek, Goat Rocks Wilderness, Washington

August 25-26, Crystal Lake overnighter, Rainier National Park, Washington

August 28, Gnarl Ridge day hike, Mt. Hood, Oregon

September 4, Shadow Lake day hike, Ansel Adams Wilderness

September 5, Mono Pass day hike, John Muir Wilderness

September 7, Mt. Whitney climb, SEKI

October 22, Mount Raymond climb, Mount Olympus Wilderness, Wasatch Range, Utah

October 23, Little Cottonwood Canyon day hike, Wasatch Range, Utah

November 11, Pinnacle National Monument day hike

November 27, Upper and Lower Table Rock day hike, Medford, Oregon

20 days in a bag
quentinc
Topix Expert
Posts: 890
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2005 10:28 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Los Angeles

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by quentinc »

June: Cottonwood Pass, Miter Basin, Boreal Plateau, Mt. Langley (4 days)

July: Lamarck Col, Evolution Basin (3)

July/August: Shepard Pass, Kaweah Basin (6)

August: Bishop Pass, Palisade Basin, Palisade Lakes (3)

Sept.: Benson Lake Loop, Matterhorn climb (4)

Sept/Oct. McGee Pass, Grinell Lake, unplanned excursion with blood (4)

[Dec./Jan. Catalina Island (4)]

I guess I'm pretty lucky to have gotten 24 days in the Sierra, especially given a gimpy left foot. I actually would have done one more in October but was sidelined by the flu for what seemed like forever.
User avatar
copeg
Founding Member & Forums Administrator
Founding Member & Forums Administrator
Posts: 2109
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 9:25 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Contact:

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by copeg »

That's a lot of accumulated experience in the posts so far! 2009 was a a bit slow for me in the Sierra, but that's ok
March: Yosemite - Snow Creek to Olmstead Point via snowshoe
May: Cathedral Lakes in Yosemite - lazy trip with lots of relaxation
July: Hoover Wilderness (Green Creek-> Return Lake -> Summit/East Lake)
August: Mineral King -> Little Five Lakes -> Columbine Lake
User avatar
treadwell
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 96
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:13 am
Experience: N/A

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by treadwell »

Two great trips in '09.

Mid-June: Sabrina Basin (4days), just after the weather finally warmed up.

Late-August: Cottonwood Lakes to Whitney Portal (5days), first time to the summit.... Spectacular!

Already pouring over the topos for 2010.
User avatar
stevet
Topix Regular
Posts: 210
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 8:46 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Gilbert, Arizona
Contact:

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by stevet »

A light year...

Presidents Day weekend got snowed out on a Boucher-Hermit trip in the Grand Canyon, and
Late August thru Labor Day hiked the JMT

and off to a slow 2010, but have Havasupai booked for President's Day.

Steve
User avatar
EpicSteve
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:49 pm
Experience: N/A

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by EpicSteve »

Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sierra National Forest:

1. Upper Jackass Lake (from Norris Creek trailhead) – 3 days, solo (Memorial Day weekend). 1st hike after knee surgery. Felt great! Total solitude after passing Lower Jackass. Tried new snowshoes. Didn't really need them, but had fun. Ice on the lake groaned, moaned, cracked and hissed whenever it was in direct sunlight.

2. The Niche, Lower Cora Lake, East Fork Granite Creek to the first crossing after the lake - 2 days, solo. Lots of snow on trail. Many places where the trail was a run-off stream. Used my new Tarptent Sublite Sil for the fist time. Awesome! No one else on trail after 1st creek ford.

3. Chiquito Lake, Chiquito Pass, Chain Lakes, Spotted Lakes, Red Top summit - 2 days, solo. Incredibly beautiful lakes! After leaving Upper Chain Lake on Day 1, didn't see another person until back at the car. Challenging off-trail route from Red Top summit to abandoned Jeep track to road leading back to trailhead. Broke out my compass for 1st time in decades! Became a 1-man cattle drive after reaching the road.

4. Joe Crane Lake – 2 days, solo. Beautiful! Lots of wildflowers. They were up to my shoulder in a few places along East Fork Granite Creek.

Ansel Adams Wilderness / Yosemite NP:

5. Sadler Lake, Isberg Lakes, Isberg Pass, unnamed lakes below SW & NW faces of Isberg Peak – 3 days, solo (Labor Day weekend). Hot daytime temps but chilly nights in my 30-degree bag at 10,000 ft. Fun, steep off-trail route to 2nd unnamed lake after crossing Isberg Pass. Windy there! So beautiful, I didn't want to come home yet.

Ansel Adams Wilderness:

6. Upper Jackass Lake (from Jackass Meadow trailhead) – 2 days, solo (November 7th & 8th). Bullet-hard snow on south shore of Middle Jackass. About 22 degrees at night. Saw a lone day hiker on Day 2. Beautful ice-encased blades of grass next to outflow stream.

Yosemite NP:

7. (Early December - Mostly on snowshoes) From Yosemite Valley to Mirror Lake up Snow Creek Trail, along the ridge on the SE side of Snow Creek, to the highest point on the ridge. - 4 days, solo. Very late start. Used headlamp on upper half of Snow Creek switchbacks. Warm days, soft snow, small snowshoes, heavy pack. Slow going. From my high point, I had views of: Coyote Rocks, Mt. Hoffman, Tioga Road, Osprey Overhang, DeGaulle's Nose, Mt. Conness, Tuolumne Peak, Cathedral Peak, Mathes Crest, and the eastern end of Cloud's Rest.

Sorry for the long post, but I'm new to HST, so I've only posted one of these as a TR.
“I don’t deny that there can be an element of escapism in mountaineering, but this should never overshadow its real essence, which is not escape but victory over your own human frailty.”

- Walter Bonatti
User avatar
markskor
Founding Member - RIP
Posts: 2442
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 5:41 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Crowley Lake and Tuolumne Meadows

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by markskor »

EpicSteve-
A belated welcome to HST.
Just so you do not get confused, there is no such thing here as "Too Long" in any trail report...we like them all.
Any brief respite, any vicarious Sierra adventure retold involving passion and/ or (especially) fishing is always music not wasted on this crowd. So, take your time, maybe ramble on some...even more than your last, (I always seem to.) and keep them TR's coming, but never feel that you have to apologize for that which we all dream about daily.
Mark
Mountainman who swims with trout
User avatar
EpicSteve
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 89
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:49 pm
Experience: N/A

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by EpicSteve »

Thank you so much, Mark. I love these forums! People have been so friendly and helpful with route info and I hope to eventually return the favor. And just like you, I love reading other hikers' long trip reports! It's wondeful to be vicariously teleported back to the high country! :D Can't help you with the fishing thing - it's not my thing anymore (though I understand and respect the passion for it and the skill involved in doing it well) - but I still enjoy reading about it and seeing the pics. My current focus is off-trail routes and getting the best pics I can with an extremely small and lightweight digital camera.

Anyhow, I don't mean to sidetrack this thread. Thanks again for the welcome and let's hear some more recaps of 2009. The ones I've read so far have got me drooling over topos again! :drool:
“I don’t deny that there can be an element of escapism in mountaineering, but this should never overshadow its real essence, which is not escape but victory over your own human frailty.”

- Walter Bonatti
User avatar
JWreno
Topix Regular
Posts: 308
Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2010 9:55 am
Experience: Level 3 Backpacker
Location: Reno

Re: 2009 Backpacking Recap

Post by JWreno »

I spent 15 nights out on the trail last summer. My oldest son and I did the complete
Tahoe Rim Trail starting July 5th. It was beautiful but it required logistical support
from my wife since there are many dry sections on the trail. We carried 24 hours of
water at a time for 4 of the 10 days.

The first week of August I took my wife, oldest son, brother and nephew on a 5 day
trip from Horseshoe Meadows to Onion Valley. My wife and I did this section as part
of a northbound JMT trip in 2008. My son, brother and nephew haven't been to Whitney
before and I wanted a trip that would guaranty they wouldn't have acclimation problems.
We camped at Horseshoe Meadows the night before the hike and camped at Rock Creek
and Crabtree Meadows before day hiking Whitney. I have been in the Sierras in August
since 1993 and we experienced the coldest weather ever on the last two days of the trip.
Our water bottles froze up at High Mesa lakes below Forester and we encountered snow
the last two days. We decided to go from High Mesa Lakes to Onion Valley in one day
due to the cold weather. When we got to Kersarge Pass about 7PM we cold hardly
stand up in the wind at the top of the pass.

My pictures and trip details are at my web site:

http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/jeffw/o ... cking.html

Let me know what you think.

Jeff
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google Adsense [Bot] and 128 guests