The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

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quentinc
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The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by quentinc »

...but some day I'll laugh about it.

I had planned on continuing my exploration of the Kern Plateau by starting from Black Rock trail head (about 15 miles west of Kennedy Meadows) and hiking around Templeton and other meadows. Things got off to a bad start when I learned the road to Black Rock TH is closed. The ranger suggested I try the Jackass Creek trail instead, and no name could have been more apt.

Turns out the roads weren't the only place with downed trees. Here's a sample trail:

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And then there were the trails of snow:

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And then there's the trail system, which reminds me of the freeway system in Los Angeles. Typically, the numbers did not correlate with what the Tom Harrison map said:

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On the positive side, I ended up hiking on jeep roads around Monache Meadows, which is quite lovely before the trio of plagues arrive (jeeps, dirt bikes and cattle). Some views of Olancha:

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It starting snowing Saturday night, flurried (or hailed) most of Sunday, and was insanely cold Sunday night (I'm guessing under 20).

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My hike on Sunday began with a muddy creek fording and continued on a trail to oblivion. It's nice that there's a trail marker here, but what it's marking wasn't clear:

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So I turned around. I tried a different route on the way back, even though it wasn't on my map (the Harrison Southern Sierra map is uncharacteristically awful). Talk about a creek ford. This one looks slow and lazy at least, but it had a fast deep channel in the center:

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One hundred yards later, the trail crossed back to the original side of the creek! I eventually found a good log that worked. Then the trail crossed back to the other side :snipe:. I guess this kind of perversity passed as humor to the trail builders. It turned out the trail crossed from one side to another every several hundred years. I managed to stay on one side the rest of the time, although it required some unpleasant traversing along steep slopes.

On the positive side, I figured I had a better chance of getting out than this guy:

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I knew if I followed Fish Creek the whole way, it would lead back to my car, even if the last few miles were off-map. Things were going swimmingly until I hit this, which was downright barbaric:

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Property is theft! This turned out to be a huge in-holding, with barbed wire for miles, cutting me off from continuing east. This damn thing was like the Border Fence -- amazingly sturdy and well-maintained. It was already 6 p.m. and I was beginning to despair ever getting back to my car. After 30 minutes of walking along the barbed wire, I spotted a road, only there was no way to get to it. However, despair is the mother of invention and, somehow, the barbed wire got breached at this point (honestly, officer, I had nothing to do with it...). This got me back to the Sherman Pass Road, and about 4 miles of pavement-packing. Heck, at least the trail was easy to follow. I got back to my car around twilight.

Well, the worst day of backpacking is still better than the best day at work.
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maverick
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by maverick »

Almost falls into the trip from hell category.
By the way, are those bullet holes on the door of the truck? Maybe climbing over that
fence does have consequences. :evil:
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Mike M.
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by Mike M. »

Very nice TR, quentinc!

Mike
Shawn
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by Shawn »

Well, the worst day of backpacking is still better than the best day at work.

Exactly!

PS. Nice TR and photos.....
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TehipiteTom
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by TehipiteTom »

Shawn wrote:Well, the worst day of backpacking is still better than the best day at work.

Exactly!

PS. Nice TR and photos.....
That's a point on which I would disagree. The worst day of backpacking can sometimes be worse than the worst day at work. I think about a trip on the Monarch Divide when I was young and foolish (as opposed to old and foolish) and got caught in a September snowstorm and was absolutely convinced I was going to die. It's hard to top an experience like that for 'worst'.

I mean, for me that's part of the point of backpacking: the highs are high and the lows are low. It's living.

Just my opinion.

Edit: for the record, I certainly don't disagree with the "Nice TR and photos" part. ;)
quentinc
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by quentinc »

TehipiteTom wrote:and was absolutely convinced I was going to die. It's hard to top an experience like that for 'worst'.
I don't know, I've certainly felt that way at my job at times. ;)
(Seriously, not to make light of your experience -- I know that can be pretty terrifying.)
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by Cross Country »

I agree with Tehipite Tom. I was never afraid at work and in general I loved BP.
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by Wandering Daisy »

It is all a matter of perspective. No matter the dire situation we are in backpacking, my husband is calm. Nothing backpacking compares with his old "job" - foot soldier in Viet Nam for three years. He does get flashbacks when we have to muck through swamps so I really try to avoid this when he is with me.

My worst days backpacking have never been as bad as my worst days climbing. Being stuck in a lightning storm on a 6 inch ledge half-way up a 15-pitch climb and then having to bivy because of the delays is pure hell.

But, yes, your trip was quite an ordeal. Adventuresome, but not very pleasant.
quentinc
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by quentinc »

Mav, good point about the bullet holes! As I said, I had nothing to do with the sudden unraveling of the barbed wire. :)
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maverick
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Re: The Backpack to Nowhere -- TR

Post by maverick »

Q wrote "Mav, good point about the bullet holes!". Yep, maybe the guy was a lawyer! :evil:
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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