Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

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maverick
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by maverick »

I figure somewhere there must be some trailheads at 9000+ from which we could
hike to 10k+, less than 4.5 hours away. Drawing a blank for some reason.
Because there is none Lisa. ;)
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by seanr »

Oh, I understand now. Carson Pass is not quite 9,000 feet and camp spots there are generally under 10,000 feet. That brings up a question. I, too, am sometimes in a similar position to the friend of the OP. In your experience, will that extra +/-1,000 feet in Sonora Pass area and +/-2,000 feet in Tioga Pass area make much difference for acclimatizing in anticipation of going to 13,000-14,000+ feet a week later? I'm trying to pay more attention to such details in my own experiences recently as I do get AMS at times and have tried most strategies besides diamox.
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by QITNL »

Saddlebag Lake is around 10k and about 4.5 hours away. I don't think there is a quota for the trails heading north to the 20 Lakes Basin. You can pick a permit in TM.
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by maverick »

Saddlebag Lake is around 10k and about 4.5 hours away.
Not from the Bay Area, at least not at near legal speed limits, but it would
the closest option, and my recommendation also.
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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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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by rlown »

oleander wrote:I'm taking a friend up to the Sierra for a quick 2-day overnighter. I just learned that she will be climbing Whitney in a couple of weeks. So I'd like to expose her to altitude a bit. And yet she has limited time and prefers not to drive the 5-7 hours it would probably take to get from Oakland to any of the 10k+ trailheads.


- Elizabeth
If she's climbing Whitney, doesn't she know about altitude? I'm guessing not if you want to expose her to it. I hope she has an acclimation plan before she starts. Like 1 or two days if shes a flat-lander.

Saddlebag is ok. Pretty flat though. Carson pass to Round top is better as it's up-hill in. If you go down to 4th of July lake and hike back up it helps build what might be missing.
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by seanr »

Exactly, my first choice would be to go to Saddlebag, where permits are not needed, but I would allow for a five hour drive time. I would do Conness Lakes, North Peak, or something similar while there. Dana is the easy highpoint to get over 13k on and worth considering in your scenario. My second choices would be Leavitt or Round Top. I would hope to do Whitney after already being at altitude again for a day or two the following week. I wouldn't count on what I did a week or two before helping a ton without knowing I tend to do well at high altitude. However, I only have ten years worrying about potential AMS under my belt, tend to avoid places like Whitney, and don't currently backpack, so...
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by sparky »

I am unsure of drive times from the bay area, but I would think tuolumne meadows would be the best mix of proximity, beauty, altitude, and challenge.
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by oleander »

seanr wrote:In your experience, will that extra +/-1,000 feet in Sonora Pass area and +/-2,000 feet in Tioga Pass area make much difference for acclimatizing in anticipation of going to 13,000-14,000+ feet a week later? I'm trying to pay more attention to such details in my own experiences recently as I do get AMS at times and have tried most strategies besides diamox.
I am no expert on altitude acclimatization. And I'm sure there are individual differences between people, as well.

However, over the years, both my most frequent hiking partner and I have found that:

1. A "first trip up at altitude" for the season seems to significantly help with acclimatization for the next trip, and possibly for the rest of the season. This appears to be true even if that first trip is pretty short (an overnight). On the first trip we'll have very noticeable shortness of breath, headache, low appetite, etc. at 10k. On the next trip, say, 2 or 3 weeks later, our response at 10k is SIGNIFICANTLY better.

2. But I honestly don't think exposure to 8k helps very much. Most of us seem to have a much stronger reaction to altitude starting at the threshold of 9500-10,500. At 8000 there is hardly any reaction, and therefore (I am guessing) not much acclimatization effect to be gained by spending time at that altitude. If someone is planning a trip to 12/13/14k, I'd feel a lot more confident if she's at least been to 10k recently.

I'm certainly not the most long-time backpacker on this board, so I'd be curious to hear others' (more nuanced, or possibly contrary) experiences.

My friend who is climbing Whitney: She's still relatively novice, although she's adapted impressively well to all aspects of backpacking, including altitude (I took her over Bishop Pass 2 years ago). For Whitney, she is doing a 5-day approach, starting up Shepherd Pass, which is 12k. (Wasn't my idea, but anyway...) She climbed Shasta in late June, and went with me to about 8k a couple weeks prior to that, but it is probably safe to assume that neither of those June exposures to altitude will help her with a September Whitney climb. Too many months gone by.

Therefore I would really like to get her up to 10k.

Leavitt would be fun sometime, although neither of us has a high-clearance vehicle.

- Elizabeth
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by seanr »

First of all, y'all may know this, but getting a permit for Saddlebag or something lesser used nearby would be suggested, but I meant to agree with the statement about Saddlebag not having a quota and got carried away when accidentally stating no permit would be legally required.

Second, if interested in stark terrain, Latopie Lake and Leavitt Peak are doable for those quickly comfortable above 10k from Sonora Pass TH without driving to Leavitt TH.

Image

I, too, am still curious about the altitude/AMS questions. In my research and experience, going to anything in the 5,000 to 8,000 foot range can be helpful as a start. That could be followed by proceeding to around 8,000-12,000 feet. If not genetically susceptible to AMS, in decent shape, rested, and hydrated, starting above 8,000-12,000 feet might go fine for an individual. Higher is better, with the caveat that too high, too fast can result in poor sleep, or in serious AMS. The tortoise pace will win out over the hare in climbing high and avoiding AMS. Without acclimatization, I tend to have problems above 12,000 feet that grow serious when quickly ascending above 13,000 feet. Doing something up high, especially overnight or more, a week or two before helps, but only slightly. Much better seems to be hiking and sleeping for a day or two from 8,000-11,000 feet before hiking higher, and descending overnight if necessary/ill. Better yet, but hard to schedule, would be spending several days up high and only returning to sea level for a few days before going up high again. Correct me if wrong: Significant gains in adaptation continue for about five days and continue to a lesser extent for weeks-months at high altitude. Each day back at sea level results in significant loss of acclimatization, with little remaining after a week. I've seen 16 hours stated as an average acclimatization time for avoiding AMS at a given high altitude with variation among individuals. I've seen safe acclimatization for those highly susceptible to AMS listed as about 1,000 feet per day above the 8,000-10,000 foot range and an upper limit beyond what we deal with in the Sierra. Still, I am still experimenting and researching myself, and am curious about what seasoned folks here have to say.

Elizabeth, your friend sounds like she deals well with altitude and will be fine. Good luck.
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Re: Which 9000+ trailhead is the shortest drive from the Bay Are

Post by cmon4day »

Climb Mt. Hoffmann. It's over 10k, about 3:30 to the trailhead at May L., and it's a good climb to work the legs and lungs.
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