Off-Trail Overnight Trips

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Wandering Daisy
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by Wandering Daisy »

One thing to consider when planning over night trips, is that you can pack REALLY light. I do most overnight trips with only a bivy sack. No tent. One advantage is that you do not have to set up a tent - simply walk until dark and just take out the bivy and put in the sleeping bag. And you do not even have to bring cooking gear because a weekend trip can actually be done on nothing but trail bars, if need be. I use a very small twig fire to boil just enough water for morning coffee. A lot of small misc. stuff can simply be left at home. Also, with a good weather report only two days out, you can go light on clothing. No rain gear, for example. I have even done an weekend trip as a total bivy - no sleeping bag at all. Also, if I have the choice, I go into an area that does not require bear cans. The smaller Bear Vault may also be a good investment if you plan to do a lot of overnight trips. I do not know if the smaller canisters are available to rent in Yosemite. With a 15-18 pound pack, you can walk all day without only 1-2 rest breaks and making it 12-15 miles is not that bad. Once my car broke down in Sonora, and after getting it fixed, I did not get to the Trailhead until 4PM. I was still able to walk up Lyell Canyon to McClure Lake before it was dark. Remember that you have a lot of daylight in the summer. Also did weekend trip to Emigrant Lake from Kennedy Meadows, in via Ice Lakes and Sardella Lakes, drop down Buck Creek and up to Emigrant. Then back out the trail. Oh there is another good weekend trip - Ice Lakes and Sardella Lakes and Lewis Lakes.

I am not familiar with getting out of the Bay Area on Friday's after work. That could be the big wrench in the works. May be better to go to bed early and get up 2-3 AM and just put up with a long Saturday. As for permits, at least in the past, you could get a permit at the Mather entry station at 7AM. But if you are going up to Tuolumne, you could just take a power nap if you get there before the Wilderness kiosk opens. Bridgeport RS may put out a permit in a night box.

I found that having a partner was great so we could share the driving home chore - which usually was the hardest part. I was also lucky that my job had flexible hours so I could go to work on Monday at 10 AM if I were willing to stay late, or could simply make up hours later in the week. Not sure you have that option.

How much you want to push the "weekend warrior" stuff depends on how much you want it. Climbers always push to the limit. I climbed Mt Rainier in a weekend from Spokane WA. Have done many major peaks in a weekend. Normal schedule was out of town at 5PM Friday, drive until dark, stop car and just sleep on the side of the road, up before dawn, to trailhead. Walk in to base of climb - this is usually off-trail and difficult too. On Sunday we would get up at 1-2AM for an alpine start and walk by headlamp, do the climb, be back before dark, and drive forever arriving home at 1-2AM. Go to work or school next day. I enjoy that kind of schedule; many do not. In fact, since that is the way I started out at 16 years old, I thought that it was normal for everyone. You get used to it after a while and it really is not that bad. Getting the most squeezed into a weekend has a lot to do with being super efficient and organized. For example, be able to wake up, eat breakfast, pack up, all personal chores done and be ready to go in under an hour.

You may have already done this, but sit down and make a list of distances to every trailhead from your home. You may be surprised that some east side trailheads are not that far. I use Mapquest where they not only give you miles but give a time based on speed limits and have a simple click and drag any point in the route to get data on another - for example using Hwy 50 to the east side vs 120.

To be realistic, the intense weekend trips are hard to keep up every week. I usually did a hard core one weekend, then an easy one the next. You still have some great overnight trips on the coast that would require less driving.
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TehipiteTom
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by TehipiteTom »

I definitely won't be going every weekend--I have too much to deal with at home to manage that, and besides (as you say) the drive-to-trailhead-hike-in-hike-out-drive-home-in-two-days (or 2 1/4) schedule is pretty punishing. (I am, alas, familiar with Friday evening traffic from the Bay Area. And Coast Range trips are all well and good for the spring, but the scenery has nothing like the appeal of the high Sierra.) At best I figure I'll do 3 or maybe 4 overnight trips.

Which, of course, is why I want to make them count.

High on my list at this point:
[*]The unnamed lake below Mount Hoffmann, from May Lake
[*]Something in the Cathedral Range--Nelson Lake, or maybe Echo Lake, or maybe Johnson Peak Lake
[*]Spotted Lake out of Quartz Mountain
[*]Arrowhead/Feather Lakes out of Vermillion

Other possibilities:
[*]Blue Canyon, off 108
[*]20 Lakes Basin
[*]

Destinations I'm curious to know more about:
[*]Sharon Lake, above Kennedy Canyon in Emigrant
[*]Horse Canyon and Cattle Creek canyon, out of Twin Lakes
[*]Lake 8263, a half mile ESE of Gianelli roadend
[*]Moat Lake, out of Virginia Lakes
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mschnaidt
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by mschnaidt »

Bourland Meadow to Hyatt Lake is a great way to get into Emigrant quickly. There is (or was) a use trail from Bourland Meadow down to Cherry Creek and then a ducked route to Hyatt. Only 7 miles in.
Bourland to Hyatt.JPG
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rlown
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by rlown »

Did you do that route and when? Wondering what the Cherry creek crossing was like at the time you went. I know in the early 80's when i did it much further North, it was fierce in August '83ish.
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TehipiteTom
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by TehipiteTom »

rlown wrote:Did you do that route and when? Wondering what the Cherry creek crossing was like at the time you went. I know in the early 80's when i did it much further North, it was fierce in August '83ish.
Cherry Creek main, or West Fork Cherry Creek (mschnaidt was a little unclear about this, but he's talking about the latter)? Main fork Cherry Creek I'd be reluctant to cross under the best of circumstances; I don't know about the West Fork.

(Also, if I recall correctly 1983 was a big snow year. So there's that.)
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sparky
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by sparky »

A good one I have done in the cathedral range was just exploring around from cathedral peak to unicorn peak. I had originally planned to go to echo lake, but as I was heading down I decided I would rather be up high, turned around and went right back up. Found a bitchin bivy spot. Fun stuff up there.
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mschnaidt
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by mschnaidt »

Did you do that route and when? Wondering what the Cherry creek crossing was like at the time you went. I know in the early 80's when i did it much further North, it was fierce in August '83ish. - See more at: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12181&start=36#sthash.5kyuGK4L.dpuf

Yes, I did that route. The route on the map was pulled from my GPS so it's pretty accurate. It was 8/5/06. It is West Fork Cherry Creek. The crossing was easy. See pic. I'm hoping to take this route again in Sept '15.
PICT0058.JPG
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rlown
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by rlown »

That is a nice crossing from your pic. I know mine on the main fork was thigh deep and we had to head up "creek" to find a place to cross. The girls on the horses coming in East bound from Crabtree told us we were going to get wet. Being Idiots, we thought rain. :D
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TehipiteTom
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by TehipiteTom »

My experience with Cherry Creek main fork is mostly in May (it's a good early-season trip), and I wouldn't even think about crossing. That time of year it impresses and terrifies with its sheer volume and power.
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Re: Off-Trail Overnight Trips

Post by rlown »

I was impressed. I'll leave it at that.
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