2001 TR: Pine Creek Loop

[Wandering Daisy]

It was a first-generation digital camera (Canon Power Shot S100). My husband's client gave it to him to try out. The resolution was low. The photos get pretty grainy if over-processed. And the battery life was poor. But it did take amazingly good photos considering. I used this camera for two years then upgraded to a Power Shot S230. I am now on my fifth camera. I broke two (fell down in the dirt with them), left one on a rock and never found it, and simply upgraded twice. I seem to be good at destroying cameras.

I have scanned some slides and with the scanner I had, they are worse but likely that was due to dust grains on the slides. Scanning old slides is a pain unless you have stored them in a dust-proof environment. You need to take them to a high quality (expensive) photo shop to get a good scan.

[gary c.]

I loved my Power Shot S100. I'd leave it on auto and was amazed at the quality that little camera put out. When it finally broke I upgraded to one of the new Power Shots (can't remember the model) and I've never been happy with it.

Thanks for sharing your TR. Twenty years later and your still a backcountry bada$$.

[LMBSGV]

What a delightful trip down memory lane. While I am not a climber, I enjoyed reading and seeing your climbs along with having visited most of the non-peak climbing locations, though by less difficult routes some of the time. I also really enjoyed hiking the Hilgard Branch and that gorgeous meadow. In 1998, the trail was also difficult to follow in places, especially near the meadow. Lower Mills Creek Lake was one of my favorite campsites and I also really like Upper Mills Creek Lake where I camped by the outlet creek and had that marvelous sunset light. Thanks for stirring so many marvelous memories.

[Gogd]

Lovely pics and report.
I've seen much of the ground you covered on this trip. You brought back memories. Long hikes and technical climbs combine the worst features of both worlds! I liked climbing routes of the remote Sierra interior in my younger days, no worrying about traffic on those climbs. We were not as enterprising as you were. We'd availed to the easiest way there whenever possible, and settled on climbing nearby routes from a base camp. Even that method was still mostly a beast of burden festival. The packs weighed too much, and the most direct approaches often required several days to reach base camp. Seven Gables, Gemini, and the unnamed peak north of Seven Gables peak were the objectives of such a trip to Seven Gable Lakes in the late 1980s. We stumbled upon over a dozen ptarmigan hen with chicks atop Seven Gables. Never saw so many in one place. It was impossible to avoid disrupting these birds as they lay motionless until you practically step on them. That climbing trip originated from the Bear Creek Dam trailhead, via Kaiser Pass Road. Oh to be young (and foolish?) again.

Ed

[scottmiller]

I love the wall at the Lake Italy camp. I really like that lake, but the wind! Sheesh.
I was in Iceland a few years ago, and I was thinking that in terms of geological wonders and picturesque terrain, Iceland rules. But then I went to the Bear Lakes Basin, and, yeah, that is right up there in terms of spectacular landscapes. A little more effort to get there, but definitely one of the most amazing places I've been.