High Sierra Topix

So I am planning to hit the trail in about a week and for the life of me cannot figure out where I want to go! Normally, I just decide and go but the less time I now spend in the mountains is causing me to over-think and over-plan and make sure i get it 'right' since it may be my only personal trip this year.

I am buried in maps, research, google, photos, memories of prior trips, etc..It is fun to research and dream but it is also exhausting. So many options, so many beautiful places and so few things to consider and factor based on snow/timing conditions. Anywhere is a possibility. I am not looking for suggestions but i am sure i am not alone in this analysis paralysis where should i go scenario.....

dan,
when in doubt, do a loop: Rae Lakes (from Cedar Grove or Kearsarge), North Lake-South Lake (Bishop), Franklin to Sawtooth (MIneral King); Wolverton-Moose Lake-Tablelands (Sequoia).
cg

Dan wrote;
make sure i get it 'right'

Any trip to the Sierra is "right", and if you stick to that philosophy than you'll always
come back with a smile on your face!

Agreed Maverick! More than excited to get out there, gear is strewn about, and the excitement is building...

pick a spot at random and discover it. Throw a dart at the map and go where it hits. I've never been anywhere in the sierra that wasn't beautiful. And if you pick a spot and it turns out to be crowded, just leave the trail and you'll find solitude if you want it. You can't go wrong.

I'd think that would be easy. Go where you haven't gone guiding recently.

Anywhere out Kaiser Pass - ton of trailheads, some of them lead to hot springs... high granite and tarns to bathe in, hmm mmm....

I sometimes do the same thing. I have totally flipped flopped plans on my way to the permit office! But yeah.....you cant go wrong!

Some of my best trips have happened when I walked into the permit office and asked whats available.

I also often get decision paralysis. I leave town with several sets of maps and route plans, then get to the critical highway junction, and for who knows why, I turn onto one of the roads or the other! As long as each of your considered trips are well thought out, it really does not matter. If you do change your mind on the way to the trailhead, just be sure you let your family members know this!

The more I have hiked in an area, the more "paralysis" I seem to get. I take this as a signal that perhaps I need to get out of the rut and go to an entirely different place. Although I will probably never finish the list, I have been on a long-term quest to climb all the county high points in California (I have about a dozen left to do). This has taken me to many areas I would never have thought of. Looking at a map, I am also surprised that some areas in Nevada, Utah and Arizona are really not that far away. It is an 8 hour drive for me to get to the southernmost Sierra - I can also get to the Ruby Mountains of Nevada in 8 hours! Who would have thought!

Well there certainly is a whole lot one can consider given the huge amount of information available in this day and age. It was simpler decades ago when there were just maps and ones imagination. Frequently all of we hard core backpackers are faced with choosing between two or more great trip ideas. The days of summer and when we can free ourselves from our regular lives is usually limited so choices need to be made.

As a photographer the peak conditions in the high country occur up and down the range often within the same narrow window. At most that is usually a two week window that one can just fit a couple or three trips in at best. Other ideas and plans need to wait till next years. The wise hard core backpacker will probably figure out the prospective choices well ahead of time that in my case is in the preceding fall when I have lots of spare time on my hands. Then when the following summer arrives, I make choices based on conditions, weather, and how much I want to go one place or another. And regardless of all the planning sometimes its just a toss up.

This year with the droughty winter, wildflowers that I often seek in my landscapes are sure to be relatively sparse. So I instead decided to visit areas that have other elements in their landscape which don't depend on vegetation. Next summer if the winter rains come back I am likely to do some of the trips I had wanted to this summer where I can take advantage of wildflowers.