High Sierra Topix

Search Area Map
That is a massive area to cover with or without snow on the ground..wow.

It would be nice SEKI if it was shaded with what was already searched.. And yes, that's a huge area. Would have thought the interviews narrowed it down a bit.

I'm sure it didn't start out that big, but expanded with each search area completed. You have to remember their primary concern is with the SAR. I commend them for keeping this board posted with the info they have. It's a lot better than knowing nothing, but I'd rather they not spend too much valuable time away from their primary objective. After reading "The Last Season" a couple of times, I was awed (am I overusing that word? I can't help it) at the anatomy of a SAR. After my family and I experienced it first hand, I am confident our SAR teams on all sides of the Sierra are among the best their are.

Just posting what info I have. I've backpacked with Larry on quite a few trips in the past. He usually sets his tent up in out of the way, secluded places. Often I have to look around a bit to figure out where he set up his tent. He uses the trails to get to an area but spends most his time off trail exploring, especially hidden lakes and peaks. He can cover 15 miles a day with ease but most of all he seems to like exploring new areas.

He is very experienced, clam and rational. Not the type to panic. In a bad situation he would most likely figure a way out of it. That is the part of this that concerns me most. For someone like Larry it would take something major to put him in this situation. But he would most likely keep a cool head and do his best to survive.

rlown wrote:If Larry was set on Split, this is the route I would have chosen:
MAP
Assumes he was going for Split, this would be where i'd look. I believe that was his plan before the storm. Just throwing it out there as I've never been there.

The little lakes in the lower center below the marked "Wetlands" would make a pretty good base-camp. I would figure all of the other little streams in the area would be dried up on Larry's weekend, and any camp would have to be near reliable water. Also those lakes have a fair amount of trees around them and good per-existing camps, even for a stealth camper, which I think Larry is.

As for the NPS map, The Muro Blanco, where are the thickest forest (and ample firewood), was still not included. A stroll look-see down the Blanco as far as the Cartridge Pass trail (yes, it is still there) would be worthwhile.

Edit: This map:
http://www.hillmap.com/m/ag1zfmhpbGxtYX ... 1hcBjFljcM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
...still has the location of the old Cartridge Pass trail, some of which is gone but most of which is still there, if faint in places

ERIC wrote:Search Area Map
That is a massive area to cover with or without snow on the ground..wow.

Though it was not included, I have to assume that east of Taboose Pass was also included. Just south of the pass there are some pretty impressive cliffs, and someone in a storm with limited visibility looking for the pass... Just sayin'.

eee3333 please check your PM. Thanks

Thank you DP Hiker for that information and chiming in. My though is about him setting up camp away from the trails was to avoid the crowds and this would not have been an issue at this time of the year ( I do the same thing to).

Not sure if this will help but last summer I did Split from a base camp at Lake 3535. It was a combination of on-trail and cross country travel, and I think we took the most obvious routes when we went x-country.

There isn't a lot of flat ground to camp at that lake but we found a nice spot along the west side outlet of the lake - seemed like that was the most likely area to find a flat camp at that lake.

To get there we hiked the JMT north and then cut cross country (white pin is camp):



This was our route up Split. Easy navigation, no difficult calls to make, you can see the whole route from the lake. (our wandering out to the edge above the chute to Red Lake was to peek at the route. The wiggles in our route don't indicate difficult route finding - in fact the terrain is so open you can pretty much go anywhere).



When we headed out the next day we followed a natural path down some trickling water (likely dry right now) all the way back to the JMT at one of the larger creek crossings. We took the cutoff over to Taboose (although it wasn't easy to find from the upper basin side).

As long as the discussion is on Split, as Kathy W pointed out earlier, there is a small chance he might have bailed out down the class 2-3 ridge to the Red Lake drainage. I wonder if they have looked there at all?
I don't know how much snow was still on the ground on north aspects from the previous storm, but I imagine the north slope route on Split was still pretty dusted. I don't know if that would have discouraged Larry or not but it certainly would have made it more treacherous, The only signifacant injury (sprained ankle) I ever had in the mountains was a result of slipping on a snow dusted talus slope.

DP Hiker we are going up this coming week, PM me. Thanks