High Sierra Topix

Hi Tyler,

Welcome to HST!
It's great when you can experience nature together with your wife.

Maverick: On our recent dayhiking trip to Kings Canyon, we met a devoted lurker on this site, who was heading up to East Lake on the Bubbs Creek Trail. When i mentioned this site, he admitted that he lurked here every day.

I STRONGLY encouraged him to post a TR....let's see if he does!

I STRONGLY encouraged him to post a TR....let's see if he does!

Cheers - your thread got me to join. I've also been on some other backpacking forums for a few years, but now that I live in NorCal, I think this is the place for me :-)

Hoping to share insight from previous trips and receive a level of consciousness in the mountains. Happy trails everyone.

Hi Streamdream2,

Welcome to HST!

Hi, everyone. I haven't come here often, but recently started two threads asking for information. I hope to get out into the Sierra soon and I'll post a TR after I come back.

I mostly go solo, am 62, and tend to go backpacking just a few times a year. I love the Sierra and have mostly confined myself to August and early September to avoid the snow and mosquitos. Now we can expect fires during my favorite months. It's all gotten rather difficult to figure out when to go!

I think it's great how you all share info on conditions.

Hi Sierradoug,

Welcome to HST! Looking forward to read some of your TR's.

My name is Ken and I am glad I’ve joined. I’ve been lurking for a while enjoying the trial reports and absorbing all kinds of tips and info. I plan to file trip reports and share my experience.

Like so many others I have the usual reasons for a 20 year sabbatical from packing: kids, marriage and career. I am not sure those reasons rise make an excuse. I am a very experienced backpacker with so many trips they tend to blur together. My id on HST “CalMntHkr” reflects the my experience in the Sierra, Coastal and ranges of northern California. Staying on a trail is optional if the xc route looks fun. If there is a lake basin, I want to see it. My back is strong, my feet are flat and my hips are very worn.

Choosing the first trips after 20 years is not easy. Knee, hip and ankle injuries definitely need testing before the stresses of really challenging backpacking. With lower altitudes and easier terrain, the gardens of Yosemite seem to be perfect. Three trips for this year have been planned for what has been dubbed “Tour de Yosemite”. Starting in the north corner of Yosemite, the first trip leaves Leavitt Meadows, circles the Saurian Crest using the Tilden Lake - Tower Lake xc route. Moving a bit further south, the second is the famous Kerrick Canyon - Matterhorn Canyon Loop with a few twists. Going yet further south, the last trip circles the headwaters of the Merced River going over Vogelsang Pass, Red Peak Pass then over Cathedral Pass. There are stops at the Lyell Fork (xc), Red Devil Lake and Lower Ottoway Lake. The last miles are on the JMT which I have not done from end to end, just in pieces. Bucket List. All three trips will have a trail report posted.

For next year it's the JMT if I am lucky. If not I'll split the Colby SEKI loop into two trips and visit a bunch of basins.

-Ken

Hi Ken,

Welcome to HST, and the Sierra!
Nice reintroduction trips planned Ken.

Hello all! I've been a fly fishing nut for a decade now(Took a beginner fly fishing class from Guy Jeans when he first opened his shop in Kernville and got the bug). I've always focused on fishing the upper Kern as we have a place in Kernville. I am a moderately experienced backpacker, hoping to have much more experience before late fall comes around. Gonna probably ask some dumb questions now and again. Have my first real trip coming up next week!

Clint