Hello fellow victims of the higher, the lighter and the fewer,
I guess I have been backpacking for a while. My first trip was as a kid (1973?), my uncle was on a grapefruit juice diet, (packed in tiny cans!) everyone else's food was canned beans, stew and corn, and as it was so warm going out no one brought a jacket. That night it snowed at the lake above where we camped and the wind was like a freight train. Stockholm syndrome? For some reason, I still keep going back.
My son, wife and I have gone on annual weeklong trips each summer for the past 10 years or so, and pick up shorter trips when we can. It is amazing what happens when you and your teenager can unplug for a week.
My favorite trips to date have been on various loops in Yosemite (Cathedral lakes and Matterhorn Canyon) & most recently the Rae Lakes loop.
I have been working on getting my lightweight backpacking game together and find that the prep is a bunch of fun in itself, (gear gear gear).Somehow though there is nothing so great as being out there on top of the world and cracking open a perfect, snow chilled IPA!
Thanks for all the info on your excellent site,
Happy Trails!
Weeble (ex lurker)