R08/R02 TR: Virginia Canyon, August 2020

[LMBSGV]

Here is the trip report from the one Sierra backpacking trip I was able to take this past summer. Between the fire closures and other reasons explained in the report, I was unable to undertake any others. The trip report and photos are separate, as usual. The trip report is here:

http://laurencebrauer.com/Images/TripRe ... e-2020.pdf

The photo are here at the top of the page:

http://laurencebrauer.com/ASITHSTripReports.html

I hope some of you are able to enjoy the photos and/or the trip report. Thanks for looking and reading.

[balzaccom]

Nice report--and really beautiful photos. thanks for posting. That's one of my favorite parts of the Sierra, despite the fact that it must also be one of the windiest!

And when you look at the trail back to Virginia Lakes Pass from near Summit Lake, you can't believe they could put a trail in there...

[kpeter]

Spectacular photographs and superb prose. I found myself empathizing with much of what you wrote. I especially identified with your description of the crisis of self-confidence that can come when solo. You captured those emotions perfectly.

[wildhiker]

Thank you for the lyrical and revealing trip report. It's so nice to read such well-written reflections on your wilderness experience. The photos are very nice. You captured some beautiful sunrise and sunset lighting. My wife, daughter, and I backpacked into the same area at the end of August. We had a lot of hazy smoke the first day, but then it cleared up for the second and third days. My wife and I had been through the area in 2009 and I remembered the beautiful and striking cone of Virginia Peak. I promised my daughter that we would have spectacular scenery, and after the smoke cleared, she was very pleased.
-Phil

[davidsheridan]

Beautiful Photos!

[oldhikerQ]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and photos. They made me smile.
This is my most visited area of the Sierra, starting with family car camping trips in the mid 1960s.

[LMBSGV]

Thanks balzacom, kpeter, wildhiker, david, and old hiker for your kind reactions to the report and photos. When writing from personal experience and taking photos subjectively I never know if anyone else empathizes so it’s nice to know a connection happens. wildhikker, I was wondering if you found the foliage in the canyon had changed since 2009? Because of the 25 year gap between visits, it was a surprise to discover how different it seemed from my visual memory.

[Wandering Daisy]

Great photos. It is sometimes nice to spend a lot of time in a smaller area and really explore things. I did a 3-day loop from Green Lake TH: up the trail via Summit Lake and then to Soldier Lake and Return Lake and down cross-country from the pass and around Green Lake (lots of bushwhacking). I really liked Soldier Lake. Got to go through again when I did Ropers High Route but just passed by Soldier Lake and camped at Shepherd(?) Lake.

[wildhiker]

...wildhiker, I was wondering if you found the foliage in the canyon had changed since 2009? Because of the 25 year gap between visits, it was a surprise to discover how different it seemed from my visual memory.

I didn't notice any dramatic change between 2009 and 2020. However, I didn't explore the upper valleys as much as you did in either year.
-Phil