I'll add a few more photos and descriptions of a couple of other nice trips that can be accomplished in the same area. For instance, you can easily make day tours out to Panther Gap, and ski or snowshoe around the amazing "Giant Forest." The first also begins at Wolverton, and the latter by parking just by the Giant Forest Museum. The Crescent Meadow road can be used as a ski trail, and it wends its way through stunning Sequoia forest for about 3 miles, out to the "High Sierra TH." That trip is on pretty level ground, unless you choose to add in another mile or so up to the brilliant viewpoint of Moro Rock. My youngest son and I did that one winter, and spent a night out in those giant redwood trees. No photos of the snowy forest, but it truly is something special. Below are three shots from a trip up to Panther Gap:
Panther Gap is 2.9 miles one way from Wolverton, and an easy climb of 1,320.' That makes a 6 miles day tour, with the last 3 miles all downhill.
Okay, so this trip from Wolverton to Table Meadows, with Frank and the boys, was more than a decade ago. We went in from the Wolverton Trailhead, and made it as far as the Table Meadows area. We skied and snowshoed up to the top of "The Hump" for our first camp, and then made it down to Pear Creek for a couple nights-- day-touring out from a second camp. Our route to The Hump from Wolverton is a trip of 3.9 mi., and a climb of 2,200.' I think the Watchtower route is more scenic, and it adds just .3 miles. From The Hump on to Pear Lake Ski Hut is about 2.5 miles farther, and slightly downhill overall. On our final night we camped again on top of the Hump for the great views eastward. We chose to do the fun, but hard work to dig out a massive snow cave, large enough for all five of us. This trip was made great by exciting weather that threatened, but never really nailed us. The conditions were excellent for skiing, and luckily, we also brought snowshoes, which came in handy for the steep hills, and for when Frank's supposedly all-purpose, can fit any boot, Ramer ski bindings failed miserably. So you will see many photos of Frank with skis sticking out above his back, snowshoeing along with small snowshoes on his size 14 feet!
The photos for this trip happen to mostly include people. I didn't want this TR to appear like a family home slideshow, so I've added some scenic shots from my solo trips in the same area. I'll try not to drone on about the kids, though for us they were the highlight of the trip. Our eldest son Ryan was 9+ and Nathan was 7 years old, and for many years both had been able to both hike and ski their ages. Lots of rest breaks, and stops for fun seemed to do the trick. I was just beginning to experiment with homemade "pulks," and this one served me well till the bamboo poles fractured on the final icy run down to Wolverton.
