Wilderness Romance

[AlmostThere]

I keep looking, but so far all the guys I've met on the trail are with other girls - or guys....

Doing Rae Lakes later this year so maybe there is hope for me yet.

[Troutdog 59]

I didnt meet my wife in the backcountry, but pretty close. I met Deb in 1983 when we both lived and worked at the Sugar Bowl ski resort on the Donner Summit.

I do have an interesting story of Romance in the Sierra. It's no one I truly know, but it was an interesting meeting and tale. Maybe its one of you all out there .

In 1992, I did a 5 day trip into the Humphries Basin with my brother Jim, his wife Barb, Deb, and my then 2.5 year old son Josh (Deb carried Josh in one of those kid carrier backpacks and Jim and Barb helped by sharing some (alot) of the load). It was one of those trips with just plain bad weather. While it didnt rain all that much, it was windy, overcast, and cool every day. To escape some of the weather, we made a base camp down in the forested part of the canyon and hiked to the surrounding lakes on either side.

One day we hiked up to Packsaddle Lake. It was kinda funny cuz as we picked spots to fish my brother askes from the other side of the inlet if I smel bacon? I didnt and couldnt figure out why he did. I returned to the task at hand (fishing), when I heard a voice I didnt recognize. I turned around to see Deb and Barb talking to this gal who had apeared out of the rocks and small pines near the outlet of the lake. Turns out she was camped at the lake with her husband and their young son. They were expecting some folk and when she heard us she thought we were them. She was excited to see Josh and she explained that they had been in for a "few weeks" and their son hadnt had someone his age to play with the entire time. She was hoping that they could play, but she had just put him down for a nap and he wouldnt be up for awhile. We tried to hang out for awhile, but the weather deteriorated and we eventually had to head back to our camp in the canyon below.

However, during our brief conversation I realized we had stumbled upon a couple (although we never saw dad or child) who truly loved the Sierra and it was truly part of ther life. I do as well, but my efforts pale in comarison to theirs (or at least hers). We found that they were there for their 10th Anniversary and the people they were expecting were from the original wedding party. Turns out, her and her husband had gotten married 10 years prior on a glacier along the divide above Paine Lake and that they were back to redo their vows. She indicated they had jobs (winter nordic snow guides?) that allowed them to backack for extended periods of time. They came back to HB each summer and typically spent at least 5 to 6 weeks in the area . And here I was feeling all important and expierenced about my 2 to 3 trips a season . Oh and the bacon. Turns out they were so familiar with the area that they had found a small cave that they stored food products like bacon, ham, cured sausages, eggs, veggies, etc. At the start of each trip, they arranged to have a packer bring in supplies. No thats being serious about backpacking!!!!

[Bad Man From Bodie]

Wilderness Romance…..funny topic, but as for me, it was the only way we could score dates. My early teen years were spent prowling the camp grounds for ladies camping with their parents. With the lack of young females in the Lee Vining area, we looked forward to the summer months when droves of them would ascend on YNP and often would take refuge in one of the Tioga camp grounds. The gig was simple. Cruise the camp sites until you found a candidate, then a dusk, drive through and fake a break down or flat tire next to the site that contained young ladies. We would then go ask their dad for a flashlight or for help. This was a good ice breaker and led to a lot of successful missions. At some point we all got girlfriends and the campground tours and techniques were passed to the next generation.

Although I met my wife at UNR, it was a mutual love of the Eastern Sierra that brought us together. When she got a hold of a photo of me and my buddy at Kirman Lake with a couple large brook trout and called me out on my “secret” location I knew I was dating someone special. Both our families history are ingrained in the Eastern Sierras. We have two beautiful children and a dog named after Eastern Sierra lakes (Parker and Leavitt) and little Ellery.

My brother has the best Wilderness Romance story tho. He is the only one I know who asked his wife to marry him via big red letters painted in the snow on top of the Mono Craters. He did this via snowmobile so the letters were huge and visible from 395.

[quentinc]

Against all possible probability, I actually met someone at Kearsarge Pass about 15 years ago, but I have to say that this thread (although potentially hilarious) is a little too personal for me. Suffice it to say that we broke up a year later, on an absolutely horrendous trip out of Pine Creek (as if though I needed another reason to hate that trail ). That trip could actually go into the "trip from hell" thread instead!

[oldranger]

AlmostThere-- Maybe hang out at the TH? I remember that before I met Kathy I had made a conscious decision to quit my job and live in the mountains where I could and did meet a woman with similar interests. Meeting on the trail, while romantic, often means that somebody will have to change their itinerary and/or may have a commitment to their group.

Quentinc--It seems you owe us another trip from hell!

Mike

[AlmostThere]

AlmostThere-- Maybe hang out at the TH? I remember that before I met Kathy I had made a conscious decision to quit my job and live in the mountains where I could and did meet a woman with similar interests. Meeting on the trail, while romantic, often means that somebody will have to change their itinerary and/or may have a commitment to their group.

It probably does not help me that the folks who backpack with me most often are other people's husbands.

Would you approach a gal surrounded by guys? :retard:

[rlown]

kind of a tangent, but I always take off my wedding ring on trips, as it's a little tight and my hands swell. I suggested that to my friend when we hiked up into Humphrey's basin last year. He did, but i guess his sunscreen didn't work very well. I guess he's never taken off his ring. So, long story short, he had a big red blister around where his ring was usually. A scary, bright red blister.

[oldranger]

AlmostThere

Go solo! That's what my wife was doing when we met. Actually that was pretty important to me because it was clear she was going because she wanted to and not because someone was dragging her up. I also like independent women who don't "need" a man to get along in the world.

Mike

[maverick]

Or another woman, if solo feels uncomfortable.

[AlmostThere]

At risk of taking it further off the topic... I scheduled a women's retreat this year, a hiking group first. I suggested one of the guys set up a men's and the response from the men was less than enthusiastic. The general consensus was that outings just aren't fun without the women.

Requests for specifics resulted in vague responses.... It makes me real curious about men's retreats now.

More on topic... I have hiked with two other women on a backpack - unfortunately, always limiting trips to women is likely to fail, since it's hard to find anyone to hike with sometimes. And then there's always the danger that the guy will follow one of the other women off somewhere... Has happened too...

Looks like I have more solo hikes in my future.