High Sierra Topix

A lot of my trips have been solo, I find it's normal for myself and other solo hikers to want to chat. We haven't had anyone to share the experience with, plus if we're going in opposite directions we can help eachother with information. In 03 I was doing Florence to Roads End in mid June, I ran across another solo hiker in Leconte Canyon that was doing South Lake to Whitney Portal. We spent four days hiking and camping together, until I had to go down Bubbs Creek. Worked out great, others on the trail that encountered us thought we started out together.

If you go to any of the popular spots in Yosemite, Mammoth & SEKI, you're not going to have it to yourself - it's just that simple. Hiking a popular trail that doesn't require much exertion is a guaranteed recipe for crowded conditions. To make matters worse, the greater the crowd, the lower the probability your neighbors will share a similar HST backcountry ethic. So the solution is two-fold, either:

- avoid popular trails and/or
- increase the physical requirements

But how many people actually put in the training time & effort to actually get away? It's not like you just show up @ Parker, McGee, Pine, Shepherd, etc on a whim. And yet, if you do hike those trails, not only are the numbers lower, but those you may happen to meet have also purposely made it a point to travel those less traveled routes (ie will have trained & prepared), and will have the same sense of personal space as you yourself do.

As for me, I'm pretty flexible; I don't mind going to crowded places if that's where I'm going. That is, I KNOW I'm going there. On the other hand, I train a bit to be able to take off and do other things that are more challenging. Variety is the spice of life.

Hobbes wrote:It's not like you just show up @ Parker, McGee, Pine, Shepherd, etc on a whim.

I got to agree. Those are two of my planned trips this summer. If I'm going solo, I like some solitude!

I did a nice training hike up Mt Baden Powell (2800 ft in 3.8 miles) on fathers day to simulate the Pine Creek TH climb (2400 ft in first 3.4 miles). It went well, and I think I'm almost ready with two weeks to go.

Now I got two months to figure out a plan for Shepherd!

Now I got two months to figure out a plan for Shepherd!

With any of the 4 big treadmills (Taboose, Sawmill, Baxter, and Shepherd), always make sure you either get a very early start to beat the heat, or start late in the day, continue a ways by flashlight to a campsite, and get an early start the next morning (this you do if you are familiar with where the campsites are located).