3/nt. Backpacking Route SEKI- Next Week for novice

[chulavista]

Sphinx Lakes out of Roads End! As long as you are in good shape.

[AlmostThere]

Sphinx Lakes out of Roads End! As long as you are in good shape.

With a 15 year old novice????

[chulavista]

Sphinx Lakes out of Roads End! As long as you are in good shape.

With a 15 year old novice????

Oh please...camp on the trail at Sphinx Creek. Take a day and a half to get up there. Day hike as far up the canyon as you want. One day to hike down.

[Wandering Daisy]

I would never take a novice or kid up Sphinx Creek, backpack or day-hike. Unless you know the kid well enough that he absolutely loves bushwhacking.

You need to ASK the kid what kind of stuff he likes. Some appreciate beautiful scenery; others gritty challenging misery; others fishing; others long trail days. And mosquitoes. Nothing more terrible to me than off-trail travel through head-high brush thick with mosquitoes. Even if the kid never has been backpacking, you can get an idea of his preferences. The point of the trip is to get the kid to like backpacking. It is too easy to turn off kids with an inappropriate trip. If the kid has his head in his I-phone all the time, you may need some good eye-popping scenery to interest him. I do not think Sphinx Creek is going to do that. Hamilton Lake may also have too long an approach to get to the jaw-dropping stuff, but I think it beats Sphinx Creek. At least the trail is good, creek crossings interesting, and the end point spectacular. Not my preference, but the social aspect of the crowded camp at Hamilton Lake appeals to a lot of youth.

[Wandering Daisy]

Read "earth-materials" trip post. It solves the creek crossing problem and is a great trip report that shows what to expect.

[BUCKSKI]

Thanks everyone for the ideas, High Sierra trail to Hamilton lakes seems like the consensus. And one of the few with good reports and pictures getting posted, looks doable with some careful crossings, 15 yr old is 6ft so he will be okay! Going to get rangers input too and be flexible. All the advice very much appreciated!

[Cross Country]

I took my 12 year old son to Sphnix but at 12 but he was NOT a novice. Being able to make it physicallly is probably not as hard for a novice as the mental challenge. Mike as a 6 years old novice had no problem mentally. At 6 the challenge for him was physical. At 15 he could hike me under the table.
I believe vey strongly that this year almost everyone shoud take some kind of shoes to cross the MANY high creeks one might encounter. I was always partial to tenis because of the hard soles on the rocks.
When Mike was 13 and hiked longer and stronger than I, we crossed Cliff Creek twice, 6 days apart, in July-Aug. The water was above my thigh and fairly strong. We left the shoes at Cliff Creek for 6 days. I thought the water would be lower when we returned. It wasn't. Thank god the shoes were still there when we returned.

[rlown]

Thanks everyone for the ideas, High Sierra trail to Hamilton lakes seems like the consensus. And one of the few with good reports and pictures getting posted, looks doable with some careful crossings, 15 yr old is 6ft so he will be okay! Going to get rangers input too and be flexible. All the advice very much appreciated!

Height of your nephew doesn't matter.. It's depth and speed of the river/stream where you cross that matters. Even a car can be swept off the road in only a foot of fast moving water.

F=M*A

[Satchel Buddah]

GiantBrookie, is there a place to camp near water in Redwood Canyon? I have day hiked there but do not remember water. You are referring to the 10 mile loop, right?

The creek that runs down the middle of the canyon that you cross at least twice has water year round.

Plenty of streams to be found in spring/early summer in Redwood canyon on the south side of the canyon (heart tree loop). Many gorgeous campsites not too far from a water refill to be found bushwhacking a bit away from the trail. (try to pick the granite shelves for low impact). Dry camping on the north ridge (sugar bowl grove) so pack up some water... Still worth it for a night or two in the big trees. Campsites at the bottom of the canyon by the river smell a bit of overuse and not following leave no trace... Redwood canyon is desert during the week and becomes more used starting fridays. "Short" trails but plenty to explore on the mountains with a light foot. I love it.

[BUCKSKI]

thanks all for the ideas and thoughts.

Ended up doing High Sierra Trail on a 3-day/2-night modified loop, made it 2 miles past Bearpaw Meadow. I wrote a trip report here http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... =1&t=16119 ... set a high bar for my nephew on backpacking scenery and endurance. Let him off easy with a 25# pack. He loved every second of it

Some Scenery Shots:

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6. Waterfalls above 9-mile creek. A very short trail blaze for fantastic views (stay 100 ft. back from creek for easy route).


7. Lone Pine Creek - Mt. Stewart 12,025 ft.


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Pack Horses- to Bearpaw and back in one day via Wolverton Cutoff



Some nice AlpenGlow on our last night