R03/R01 TR: Taboose to Dumbbell: Kings Canyon NP Aug 2007

[hikerduane]

I need to take more breaks when bping and even munch on snacks. I go solo on yearly trips so I take a break for lunch maybe, but usually have lunch at my days destination unless it is over 12 miles maybe. At least I drink more water than I used to, but still not enough. I think I am focusing on my total weight now and not on what I should eat to be able to keep moving, but I hadn't planned on bping 14 miles my second day out on my vacation a couple weeks ago. I start thinking about something then I do it. At least I stayed out for the full week even though I was a couple three miles from the trailhead for my last night. I keep telling myself I need to set longer hiking days to get back into seeing lots of territory on my trips.

[KathyW]

peninsula - great report and beautiful pictures. I'd really like to get into that area eventually. It must have been hell coming down from Dumbbell Pass.

I see you have a TS Eliot quote as your signature - I love TS Eliot. I really like this section from "The Wasteland":

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

and most of all I love his poem "The Hollow Men" http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~evans/hollow.html

oops, i've gone off-topic - this is a backpacking thread

[peninsula]

Thanks Snow Nymph and KathyW,

TS Eliot has some really good stuff. I'm not big on poetry, but I think his stuff hits the nail on the head with abrupt eloquence.

And hikerduane, you will do well paying attention to both regular snacks (I think Power Bars are the best) as well as plenty of water. That along with picking a pace that is natural for you. I take plenty of breathers and can still manage to cover lots of ground. My breathers are short with my pack on my back and standing up. I rarely take my pack off during the course of a day when going from one camp to the next. And I keep my water, water purifier, camera, and food handy so my pack can stay put. I find resting with my pack off is not good for me. I get stiff and find it hard to get back into a rhythm. But to each his own as goes taking breaks. You got to do what works for you.

peninsula

[quentinc]

peninsula - great report and beautiful pictures. I'd really like to get into that area eventually. It must have been hell coming down from Dumbbell Pass.

I see you have a TS Eliot quote as your signature - I love TS Eliot. I really like this section from "The Wasteland":

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

and most of all I love his poem "The Hollow Men" http://www.cs.umbc.edu/~evans/hollow.html

oops, i've gone off-topic - this is a backpacking thread

One should never apologize for invoking T.S. Eliot! My favorite lines from The Wasteland:

And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

But, then, I always have had a weakness for angst.

[hikerduane]

peninsula, I'm like you, I take a break on my feet and only take my pack off for lunch or to change clothes or at the end of the day. Gotta stay ahead of the young people. But then my pack weight is only half yours, those disposable cameras don't weigh much.

[KathyW]

No, I suppose there should be no apologies for quoting Eliot - he was a extraordinary poet whose work will live on forever.

[TehipiteTom]

If any of you are interested in Taboose Pass, Cartridge Pass, Lake Basin, Dumbbell Pass and Dumbbell Lakes Basin

How could anyone not be interested?

Really enjoyed the report and pictures. Dumbbell Lakes basin has been on my wish list for a long time.

As for Eliot quotes, there's a line from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock that goes through my head over and over whenever I'm off-trail and picking out a route: "In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."

[maverick]

I saw no one in Dumbbell Basin either and I visited every lake in the
basin.
I saw some foot prints at the small lake north of 11108 but that was it.
Saw some bear and mountain lion tracks at the pass between
Observation Basin and Dumbbell Basin and some bear scat at
Observation Lakes and Dumbbell Basin.
Lakes Basin has become popular and the masses can have at it
Dumbbell and Amph is prettier anyways.

[peninsula]

I saw what looked to be cat prints on the Lake Basin side of Dumbbell Pass.

I'm going to have to check out Amph for sure. So many places on my list and only so much cartilage in my knees. I saw a guy that looked like he was about 70 making his way over Taboose. I can only hope my legs will hold out as well as his!

For beauty and relative solitude, another favorite of mine is Miter Basin. Even though it is not all that remote, it seems to get relatively less traffic. I imagine the solitude is aided by the fact Miter Basin is located south of the traffic-generating JMT. Another trip on my ever-growing list is Lower Soldier Lake, Miter Basin, Crabtree Pass into Crabtree Basin and then loop back out via New Army or Army.

[maverick]

Sky Blue and Iridescent Lakes are my favorites in Miter.
Your right, with everyone concentrating on finishing the JMT and
hiking Whitney, Miter is all but ignored
If you want another beautiful area go to Kaweah Basin and Red Spur
Lakes.