High Sierra Topix

Glad you've all enjoyed. -Steve

@michaelzim - I went back to a tarp, something I hadn't used since Boy Scouts, to reduce weight. The first night was kind of "fingers-crossed" but it held. That said I have my eye on the Durston X-Mid Pro 1. More stormworthy (I think) and weight should be about the same as my tarp + bivy.

@Harlen - yep, you got the location Ian. I rarely find myself atop peaks, but I do like the high off trail passes and their views into the high lake basins.

@WD - I started with 8 days food which would probably been just enough had I found the route to Amphitheater Lake. Weight-wise, probably started at or just over 40 lbs. My base for this gear list (which includes both bear cans) is 19lbs.

Thanks for posting. I read the long report. I really like your writing style and personal reflections. Great photos.
-Phil

What beautiful photos. I especially like the 2nd photo and of course the bighorn sheep. I've never been anywhere near that close. The one time that I saw some in the wild was like Harlen's photo.

I appreciate the praise of my photos. Funny thing with me with photography, I have no talent whatsoever. I need an awesome image to present itself and then I need to not f it up and hopefully I get 2, 3, 4 or more opportunities to frame and snap the image. The cloud cover and storminess of this hike gave some great light, but it was luck alone that I captured a couple of gems.

All that said, what I see and what I experience is orders of magnitude more than I am able to bring home. And I'll aways put more effort "searing" it into my memory than trying to capture it on "film". I'm selfish that way.

Read your full report. Sounds like a wonderful adventure with more wet weather than I would expect. We are going from Cottonwood pass to South Lake this September but will not be off trail like your trip. I am hoping to see less people on the trail.

I have taken the family off trail for no more than about 4 days on a trip. Off trail days seem to be very low milage but the adventure of figuring out the route is fun.

The pictures are great. 300+ backpacking trips is very impressive. We have only managed about 25 in the last 3 decades. Plan to section hike the PCT after we retire to put in many more trail days over about 3 years.

I finally got the opportunity to read and look at your wonderful photos on the long version on your blog. I also appreciated your personal observations. They take this from just being a litany of what happened to a personal essay on your experiences. As Wandering Daisy pointed out, you covered a lot of miles, especially considering how much of it was off-trail. I’ve also only seen bighorns from a very far distance so its wonderful to see your photo of them more close-up.
Thanks for sharing!

LMBSGV wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:33 pm I’ve also only seen bighorns from a very far distance so its wonderful to see your photo of them more close-up.

Some of us carry 15-20 pounds of camera gear just so we can get bighorn photos.

These sheep crossed our path coming down from Whites Peak back in 2013.

Thank you @LMBSGV. I enjoy your trip reports for the same reason. Even though I love to get into TR route details and use those in planning my adventures, our time out there molds us. And eventually, if we talk enough, or write enough words, we eventually get around to expressing it. And once I figured that out, everyone, when they tell about their hikes, always interest me.

@JWreno, nice close-up too.