High Sierra Topix

This is a trip report from a trip to SEKI from August of last year.

This followed a trip to Yosemite in July. On that trip, I sprained an ankle, and developed some chest pain. The chest pain was not a new thing; it had become a pattern.

So, the high-level goal of this trip to SEKI was just to get up and enjoy mountains without chest pain, and without aggravating my stubborn ankle. Mostly, that just that meant slowing down--but I tried a few other things, too.

The entire trip report is here: https://ontheswitchbacks.wordpress.com/ ... o-lollygag. As usual, I apologize for the little ads that show up: the blog is not monetized in any way. It's just free, but of course nothing is free, so then there are the ads. I would put the entire trip report in this post, but I'm too verbose to make that practical.

The summary is the typical summary: SEKI did not disappoint.

Here's some eye candy:


There's a reason Kings Canyon is a National Park


Along the Cirque Crest


A room with a view


Another room with a view


On the slopes of Arrow Peak


Meadow pornography


Typical Sierra grandeur


A rare--but not unheard of--sight at 8,000 feet

Hardly lollygagging! Up Copper Creek, over Cartridge Pass, climbing Arrow Peak, and finally back down through Rae Lake and Bubbs Creek. That's a lot of miles, man. Nice report. Good photos, too!

Beautiful pictures!

balzaccom wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:28 pm Hardly lollygagging! Up Copper Creek, over Cartridge Pass, climbing Arrow Peak, and finally back down through Rae Lake and Bubbs Creek. That's a lot of miles, man. Nice report. Good photos, too!

Thanks balzaccom! I never moved very quickly (nose breathing kept that in check), and with the amount of time I spent in camp, it felt pretty, low-key, but all things are relative. I think it's a testament to that part of SEKI that one can see so many interesting and diverse places within a few days.

A minor correction--I didn't go over Cartridge Pass proper, but climbed Marion Peak from White Pass, then followed the Cirque Crest to the ENE, descending to the SE while I was still south of Cartridge Pass. I met up with the Cartridge Pass trail at the lakes just south of Cartridge Pass. Doesn't change your point, of course!

Thanks gary c.!

Really nice photos! Thank you for sharing.

7:15 with nose breathing? Good gravy - that's amazing.
Re. the ankle, you are SO stubborn.
Report is hardly verbose. Entirely enjoyable. I was laughing out loud.
Copper Creek Trail. Again, laughing out loud.
Brilliant take on *talus space*.
"What would life be, without mountains?"
"Oh well. I suppose no trip is perfect."
Best report I've read in years, maybe ever.

Lumbergh21 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:41 pm Really nice photos! Thank you for sharing.

Thanks Lumbergh21!

sekihiker wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 8:15 am 7:15 with nose breathing? Good gravy - that's amazing.
Re. the ankle, you are SO stubborn.
Report is hardly verbose. Entirely enjoyable. I was laughing out loud.
Copper Creek Trail. Again, laughing out loud.
Brilliant take on *talus space*.
"What would life be, without mountains?"
"Oh well. I suppose no trip is perfect."
Best report I've read in years, maybe ever.

Thanks for the kind words sekihiker! You quoted the last sentence so I know you made it far, congrats !

Glad the humor works! I'm engineer by trade, so most of my writing is, well, completely devoid of humor.

@awhite4777 Your photos are stunning. What's your secret?

Nasal breathing = Hypoxia.

Although, I sing in our local symphony chorus and concert choir, and if I breath on the trail like I do when I sing, it does make a small difference. Gets a little more air deeper into the lungs. I have to use it selectively. I can't do it unless I focus on it. Otherwise, I just lapse back into mouth breathing (and knuckle dragging).

The shots are great. I like Arrow Peak, particularly.

An engineer with a sense of humor who can write like this, do this kind of hike while only breathing out of his nose, and who also has a great eye for photo composition and lighting? HST is filled with impressive folks, but this report is proof that there do, in fact, exist people who are good at everything.

Thanks for taking us along for the ride!