High Sierra Topix

Iceland / Kilimanjaro / Sierra Nevada – What we’ve got.

Last winter I discovered the wide and wonderful world of backpacking online c/o YouTube. The sheer volume of sites one can get a vicarious trail journey in is just staggering. After an initial wide and dizzying foray I zeroed in on a couple of ‘producers’ that took my fancy with “Dixie on the Trail” (Homemade Wanderlust) being one of my favorites. That gal is great, let alone her delightful Southern accent.
She has done and covered multitudes of thru-hikes in the USA and also some foreign countries, with Iceland and Kilimanjaro in Africa being her latest.

Which brings me to the point of this muse…which is admittedly tailored to us folks who happen live in California, or be located close enough to the Sierra Nevada to get there and get into them within a day. This is a blessing I am appreciating more and more as I survey the realms beyond them – either personally or secondhand through YouTube.

As the Sierra snows deepened rapidly this season I was both overjoyed and trepidious (is that a word?). Yes, we need the wet and moisture big time, but along with that comes the potential for a very late start to the backpacking season. I’m not a snow camper (yet) so had to start thinking about my sanity if I could not get a pack on and into the hills by late June, July, even August???
This inspired some research into trips farther afield. Maybe even far afield.

My post on The Peaks of the Balkans Trail was one potential place, but oh my goodness the hassle factor, let alone cost.
Wadi Rum in Jordan? Or the Drakensburg? (See the incredible videos by Herman Hoek). Intriguing, but I’m not young and as travel tolerant as I used to be.
Then there was “Dixie” who I discovered by visiting her website had recently been to Iceland and Africa to pursue her backpacking quests…Sobering.

The thing I gleaned from all these forays was:
1. Organizing it all and getting there is a major hassle.
2. One needs to have a high tolerance for having lots of other people on the trails sharing the adventure.
3. A good fat bank balance is du jour.
4. Not having sensitive hearing like I do would be a real plus.
5. Internally agreeing not to keep thinking and comparing with the Sierras!

Ha, ha…Number 5. there is what I was already having trouble with just watching the videos and imagining myself in the situations.

The world has changed. There are a LOT more people out there than there used to be. The clips from Kilimanjaro of the plains around the mountain at night just blew me away. A sea of lights. Humanity everywhere. When I was growing up in Africa that used to be thorn trees, and savannah thick with wildlife of innumerable species. I was kind of devastated to see the change.

Then there were the crowds at the summit of Kili, and the same in Iceland along the main trails. They made the ‘non bubble’ JMT/PCT look like a semi-deserted track. Wow!

Which brings me back the Sierras…
Where it is still possible to get far out into the wilderness and feel alone. For days on end if off trail.
Where the landscape is so uniquely user friendly for the most part to just heading off into the beyond.
Where it is legal to just head off into the beyond and camp in a tent without a fine or specifically booked location (wilderness permit of course).
Where it is still possible to go on a trip spontaneously if flexible with trailheads and destinations.
Where the beauty is unsurpassed………

I have left a lot off that list, but you get the idea.

In short, we are blessed. And I suggest making good use of this as if my online travels showed me anything, it’s that the world is filling up fast. The isolation we take for granted out there in the high country is unlikely to last.

Enjoy!

Best ~ Michaelzim

Yes, every time I hike in another part of the U.S. (all over the west and some places in the east) or the world (done some hiking in Canada, Europe, Costa Rica, Patagonia and New Zealand), I am reminded again how great the High Sierra is for hiking and backpacking: grandly wild (about 3 million acres of wilderness and strong legal protection to keep it that way), gorgeously scenic, uncrowded (when you get off the main trails), pleasant weather, amazing trail system and easy terrain for cross-country, and (at least if you live in California like I do) such easy access! And did I mention the great weather? Oh, and have you noticed that most of the High Sierra does NOT have all those sheep and cows that graze and pollute other mountain range meadows? Lots of places can compete on scenic value (example: the Alps) and some are more wild (Alaska), but nothing I've seen has all the great attributes together that we find in the Sierra.
-Phil

I too love the Sierra. I also like the variety of other backpacking venues. Almost every backpack area is less crowded off the trails and off the "big name" routes. There also are plenty of square miles of really wild mountains, for example the BC coast range. The Sierra are actually pretty civilized. The crowds in the prime scenery areas of the Sierra, like the Whitney Zone, really do not bother me. I just clear my mind of being in wilderness and am happy that more people get to experience these gems. Again, I like solitude, but I do not mind mixing it up with very scenic but crowded other areas. As much as international travel sounds good, it is really out of my price range. There are still lots of places in the western US that I want to see.

I love it all. I've been hikings in Patagonia and the Andes, Europe and Canada and Alaska, as well as the Rockies and the Southwest. They all have their charms and attractions, but I am eternally grateful that my home mountains are the Sierra. They are convenient (less than a day's drive) convenient (plenty of trails and trailheads to choose from) and convenient (weather in the summer beats any other place.

And while there are trails that get a ton of traffic, we've always found it pretty darn easy to find solitude---by hiking off trail half a mile, by taking a less-used trailhead, or by hiking when others are not. And for all that, we've still seen just as many people, or more, when we've hiked in those other locaions. I'm sure we could find more solitude there, but as Daisy notes, all of those other destinations are farther away and more expensive to get to.

If you're really having trouble finding solitude in the Sierra, you are trying the right places.

As the Sierra snows deepened rapidly this season I was both overjoyed and trepidious (is that a word?).

I believe that's trepidacious, still, a nice effort for foreigner. How do you say "$hit-scared" in your tongue Michael?

Yes, the Sierra is a wonderful home range. Cheers.

Yes, living near the Sierra Nevada Range has been of immense value during my life. Beyond the Sierra, our whole state has world class places to visit though many are in their glory only during relatively brief periods.

There are plenty of worthwhile lower elevation scenic, interesting destinations in California for April through June though most are better suited for vehicle camping plus day hiking versus backpacking. And that does not necessarily mean being stuck in some public campground if one does their homework. California during that period especially during wet years like this has world class wildflower displays.

Point Lobos SR Park, any time of year though best in May.
During early March, the lower Merced River canyon has terrific wildflower hiking. Has had the rains this winter.


March into April Carrizo Plain NM can be incredibly colorful with wildflowers and there is much dispersed camping possible if one knows where and how. Has had the rains this winter.
The Antelope Valley State Poppy Reserve that blooms in March has had good rains this winter.
By early May, Sonoma and Mendocino coastal bluffs are wonderful.
For May, our always wet far north coast redwood and coast areas are fabulous.

https://www.davidsenesac.com/2015_Trip_ ... 015-8.html

https://www.davidsenesac.com/2021_Trip_ ... 021-4.html

A superb choice even in late winter mid February through April is the enormous Death Valley National Park with endless pristine zones few if any ever have explored. Along with other desert parks, only modestly above normal rains so far this year.

https://www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_ ... 016-2.html

https://www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_ ... 016-5.html

@Harlen ...Ha, ha. Yes, the Queen would have been proud at your exemplary diction. However, I kind of like the ring of trepidious for a shotgun version.
In relation to 'expelling from the rear ends' with concern "Kunetseka" may be it, though I would reserve "Kutya" if contemplating backpacking in the Chimanimani Mountains. I have zero faith that the Zim army adequately cleared all the mines left over from the Bush War. A pity, as a unique range.
Ummmmmm...on the home front, are we not overdue for one of your mid-winter snow traipses though the white and wonderful world of the high Sierra??? I'm looking forward to reading and seeing photos about it while snug and warm.

@SSSdave Thanks for the great ideas and links for more temperate destinations. I'm not too far from some of them either.

Best ~ Michaelzim

I've been to a few of the far off "biggie" and bucket list venues one reads about. But I've come to realize the commitment and logistics to get to these places are substantial, and the experience often less than what I expected. Whereas the Sierra consistently measures up. We are at the cusp of what may well turn out to be the best ski trekking season in generations. I can't wait! We'll have ample, pretty scenery to tour, world class, blue bird corn days the Sierra is famous for, and all the technical challenges (if that is what floats your pow skis) in the way of icy couloirs, high water stream conditions and safe route finding conundrums. You can surely bet folks will come from the far corners of earth to partake. Best snow in decades aside; we of course we have the predicable, enviable, regular features of our mountains. I am already practicing my summit top nap, and anticipating the taste of a fresh trout dinner, overlooking a plenty fine lookin' lake, from the front porch of a remote camp.

If one gets bored or jaded of the same old same old, or weary of the crowds plaguing the famous postcard venues.. ..Geeze, try another trail! There is a lifetime worth of exploring opportunities in these mountains, many destinies rival the more famous vistas featured in wall calendars, yet very much under the radar, and every bit equally worthy of a visit!

If you hang around any mountaineer who has been around the block, they are likely to agree there are many fine mountains on the planet, but none have as good a combination of access, scenery, solitude, challenge and climate as the Sierra. Thus many mountaineers have trekked the worldwide over, but settle down within eyeshot of the Sierra.

Ed

I love the Sierra, plain and simple, everything about it, for all fo the reasons mentioned above.
My first backpack was in Nepal and I was so hooked on backpacking. Once I backpacked the Sierra, i was addicted beyond words! I have hiked and backpacked OR and wondered why I bothered. I would like to backpack AK and WA one day. parts of the Kerry look like Nepal, but there is just so much more variety of things to see!!!
Yes, we ar blessed that it is our backyard!!!