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Blog - backpacking

Yosemite NP : Valley to Clouds Rest Loop, September 15-17, 2009

February 29, 2012 No Comments

As part of a trip to Yosemite for a wedding (with the rest of the trip to be written up next), I took the opportunity to go on a two night overnight backpack, since it seemed a waste to go all the way to Yosemite without having some time to enjoy it. I scheduled my research proposals exam to be a week and a half later, such that I was able to turn in my props just before leaving, but would have enough time to worry about them when I got back.

For this trip, I started in Yosemite Valley at Happy Isles, and took the John Muir Trail up to Nevada Falls. From there I continued to Little Yosemite Valley, and beyond to Sunset Creek, where I camped the first night. I made an unsuccessful effort after pitching my camp to go summit Half Dome, but was defeated by sunset. The next day I left my camp as it was, and did a loop trip up to Clouds Rest – an amazing viewpoint 5900′ above the Valley floor (and 1100′ higher than Half Dome, only enhancing the view). From there I continued north on the trail towards Tenaya Lake and the Tioga Road, turning off to rejoin the JMT and loop back to my campsite. After another evening there, I packed up and heading back to the Valley..with some pretty chewed up feet! Total for three days was about 26 miles, and 5900′ of overall gain, though there was more climbing than that.


kicking-back
Taking a load off on the way back down.

To the trip

Arizona – March 2009, Part the Third and Last

July 12, 2011 No Comments

After leaving the national monuments, we headed east, to Petrified Forest National Park. We backpacked one night in the wilderness northern portion of the park (the part north of I-40, more or less, which the park straddles), and then walked around in that area for a bit, before returning to our cars and heading south to the southern parts of the park, before heading to Phoenix for our final night in Arizona, before all heading home.


chunks

Onwards, to take a tour of more petrified things

Arizona – Part the Second, A Brief Interlude – March 2009

July 10, 2011 No Comments

After we headed out of the Grand Canyon (March 27), our primary next goal was the Petrified Forest National Park, but we took the opportunity to stop in a couple of locations along the way – Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. The first is the site of a large pueblo, and the latter is, well, a crater. Both were quite impressive, well worth a stop.

wupatki
Standing on the sign.

To the Monuments

Arizona – March 2009: Part 1 – Grand Canyon

June 24, 2011 No Comments

I’d wanted to go out to Arizona for quite some time, with the primary goal to be seeing the Grand Canyon. Short of stopping through Phoenix airport, and the tiny corner of the state you drive through to get to Zion, I’d never even been in Arizona at all before. Erin and I drove out on March 25, 2009. We met up with Alex, Beth, and Dave just south of the Grand Canyon. We spent two (cold) nights camping there, doing a day hike in the canyon. We then drove out to Petrified Forest National Park, stopping on the way to check out the Wupatki Pueblo and the Sunset Crater National Monuments. We spent one night camping in the Painted Desert in Petrified Forest, then checked out a bunch of sights in the southern side of the park before heading back to Phoenix. We spent one night there, before Erin and I drove back to CA and Alex, Beth and Dave flew off to their respective homes.


vista
the canyon, oh yes.

Part the First : Grand Canyon

Mt. Whitney – September 7-8, 2008

February 9, 2011 No Comments

Well, this is the big one, isn’t it? I’d had Mt. Whitney on my list for a long time, and I finally did it. This trail is interesting. If you take the main route, it is trail (and good trail) all the way. You can go in late summer and run into no ice or snow (though we did get some ice pellets!) It is 11 miles one way from Whitney Portal, and gains some 6100′ on the way to the summit at 14,505′, the tallest summit in the continental United States. It seems just like another hard, but not ridiculous trail.

But up at those kinds of elevations, the game changes. I felt pretty physically crappy at the top. I possibly pushed it a little further than I should have, but heck, I didn’t puke. But I saw a super fit guy in his 20s turn around at 9,000′. I talked to an older man in his 60s near the summit who said he had summited many many times, and could never understand how fit people could not make the trip…until he got violently ill on his 7th time up the mountain.

Anyway. I did this trail, camping the night before at Whitney Portal at 8k’ or so, spending one night along the way at Trail Camp at 12,000′ feet, then summiting and descending the following day. It was physically taxing to me, and I was definitely exhibiting signs of elevation sickness…but I made it. It is a beautiful trip, exempliyfing many of the beautiful things in the Sierras, and I spent a lot of it being miserable. Next time, the mountaineer’s route!


summit-west-vista
view west from the summit

A Long Hike

Onion Valley to Charlotte Lake – July 24-25, 2008

August 12, 2010 No Comments

This trip started in Onion Valley in Inyo NF and went up and over Kearsarge Pass (hitting Kings Canyon NP at that point), and going to Charlotte Lake. It was an out and back hike with a tiny bit of internal loop, for 16 mi and ~2600′ of gain to the pass (and some miscellaneous climbing after). Originally this was going to be two nights and four people, but it ended up being me and Jeff and just the one night, but it was still pretty awesome all around. We went up to the trailhead the night before , to acclimatize (and stopping for pizza near the road junction in Mojave, which was pretty tasty), and set out in the morning.

junction-pano

Let’s go!

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