July group backpack into High Sierra wilderness

David777

David777

Well-known Member
Location
Silicon Valley
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Will share a bit of my adventurous summer activity life to show what is possible even for those of a senior age if one stays fit and healthy through their adult years. Our "Blue Lake Creek Backpacking Trip". In the past have visited other zones in the basin but never camped where we will on this trip.

Where at least 3 of we old folks will backpack into during a 6-day 5 night John Muir Wilderness backpack in about 3 weeks. The map image has 3 magenta dots. We will base camp 2 nights each in the lower two, both of which are over 10.4k feet in elevation. Will be doing some fishing for rainbow, eastern brook, and golden trout and this person that weighs 135# will carry about 15 pounds of camera gear with my total carrying weight about 60 pounds or 44% of my body weight. Yeah, that is a massive pack and 44% would be very strenuous for anyone. But am used to doing so over decades. The destination is less than 5 miles from the trailhead that is over 2k feet below.

Each of us will carry our own solo tents, sleeping bags, fishing gear, portable stove cooking gear, 1.0>1.5 pounds of food per day, and many more small items. My Excel checklist has over 200 items. One needs to be able to address a long list of issues without resorting to just driving down to some store like one might if say car camping.

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Above is a topographic map for the zone we will be visiting.

A view of part of the trail below.

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This next image is from near our first base camp of 2 nights with Blue Lake in the distance.

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Here is a 2022 view below of my tent atop glacially smoothed flat granite bedrock with erratic boulders that the 3 of us will also camp at that is beyond shouting distance from any trail or use route. Just beyond the trees in back of my light green tent is a small ravine with the below stream that contains plenty of pan sized trout that like hiding in shadows of the water grasses.

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In 2022, kicking back enjoying a stream view while eating lunch about 20 feet from my tent.

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Another image of the stream just below what will be our camp spot. See the blue lupines below the rock wall? A lush vegetation time of year due to streams full of high elevation melting snow water. Shallow water is below most of those green grassy areas that provides excellent trout protection.

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And just upstream is a large pool against a shading rock wall with 10 trout showing in this frame. Placed red F's beside all trout that are more obvious in the larger original image. At frame right, a convenient rock to enter into the water. Regardless of how cold mountain water is, I almost always have a short daily dunking to feel clean and refreshed. Unlike coastal areas of California, the high eastern Sierra Nevada often has periods with summer thunderstorms that also helps keep landscapes green.

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View down a steep section of trail in a lodgepole pine forest on my return to trailhead hike, during my 6 day 1922 solo trip. My primary focus while backpacking has been photography for decades and not fishing as I just don't have the time for both. The other two guys are total fishing.

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David777 said:
Another image of the stream just below what will be our camp spot. See the blue lupines below the rock wall? A lush vegetation time of year due to streams bull high elevation melting snow water. Shallow water is below most of those green grassy areas that provides excellent trout protection.

View attachment 435559

And just upstream is a large pool against a shading rock wall with 10 trout showing in this frame. At frame right, a convenient rock to enter into the water. Regardless of how cold mountain water is, I almost always have a short daily dunking to feel clean and refreshed. Unlike coastal areas of California, the high eastern Sierra Nevada often has periods with summer thunderstorms that also helps keep landscapes green.

View attachment 435558

View down a steep section of trail in a lodgepole pine forest on my return to trailhead hike, during my 6 day 1922 solo trip. My primary focus while backpacking has been photography for decades and not fishing as I just don't have the time for both. The other two guys are total fishing.

View attachment 435557
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What beautiful country David thank you for sharing these photos! I hope you have another super trip and be very safe.
 

This just makes me chomp at the bit. Spent a summer backpacking a number of sierra hikes till life intruded. Beautiful country…wonderful you can go and enjoy it. That said…if I had been carrying a pack that was over 40 I would of died somewhere on the trail.
 
Since moving here 30 years ago I have done a lot of hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s absolutely beautiful. Have a great time!!
 
Teacher Terry said:
Since moving here 30 years ago I have done a lot of hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s absolutely beautiful. Have a great time!!
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Yes, Reno is close to many superb Sierra Nevada mountain public lands one can freely visit. For those physically active, the Reno region is a great choice for seniors. The below is just west of Lake Tahoe in the Desolation Wilderness I have backpacked into several times. The below is a large 17000x6000 pixel, focus stacked blended and stitch blended image I captured on July 1, 2024 during a 4 day base camping backpack. Magenta dots show where the lower 100% crops were taken.

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Thanks for posting the nice photos!

I guess I would still camp if I could bring a full size Beauty Rest mattress with me along with a generator and AC unit. Otherwise I would sleep perhaps 3 hours a night. I used to wilderness camp in the Boundary Waters in N MN - I did‘t sleep the best but I at least got 6 or 7 hours way back then.
 
We won't be visiting the area I posted photos on above because I was not able to obtain a wilderness permit at recreation dot gov. Apparently, just like with music concerts, some now are unfairly using automated bot scripts when permits are released that just take milliseconds to input what is supposed to be keyboard inputs that move through several subpages and end in a credit card purchase that normally would take a couple minutes. The recreation dot gov site needs to use VPN and bot blocking software.

We have a Plan B that won't have that issue so are now going to another destination.
 
David777 said:
Another image of the stream just below what will be our camp spot. See the blue lupines below the rock wall? A lush vegetation time of year due to streams full of high elevation melting snow water. Shallow water is below most of those green grassy areas that provides excellent trout protection.

View attachment 435559

And just upstream is a large pool against a shading rock wall with 10 trout showing in this frame. Placed red F's beside all trout that are more obvious in the larger original image. At frame right, a convenient rock to enter into the water. Regardless of how cold mountain water is, I almost always have a short daily dunking to feel clean and refreshed. Unlike coastal areas of California, the high eastern Sierra Nevada often has periods with summer thunderstorms that also helps keep landscapes green.

View attachment 435558

View down a steep section of trail in a lodgepole pine forest on my return to trailhead hike, during my 6 day 1922 solo trip. My primary focus while backpacking has been photography for decades and not fishing as I just don't have the time for both. The other two guys are total fishing.

View attachment 435557
Click to expand...
Have a Wonderful time!
 
David777 said:
We won't be visiting the area I posted photos on above because I was not able to obtain a wilderness permit at recreation dot gov. Apparently, just like with music concerts, some now are unfairly using automated bot scripts when permits are released that just take milliseconds to input what is supposed to be keyboard inputs that move through several subpages and end in a credit card purchase that normally would take a couple minutes. The recreation dot gov site needs to use VPN and bot blocking software.

We have a Plan B that won't have that issue so are now going to another destination.
Click to expand...
Yes battling for camping spots, float trips, hiking, and climbing spots is big business. Booze Allen Hamilton runs the system gleefully sucking the blood of the citizens, and then what scraps are left are monetized by bots.

I vie for my favorite camping location and specific sites in 16 a site campground in Yellowstone.....it's like mission control when they first become available. Some locations have a 30 day camping limit which encourages booking dates w no intention or ability to use them. I'm guilty as charged on that one!!! I do release the dates or encourage others to use them, the sites don't go unused in any case, but it's definitely using the rules for personal advantage.

Great photos and technique putting them together. Have a great trip!
 
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