*** Official Backpacking Thread ***

afoaf

Duke status
Jun 25, 2008
49,204
22,752
113
Electrolites seem like a gimick.

But they have been a game changer for me and my water consumption.
I was of the same mind, but soreness, cramping, and general malaise all went away once
I started doing a better job regulating them. it's really important in deserts and now that the
sierra temps are so fkn high
 

_____

Phil Edwards status
Sep 17, 2012
6,910
3,176
113
July 4th weekend GTW, I took the "other" route to the fun zone since the roads were closed on the other side of the canyon. Real bummer to see how destructive and huge that fire was. The river is sorta in that left crease about 6 miles down 1st pic. It was hot AF. In & out in little over 24 hours. 3-4 nights for this one next time would be more comfortable. Hiking through hell to get to bliss pretty much sux :foreheadslap:

dwn.jpg

Looking up in the other direction from the above pic, trailhead is maybe 2-3k climb to the top middle, and then veers to the right and goes up another 1500 feet or so up & out of view.

up.jpg

The base has tree cover with lots of areas spared by the fire, huge waterfall/swimming hole in the tributary 5 minutes from the river, and zero people.

falls.JPG


river.jpg


pitch.JPG
 
Last edited:

Random Guy

Duke status
Jan 16, 2002
32,005
6,132
113
Cirque Pass: 12,047 ft

This is looking southwest; the Palisade Basin is around the corner to the left

Day one started strong, but I got caught trying to go over Knapsack Pass from a poor line on massive talus while a big thunderstorm was running up the basin towards me, so I had to race up and over to pitch, leaving me pretty exhausted. This second day started off beautifully with an easy gain of Potluck and Cirque Passes, but the descent from here was probably where the entire trip went down in flames.

I misread my topo and notes and wound up too far east on the pass and nearly cliffed out.

It looks clear in this pic, but within an hour the clouds stood up, the sky darkened and the biggest thunderstorm of the trip started to bear down which made this descent even more horrifying...I wound up basically having to down-climb an outlet stream from the tarns in the pass, dropping in to Palisade with just enough time to pitch and have a siesta while waiting out the rain.

The strenuousness of days one and two left me in a really bad way both in terms of travel time and altitude sickness....I had not made the time/miles I needed to be making to stay on my itinerary and I was so fkn sick I was basically just walking and dry heaving for the remainder of the trip, force feeding food by chewing a bit, holding my nose and washing it down with water to get SOME calories in to my body.

In the end, I did the 100 miles back to the truck in 6 days. I only did 1 of the four off-trail High Route sections, and was unable to muster for Whitney summit.

I met some amazing people, broke down and cried more times than I'd like to admit, got run out of Bubbs Creek by a bear, saw 100 shooting stars, made some truly horrible navigation mistakes, was aided by a trail angel named Patty, and did 25 miles on the last day to make it to my truck on less than 1,000 calories, hallucinating and gagging the whole way only to discover the mexican restaurant in Lone Pine that was my sole motivation for living was CLOSED ON WEDNESDAYS

so......pretty much the best fkn trip ever


View attachment 112675
Awesome trip report, afoaf!
I’m guessing you’ll remember that trip til the day you die

Doesn’t even matter how close your memories are to what actually happened once a few years have passed
They’ll always be your memories
 

Autoprax

Duke status
Jan 24, 2011
68,226
22,978
113
62
Vagina Point
Awesome trip report, afoaf!
I’m guessing you’ll remember that trip til the day you die

Doesn’t even matter how close your memories are to what actually happened once a few years have passed
They’ll always be your memories
What if he gets Alzheimer's?

I just thought of a movie idea: "The Memory Thief."
 

SeaFoamGreen

Gerry Lopez status
Apr 10, 2009
1,250
681
113
NorOR
Annual men's backpacking trip in the books. Funny because I thought we'd get smoked out or it'd be just stupid hot this year and we got completely the opposite! Cold, windy, and misty! October weather. Coldest night was in the high 30's at about 4'600'!!!! Not ideal weather, but then again we had the right gear and a refreshing change from a fairly hot and dry summer.

Our usual zone was closed from last years fires, so we opted for another, one of many just a few hours from home. Nice zone I've van camped in, but never backpacked on this volcanic plateau pocketed with 100's of lakes and 1000's of little tarns. Easy 4 miles in early Friday am and snagged a good spot. Traffic was fairly quiet, although we were right off the PCT so there was plenty of through traffic.

We explored and bushwhacked to some of the closer lakes with no humans in sight. Fishing was a little slow. Nailed a few Cuttys the 1st day, but seemed like they were on to us thereafter or perhaps it was the weather? Huckle and wild blueberries were going off. Mossies were non existent for the most part in an area notorious for them. Perhaps another silver lining of the foul weather? Anyways good to disconnect for a long weekend. Hoping for a few more before the season comes to a close. Happy trails! PXL_20210808_173825021.RESTORED.jpgPXL_20210807_203834148_exported_3452.jpgPXL_20210808_200014804.RESTORED.jpgPXL_20210807_204938030.PORTRAIT.jpg
 
Last edited:

_____

Phil Edwards status
Sep 17, 2012
6,910
3,176
113
That looks epic. I would kill for mist/fog and low temp trip. Worried about getting smoked/heat out and didn't travel after July 4, and staying put til late Aug through Oct. On the upside I'm on the same tank of gas since July 4 weekend.
 

SeaFoamGreen

Gerry Lopez status
Apr 10, 2009
1,250
681
113
NorOR
the bears can smell the berries in your stomach....
:ROFLMAO: we don't really have bear issues like you guys down there. They are not nearly aggressive up here. In fact in almost 30 years of camping and backpacking, I have never seen a bear or had an issue. The only time I have seen them in the wild was when I worked in the forest.
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,850
7,747
113
San Francisco, CA
Only saw one bear when I lived in Oregon and that was near Olallie Lake where it was probably a bit more use to humans and even then it took off into the bush when it saw us.

First time I go to the Sierra, bear is on the side of road posing for pictures.
 

PPK96754

Miki Dora status
Apr 15, 2015
4,683
5,824
113
77
Kauai's north shore ~
Annual men's backpacking trip in the books. Funny because I thought we'd get smoked out or it'd be just stupid hot this year and we got completely the opposite! Cold, windy, and misty! October weather. Coldest night was in the high 30's at about 4'600'!!!! Not ideal weather, but then again we had the right gear and a refreshing change from a fairly hot and dry summer.

Our usual zone was closed from last years fires, so we opted for another, one of many just a few hours from home. Nice zone I've van camped in, but never backpacked on this volcanic plateau pocketed with 100's of lakes and 1000's of little tarns. Easy 4 miles in early Friday am and snagged a good spot. Traffic was fairly quiet, although we were right off the PCT so there was plenty of through traffic.

We explored and bushwhacked to some of the closer lakes with no humans in sight. Fishing was a little slow. Nailed a few Cuttys the 1st day, but seemed like they were on to us thereafter or perhaps it was the weather? Huckle and wild blueberries were going off. Mossies were non existent for the most part in an area notorious for them. Perhaps another silver lining of the foul weather? Anyways good to disconnect for a long weekend. Hoping for a few more before the season comes to a close. Happy trails! View attachment 114362View attachment 114363View attachment 114364View attachment 114365
phone camera or camera, camera? Very distinct photo. Nomex long sleeve shirt??
 

Duffy LaCoronilla

Duke status
Apr 27, 2016
38,637
27,968
113
"
1st photo I'd just sit my azz down with a pair of bino's and go "uuu n' aahh" for 1/2 a day.
:beer:
That’s exactly what we did (no binos though).

Btw, for the first time in my I suffered from altitude sickness. Pretty bad actually.

Was in hospital Monday and Tuesday. Cerebral edema and pulmonary edema.

As is custom I weighed myself before and after trip. 204 on Thursday morning, 220 on Sunday afternoon, 210 on Monday morning, 198 today.

Saturday morning up in the mountains my face was so puffy I couldn’t see. Eyes were swollen shut.

Fuckked up.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: One-Off

afoaf

Duke status
Jun 25, 2008
49,204
22,752
113
That’s exactly what we did (no binos though).

Btw, for the first time in my I suffered from altitude sickness. Pretty bad actually.

Was in hospital Monday and Tuesday. Cerebral edema and pulmonary edema.

As is custom I weighed myself before and after trip. 204 on Thursday morning, 220 on Sunday afternoon, 210 on Monday morning, 198 today.

Saturday morning up in the mountains my face was so puffy I couldn’t see. Eyes were swollen shut.

Fuckked up.
COCAINE

how high were you?

do you know the warning signs of HAPE/HACE (now)?