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Doing Rae Lakes loop in King's Canyon over 4 or 5 nights next week. Bit nervous as this is only my 2nd backpacking trip after wussing out after only 1 night on the trans-Catalina trail. I'm much more prepared gear and technique wise this time though, so hopefully it will be a great trip. Can anyone who has been up there recently report if there is much fire smoke in the area?
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Sep 4, 2017 17:11
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marshmonkey posted:Doing Rae Lakes loop in King's Canyon over 4 or 5 nights next week. Bit nervous as this is only my 2nd backpacking trip after wussing out after only 1 night on the trans-Catalina trail. Here's kind of a cool thing. Satallite pictures each day of whatever area you want to see. Gives you a vague idea of the amount of smoke... https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/ They don't have imagery from today yet but you can go back to yesterday and then zoom in on the Sierras. Click the "Place Labels" overlay to make it easier to tell what you're looking at. Can see the big fire near Yosemite and there's another south of Fresno that might cause some issues. Looks like it was cloudy yesterday as well! In general it's just smokey as poo poo in California right now unfortunately. I'm headed to the Eastern Sierras next week so I'll be interested to see what the conditions are on that side. Going in over Kearsarge Pass so won't be that far from where you're headed! We're heading south, maybe over Junction and Shepphard pass and eventually out through the Cottonwood trailhead.
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Sep 4, 2017 18:25
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svenkatesh posted:Thank you! By the above, do you mean an ice axe/crapons (or microspikes)? I mean, its entirely possible that higher elevation passes will be impassible due to snowfall, but it is not the norm. Crampons and Ice axes are for glacier travel. At most, you would hit heavy snowfall, so they wouldn't be much help anyway. Micro-spikes wouldn't be an entirely bad idea in case you hit some lighter snow.
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Sep 5, 2017 04:15
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marshmonkey posted:Doing Rae Lakes loop in King's Canyon over 4 or 5 nights next week. Bit nervous as this is only my 2nd backpacking trip after wussing out after only 1 night on the trans-Catalina trail. I just got out of SEKI this weekend and the wildfire smoke was intermittent, although we were a bit south of where you'll be. The shifting winds throughout the day, and the afternoon thunderstorms at elevation, really helped to clear it out. One morning was particularly bad, though. Be careful crossing the south fork of the Kings River. Still a dangerous flow.
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Sep 5, 2017 21:00
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Levitate posted:In general it's just smokey as poo poo in California right now unfortunately. I'm headed to the Eastern Sierras next week so I'll be interested to see what the conditions are on that side. Going in over Kearsarge Pass so won't be that far from where you're headed! We're heading south, maybe over Junction and Shepphard pass and eventually out through the Cottonwood trailhead. I'll be crossing Lamarck Col and backpacking the Evolution Region for a few nights soon. I'll report what fire activity I see for any Eastern Sierra fans. Heard on radio today Monitor Pass which links Highway 50 to 395 is closed due to wildfire. I'll keep Tioga Pass open as a backup route! Honestly I'm more concerned about storms than fire during the backpacking. My rain layering is one obvious thing in my gear that is subpar. (To be clear I have a Marmot ski jacket, not bad for waterproofing but imperfect) Mokelumne Trekka fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Sep 6, 2017 |
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Sep 6, 2017 02:51
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:I'll be crossing Lamarck Col and backpacking the Evolution Region for a few nights soon. I'll report what fire activity I see for any Eastern Sierra fans. Heard on radio today Monitor Pass which links Highway 50 to 395 is closed due to wildfire. I'll keep Tioga Pass open as a backup route! Yeah I'm going over Tioga because it's pretty and I have a parks pass so I don't have to pay the $30 entrance fee I'd be interested in how Lamarck Col looks. I've considered going over that for the next stretch of the Sierra High Route I want to do (Evolution to Red's Meadow). Looks like it has a rep for a lot of snow in a "normal" year? Other option is Echo Col which I'd honestly be more interested in because it would be sweet to spend a night at Wanda Lake again. Would be a bit longer trip but I imagine I could drive out and hike in 4 miles or so in one day, then hit up Echo Col and into Evolution Basin for the next day. All this requires me finding a spare week next year with a 1.5 year old...
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Sep 6, 2017 03:14
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 Katahdin is a hell of mountain.
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Sep 6, 2017 21:20
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You had to quit for a while due to some complications right? Congratulations on finishing it!
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Sep 6, 2017 23:44
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Nope that wasn’t me. I’m the one that was hiking with the gf that ended up getting off trail. And had the rainy days on all the cool views. Surprise Katahdin was the same.
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Sep 7, 2017 00:18
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George H.W. oval office posted:Katahdin is a hell of mountain. Congratulations!! That's amazing, I can't even begin to imagine the feeling of accomplishment you must be feeling right now! What are some of the biggest take-aways and tidbits of advice that you've gained from your experiences on the trail?
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Sep 7, 2017 01:30
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George H.W. oval office posted:
Congrats man! Good luck getting home and enjoy that first home shower/bed/beer. Give us a gear review when you have a chance.
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Sep 7, 2017 01:47
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George H.W. oval office posted:
Super congrats and super jealous.
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Sep 7, 2017 04:00
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Congrats! And yes Katahdin is an awesome mountain and a fitting end to the trail. Did you take the knife edge back down?
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Sep 7, 2017 06:29
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Man, I imagine thats a tough enough climb for someone with both legs, but major kudos to you for overcoming your disability like that.
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Sep 7, 2017 07:39
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No response from my prof yet but that's really not a surprise for a guy who created an outdoor education university degree as a pet project. Wouldn't be surprised if he was off the grid for another 3 days even though classes start in about 6 hours.
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Sep 7, 2017 09:09
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Well my Glacier NP trip is in serious jeopardy now. I dont trust the wildfires to not spread and cause more trail closures and evacuations, and even if they didnt close the area near the fire that I had permits for I'm not sure inahling all of that smoke and the hazy views would be worth the trip. So with that said, I'm trying to come up with some alternatives within a reasonable drive of Spokane. I was thinking about Yellowstone but have no idea if it would be to busy to have any hopes of getting any backcountry advanced permits for. Does anyone have any recommendations on good multi day hikes in Yellowstone or the area? Unfortunately all of the West seems on fire right now.
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Sep 7, 2017 15:53
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BaseballPCHiker posted:Unfortunately all of the West seems on fire right now. Thats a fairly accurate assessment.  I would say the Olympic Peninsula but I have a few friends who just came back and said it was smoky there too. At this point, I'm not sure if/when you'll be able to escape the smoke.
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Sep 7, 2017 17:48
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I think there's a good chance the smoke in the Olympics will clear out soon, though I did delay a trip there. Keep an eye on the currently smoky webcam closer to your trip. Here's a picture someone posted on NWHikers of an Olympic bear trying to keep cool last weekend: 
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Sep 7, 2017 19:15
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Verman posted:Thats a fairly accurate assessment. I was at Lake Cushman this past weekend and it did indeed start getting smoky Monday and continued into Tuesday. Don't know how it is now though.
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Sep 7, 2017 19:27
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Kick in' it in Independence CA  Seems pretty clear on this side of the Sierras, hopefully that holds. Maybe get get a little rain this weekend too...heading in over Kearsarge pass tomorrow
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Sep 8, 2017 04:49
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Has anyone here backpacked the Skye Trail on Isle of Skye in Scotland? I'm planning on late spring, pretty much dead set. I was originally planning something in the Cairngorms but Isle of Skye is way better suited for the style and experience my husband and I have. Plus it's cliffs and crags and pinnacles and ocean which is just the best poo poo ever. I've never wilderness camped or backpacked anywhere else other than my Rockies and paddling the Green River in Utah so this is a really new experience for me even though I've been travelling independently for over a decade. Staying in hostels and hotels abroad while traveling by vehicle or transit is pretty different and much easier to plan than traveling on foot with your food, water, and shelter on your back. So I do have questions if anyone's been there before.
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Sep 10, 2017 09:02
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Is there a website that has weather forecasts for trails? All of the usual websites just have towns. Since I'm in CO and looking to go up to the mountains in September, temperatures can vary quite a bit over a short distance. I saw a facebook photo of an old friend hiking this weekend and realized that yet another summer has passed without doing any of the outdoorsy stuff I always plan on doing  Also any recommendations for hikes for out of shape people in the Front Range between the Wyoming border and Boulder-ish? I was thinking RMNP, but I'm open to other options that would let us spend the $20 fee on lunch/dinner instead. I don't think it will matter since we need to do easy hikes anyway, but I don't actually have hiking boots that fit. Mine are 10 years old and several sizes too big. I'll probably be wearing a pair of running shoes instead.
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Sep 10, 2017 19:51
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a website that has weather forecasts for trails? All of the usual websites just have towns. Since I'm in CO and looking to go up to the mountains in September, temperatures can vary quite a bit over a short distance. I saw a facebook photo of an old friend hiking this weekend and realized that yet another summer has passed without doing any of the outdoorsy stuff I always plan on doing Wild basin. Ouzel lake for a really short trip, thunder lake for longer. Boulder grand pass for a fun scramble side trip, mount Alice for a summit.
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Sep 10, 2017 20:04
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a website that has weather forecasts for trails? All of the usual websites just have towns. Since I'm in CO and looking to go up to the mountains in September, temperatures can vary quite a bit over a short distance. I saw a facebook photo of an old friend hiking this weekend and realized that yet another summer has passed without doing any of the outdoorsy stuff I always plan on doing I've never seen anything that has weather for all trails. It seems like most trail related sites are fairly local. Weather.gov has a map that you can click through and get fairly specific weather station reports. As long as there's a station near where you you're hiking, they should be pretty good. And the NWS has lots of stations.
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Sep 10, 2017 21:00
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a website that has weather forecasts for trails? All of the usual websites just have towns. Since I'm in CO and looking to go up to the mountains in September, temperatures can vary quite a bit over a short distance. I saw a facebook photo of an old friend hiking this weekend and realized that yet another summer has passed without doing any of the outdoorsy stuff I always plan on doing Wild basin trail head. Hike as far as you can but at least try to make the falls.
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Sep 10, 2017 21:27
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Thanks for all the recommendations. Denali was amazing. We did 3 nights in the back country and had ~40 square miles to ourselves.   
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Sep 10, 2017 21:46
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a website that has weather forecasts for trails? All of the usual websites just have towns. Since I'm in CO and looking to go up to the mountains in September, temperatures can vary quite a bit over a short distance. I saw a facebook photo of an old friend hiking this weekend and realized that yet another summer has passed without doing any of the outdoorsy stuff I always plan on doing Darksky.net allow you to put in long+lat coordinates. I find the trailhead on Google Maps, right click and choose "what's here" to get the long+lat of that point, then drop it in darksky. You can do a second check for a point farther down the trail, too, if it'd be substantially different. It's a bit clunky, but it's always worked for me. I've found it to be pretty drat accurate so far. Used it frequently in the past year for Oregon and Washington hikes.
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Sep 10, 2017 21:58
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huhu posted:Thanks for all the recommendations. Denali was amazing. We did 3 nights in the back country and had ~40 square miles to ourselves. Woooow! That looks amazing. I think you said you were planning to take a 35L bag. What was your gear list like for those 3 nights? And how did you end up handling the bear can?
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Sep 10, 2017 22:24
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Tigren posted:Woooow! That looks amazing. I think you said you were planning to take a 35L bag. What was your gear list like for those 3 nights? And how did you end up handling the bear can? Indeed. We hiked on Polychrome Mountain which had every color rock you could imagine. As far as gear, unfortunately, I found out, our part of the park to sleep had 0 trees so I had to ditch most of the gear I bought. I stuck with the 35L bag and got a net that went around the outside of my pack which added ~5L. Gear list I'd say was pretty typical, if you have questions let me know. The things I was really grateful for having were water socks, a rain jacket, a good sleeping bag, and bear spray. The tundra was insanely soft and if you could find a good spot, you didn't need a sleeping mat. As far as the bear can, my friends had larger packs so I didn't have to deal with that.
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Sep 10, 2017 23:28
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Ropes4u posted:Wild basin trail head. Hike as far as you can but at least try to make the falls. I just got back from RMNP a couple weeks ago and did this. Went all the way up to snowbank lake and it was amazing. The marked trail only goes to Lion Lake #1 and is nothing special by Colorado standards. After that however you are wayfinding up on the foot of like three mountains (one of which is Long's Peak) with standing ice feeding alpine lakes connected by waterfalls. It was pretty amazing. The first couple of miles or so of the Wild Basin is swamped with families and what not going to the waterfalls. After that you practically have it to yourself.
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Sep 11, 2017 00:57
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Picnic Princess posted:Has anyone here backpacked the Skye Trail on Isle of Skye in Scotland? I'm planning on late spring, pretty much dead set. I was originally planning something in the Cairngorms but Isle of Skye is way better suited for the style and experience my husband and I have. Plus it's cliffs and crags and pinnacles and ocean which is just the best poo poo ever. Sounds awesome! I haven't done anything as cool as that on Skye, but do be prepared for midges. While I'm sure you're aware of this, the only other piece of advice I have is that hiking in the UK (and most of Europe I suppose) isn't always much like in a national park in America. There are loads of public rights of way (including a general right to roam open land in the UK), but not many large truly wild areas. Much of Skye is used for sheep grazing etc with small quaint villages. I think this is still great, but it is different.
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Sep 11, 2017 07:05
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Yeah, I came to realize a lot of that when I took a senior level parks geography course in school, North America is actually more of an exception to standards in protected area expectations even though they consider themselves the rule. US and Canada were the first to establish national parks but most other places realize that the North American model doesn't work in their landscape due to historical land use and came up with their own models for park design that are major departures from "Don't touch anything in this block of land".
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Sep 11, 2017 07:15
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Picnic Princess posted:Yeah, I came to realize a lot of that when I took a senior level parks geography course in school, North America is actually more of an exception to standards in protected area expectations even though they consider themselves the rule. US and Canada were the first to establish national parks but most other places realize that the North American model doesn't work in their landscape due to historical land use and came up with their own models for park design that are major departures from "Don't touch anything in this block of land". Sounds like an interesting course, I always love stopping and reading the little noticeboards explaining the history of conservation areas and how they are being managed (this really annoys my partner). It would be great to study the politics and policy around this in way more detail. Midges are an underrated traffic management factor imo. distortion park fucked around with this message at 15:02 on Sep 11, 2017 |
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Sep 11, 2017 09:43
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incogneato posted:Darksky.net ...
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Sep 11, 2017 14:59
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a website that has weather forecasts for trails? I like to use the National Weather Service (http://www.weather.gov/) You can zoom into any part of the map and click for a detailed forecast for that particular area. Works for campgrounds, trailheads, etc.
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Sep 11, 2017 20:30
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I am going for a 370km hike in a few days. Any little thing I should consider bringing for improved quality of life? I have never done such a long hike before and I suspect there might be something you only start to feel a need for once on the road for 5 days.
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Sep 11, 2017 22:01
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EssOEss posted:I am going for a 370km hike in a few days. Any little thing I should consider bringing for improved quality of life? I have never done such a long hike before and I suspect there might be something you only start to feel a need for once on the road for 5 days. Post a pack list so we know what you already have. Also, where are you going? Luxuries I enjoy: Blow up pillow Nice TP Camp shoes (flip flops or crocs) Booze of some sort Kindle
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Sep 11, 2017 22:13
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Levitate posted:
Lamarck Col is somewhat easy according to those experienced with crossing high passes. Speaking as someone who is NOT that experienced, I reached the Col in one day instead of the two that is often recommended. However, I must admit this was not easy for me. It was arduous for the final two miles, the ridges to go over seemed to go on and on. It is Class 2 entirely, so I can see why it is a popular cross country route. There are some snowfields, one is permanent below the Col, but they are not adversarial and I would argue they do not require crampons or an ice ax (I used my ax a little bit for comfort). As I was 200 feet away from reaching the top, a heavy snow storm began! In haste we prepared a shelter between two giant vertical rocks at the top. The snow had a particular icy, solid density, almost like hail. By then, having gained 4000ft in elevation, I was mentally drained and disorganized. The next couple of days I got to explore some of Mount Darwin and roamed Darwin Canyon. It owned. Just another HWY 395 Outdoor Superhighway win.
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Sep 12, 2017 01:29
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EssOEss posted:I am going for a 370km hike in a few days. Any little thing I should consider bringing for improved quality of life? I have never done such a long hike before and I suspect there might be something you only start to feel a need for once on the road for 5 days. What will truly improve your mood are the things that you need or crave. Alcohol, chocolate, sugar, sleep, movies, sex, books, the Internet, cheese, ice cream, .... Figure out some way to have one of the things after a few days so you don't go bonkers. For example, food is probably the easiest category; if you just have to stuff your face with pizza every Friday night, well then you'd better be ready to suffer unless you have Friday night pizza planned. If you don't know how to bake on the trail, or it's not practical with your gear, find a reasonable substitute. Eg, pepperoni, cheese, prebaked crust, will be welcome even if cold. Little Nalgene bottles of liquor, dark chocolate, sugar cubes or packets, instant coffee, astronaut ice cream, saving phone power to watch a transferred movie or to listen to music, a mini Bible, a day off to do nothing but sleep, a few pieces of paper for "blog posts", a mini Tao te Ching, wandering around watering and talking to the flowers one morning, .... Coupled with the limitations of your hike, there should be a way to do something nice for yourself. Then there's the basics to feeling good. Stretching, meditation, getting enough sleep, taking a razor to shave, a little bit of lube for chafing, athletic tape for foot issues, gloves/mittens for chilly evenings.
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Sep 12, 2017 07:34
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Is there a website that has weather forecasts for trails? I think you are looking for https://www.mountain-forecast.com/ It gives your forecast based on peaks and their elevation, not some random local forecast that is 4,000 foot down in the valley. I've used this site for hiking for the last couple of years, and I have found it pretty accurate. That said forecast in the mountains can change fast. I found it best to combine it with a generic closest town forecast, and you will be set (until the mountain goes gently caress you and I'm going to do what I want).
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Sep 12, 2017 12:48
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