High Sierra Trail, Day 1 – Crescent Meadow to Bearpaw Meadow Camp, June 17 2015
Gil (GoHiker.com) and I hiked the High Sierra Trail to Mt. Whitney, June 17-22. Here is Day 1 of our trip: If you’ve hiked the High Sierra Trail or plan to do so in the future, please join our Facebook Group, High Sierra Trail! The Plan June 17 – travel to Sequoia, pick up permits, start hike Shuttle 6:00 AM – Sequoia Shuttle … Read More
High Sierra Trail, June 17-22 2015
Gil (GoHiker.com) and I hiked the High Sierra Trail June 17-22. This entry will serve as a summary of our trip. It will be updated with links to the trip reports and photo galleries for each day of our trip as they are created. Going into our hike, I had some concerns about mosquitoes, snow, and water sources. Here is what … Read More
Mt. Whitney Main Trail Conditions, June 22 2015
As part of a High Sierra Trail backpacking trip, I hiked the Mt. Whitney Main Trail (MWMT) on June 22. Here are some thoughts temperatures we encountered, trail conditions, and gear. Temperatures On this trip I carried a Delorme InReach from LowerGear.com. Among other things, this device allowed us to get weather forecast as an automated reply as a text message from friends/family. … Read More
Hike In Progress: High Sierra Trail, Summer 2015
Tuesday morning (June 16th), I leave for the High Sierra Trail. It will be my first multi-night backpack as an adult and frankly, I’m not sure if I’m more excited or nervous at this point. When planning a big trip, it’s pretty easy for me to get lost in the details and not look at the bigger picture. Now that … Read More
Blue Mountain Training Hikes, May 30 & 31
I’ve been extremely busy at home lately and my training leading up to my High Sierra Trail (HST) hike has dropped off. I’ve been trying to stay in shape with hikes in the local hills, as well as hitting the tread mill (30 lb pack and hiking boots, 15% incline, 2.8 mph) several times per week to stay in shape. … Read More
Trip Planning: High Sierra Trail, Summer 2015
After daydreaming about taking on this hike for a few years, I will finally be hitting trail June 17th. The High Sierra Trail (HST) starts in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park (SEKI), travels east and eventually meets up with the John Muir Trail (JMT). The JMT can be followed to the summit of Mt. Whitney, which is one of my favorite places … Read More
Half Dome Attempt, May 23 2015
Back in early April, my wife and I were offered permits to hike Half Dome. I summited Half Dome about 10 years ago and swore I’d never do it again (I didn’t like the cables), but my wife really wanted to go. She had hiked about 95% of the trail, but had to turn around due to weather a few … Read More
The Narrows – Zion National Park, May 11 2015
I headed back to Zion with some friends to hike The Narrows. We had originally obtained Top-Down Day permits (Virgin Narrows Dayuse Trail From Top -12), but due to some scheduling issues, we cancelled our permits and opted for a bottom-up day hike (no permit needed). On the day of our hike, it was a rainy and overcast and we thought about cancelling … Read More
Morton Peak, May 2 2015
My wife and I are hiking Half Dome with friends later this month. We don’t have much time to train, so we need to get out whenever we can. We had a 4 hour, kid-free block of time, so we loaded up our packs and headed out to a local mountain. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of wildflowers … Read More
Gear Review: Kahtoola K·10 Hiking Crampons
Why Buy? I have found myself in situations where I wanted more traction than my MICROspikes could provide, but using mountaineering crampons (ie Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons) was overkill. Kahtoola K•10 Hiking Crampons seemed to be a good solution. First Impressions An interesting feature of the K•10s is that they will work with many types of footwear. Step-in crampons require mountaineering boots … Read More