This is a work in progress
In 1989 I did a day-hike with Dale to the top of Mt. Whitney and back. I remember getting to the crest where the trail starts down the other side. It was still two more brutal miles to go along the crest to the Peak. I was surprised to see a row of backpacks there. I asked a young woman who was just dropping her pack why they were there. She explained that she had just come up from the other side! She was leaving he pack there while she made a side trip to the peak. I was dumbfounded. You mean people actually climb up from that side with a heavy pack?! I was struggling with just water and sandwiches in my pack. These must be athletes on a par with Hercules and Achilles. I never thought I could do something as strenuous and bold and magnificent.
Time passed. I took a solo car-camping trip to Lodgepole in 2000. It was a beautiful trip. I rode my bike through the glorious Giant Forest. The sun made the red Sequoia trunks pop out against the green needles and deep blue sky. In Crescent Meadows I saw the sign marking the beginning of the High Sierra Trail. It listed mileage to features along the trail; and there at the bottom was Mt. Whitney at 71 miles (since modified to 60 miles). Again, I was amazed: people actually walk all that way with all their food-shelter-clothing stuffed in a backpack! The sign seemed to be set up for mere mortals, so, perhaps I too could accomplish something comparable. At that point I decided to try it myself. Dale volunteered to go with me. So, in September 2001 I set off with him on my first backpacking trip in the Sierras. We included a good portion of off-trail hiking. It was such fun that I have been going back every year since.
My first backpacking experience was in 2001 in the Sierras. I have hiked in the Sierras at least once every year since then. All have included some stretches of off-trail hiking. The table below is the start of my list of hikes.
| Date | Trailhead | Camp sites | Hikers | Miles | Climb (ft) | Link | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Four-hike totals | 28 | 1-3 | 133 | 16300 | Report | Rowell Meadow, Taboose Pass, SHR Copper Creek - Arrow Pass, HST Chagoopa Plateau. |
| 2021 | Two-hike totals | 14 | 2 | 76 | 26000 | Report | Taboose Pass, Muro Blanco; Woods Creek, Gardiner Basin, Arrow Pass, Muro Blanco . |
| 2020 | Four-hike totals | 29 | 1-2 | 172 | 56728 | Report | Bishop Pass, Copper Creek, High Sierra Trail, Woods Creek. |
| 2019 Aug | Cedar Grove | 2 | 1 | 8 | 6500 | Report KML | Start of Sierra High Route, Copper Creek. Shortened by broken ankle. |
| 2018 Sept | Crescent Meadow (HST) | 4 | 1 | 48 | 14500 | TBD | High Sierra Trail to Chagoopa Plateau, Lookout Creek. Shortened by weather warning. |
| 2018 Aug | Cottonwood | 5 | 2 | 46 | 11900 | Report KML | Cottonwood Pass to Kersarge Pass along the John Muir Trail. |
| 2018 July | South Lake | 7 | 1 | 37 | 12000 | Report KML | Bishop Pass to Observation Creek on Middle Fork of Kings River. Success! climbing up and down creek Includes account of late Sept 2017 trip. |
| 2017 Sept | Crescent Meadow (HST) | 6 | 1-4 | 54 | 16255 | Report KML | High Sierra Trail from Crescent Meadow to the Chagoopa Plateau and the Red Spur. Similar to 2011 Hike. |
| 2017 Aug | Sunset Meadow | 4 | 2 | 28 | 7289 | Report KML | Rowell Meadow, Sugarloaf, Box Canyon, West Ferguson Creek, Ellis Meadow, Comanche Meadow. This hike was similar to the 2014 Aug hike. |
| 2017 July | South Lake | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4100 | Report KML | Bishop Pass, Dusy Basin, Shortened by conditions, Missing Hiker |
| 2016 Sept | Taboose | 10 | 1-2 | 53 | 20117 | Report KML | Taboose Pass, Bench Lake, Upper Basin Crossing, Amphitheater Lake, Cataract Creek Pass, Observation Peak Pass, Sea Gull Island, Adventurer Pass, Mather Pass |
| 2016 Aug | Onion Valley | 6 | 2 | 58 | 17285 | Report KML | Kearsarge Pass, Glen Pass, Rae Lakes, Pinchot Pass, Mather Pass, Norman Clyde peak view, Dusy Basin, Bishop Pass |
| 2016 June | Cedar Grove | 6 | 1-2 | 31 | 8800 | Report KML | Paradise Valley and Woods Creek then off-trail up to Window Creek and Arrow Creek drainage. |
| 2015 Sept | Crescent Meadow | 8 | 1 | 58 | 18600 | Report KML | High Sierra Trail over Kaweah Gap then off trail over Pyra Queen Col, down Kaweah Basin to Red Spur Bench, then back up over Kaweah Pass and returning via the HST |
| 2015 Aug | South Lake | 7 | 1-2 | 38 | 13000 | Report KML | South Lake, over Bishop Pass and past jct with Palisades Creek then off trail up over Adventurer Pass and into the isolated Mt. Shakspere -- Observation Pk west drainage. Retrace track on return. |
| 2015 July | Lodgepole | 3 | 5 | 22 | 6300 | KML | Tablelands from Lodgepole |
| 2014 Aug | Sunset Meadow | 6 | 3 | 33 | 7500 | Rowell Meadow, Sugarloaf, Box Canyon, West Ferguson Creek, Ellis Meadow, Comanche Meadow | |
| 2004 Sept | Crescent Meadow | 10 | 1 | 63 | 19800 | Report KML | Pants Pass, Kaweah Basin, Red Spur Bench solo hike |
| 2004 Aug | Marvin Pass | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1800 | Report KML | Rowell Meadow with Grandson Jon |
| 2003 Oct | Shepherd Pass | 6 | 1 | 34 | 13600 | Report KML | Shepherd Pass, Mt. Tyndall, Lake South America, Junction Peak |
| 2003 Sept | South Lake | 7 | 2 | 45 | 15000 | Report KML | Bishop Pass to Black Mountain, Muir Hut, then up Ladder Lake drainage |
| 2002 Sept | Copper Creek | 7 | 2 | 45 | 13800 | Report KML | Sierra High Route to Cartridge Pass then down Muro Blanco |
| 2002 July | Taboose Creek | 2 | 1 | 21 | 7800 | Report | Taboose Pass, Bench Lake, all trail |
| 2001 Sept | Lodgepole | 5 | 2 | 37 | 9673 | Report KML | Twin Lakes, Ranger Lake, Sugarloaf, Box Canyon, Pear Lake |
| Undocumented Hikes |
|