This winter I’ve hired two more guides, cementing the roster as the most accomplished and knowledgeable team of backpacking guides on the planet. Yes, I’m boasting. No, I don’t think I’m exaggerating. Joe McConaughy (“Stringbean”) will be helping Alan Dixon (“Adventure Alan”) and me guide in West Virginia in early-May. And Heather Anderson (“Anish”) will be […]
Where We Camped, Approximate Daily Mileage 2016 1. Tarn below Mt Silliman. 5m 2. Lonely Lake. 12.5m 3. Just shy of Colby Lake, just past “PR-15”. 10m 4. Avalanche Pass area Where We Camped, Approximate Daily Mileage 2017 1. Creek just before Gardiner Pass. 11m 2. Between “PR-31” and “PR-32”. 5m 3. Lake below King […]
Simpson Meadow Trail I ate a nice big breakfast. Our food bags were full again, so I was back to my normal, stick-to-the-ribs pot full of energy. By the time we got to the “small trailside campsite at Horseshoe Creek” (which I thought was kinda big), I was feeling sick to my stomach. The problem […]
We skipped Ionian Basin due to Skurka’s cautionary advice. Our less-than-perfect encounters with King Col, Should-Go Canyon, Woods Creek, Dumbbell Pass, and Amphitheater Pass were still fresh in our minds. Connecting our steps via the Middle Fork Trail still gave us that special brand of satisfaction that a thru-hike brings. We also got to see […]
The website CalTopo has been my go-to mapping platform for four over years. I primarily use it to make and print topographic maps, including for all of my guided trips and high route guides. It has come a long way since I began to use it, with regular improvements to the user-interface and imagery database. […]
In a post yesterday I shared my recommended food storage techniques. Some readers responded skeptically to my fifth method — sleeping with it — so I thought I’d discuss it more fully. I’m intentional about when and where I’ll do it, and I don’t have a death wish. First, a disclaimer Sleeping with your food seems riskier than […]
Cautionary Advice Boy did we read Skurka’s cautionary advice at a sensitive time. We were in the middle of rationing our way to running out of food, an impassable cornice had blocked King Col, we had a physically challenging time descending Should-Go Canyon…and had high anxiety not knowing if it would even go near the […]
You’ve set up camp for the night and cooked dinner. Now what should be done with the Snickers, salami, peanut noodle dinners, and the other calories that will sustain you for the remainder of your backpacking trip? Protect from what? Most backpackers seem to protect their food overnight because they’re worried about bears. In places […]
My 2019 guiding program is coming together. A few details are still being finalized, but everything should be settled by Monday, January 7, when the open application period will begin. For in-depth details about the trips, go here or follow other links below. This post is a succinct summary. Guide roster The program has always stood […]
Charlotte Lake Kelby, The Brawn, and I started our KCHBR thru-hike loop at Onion Valley TH and walked to Charlotte Lake from Kearsarge Pass. Kelby planned to hike with us to “PR-51” at LeConte Ranger Station and we would all hike over Bishop Pass together. Kelby would leave in his rental car to catch a […]