HISTORY

Every year since 1993 I have gone backpacking to the Sierra Nevadas in California with my brother-in-law Bruce Burkhardt and his brother-in-laws - John Leech (who is married to Bruce's elder sister Lisa) and George Beshire (who is married to Bruce's younger sister Bambi). Over the years, we have explored the area from Mount Whitney in the south to the John Muir Wilderness in the north. We usually go walking in September and October because :-
        there are less people around
        the mosquitos have died off
        the bears are not as active
        the streams and rivers are much lower than during the spring/summer melt.

EQUIPMENT

I discovered after the first trek that the gear I took on the trip had to be both light and compact as well as functional. As a result of constant refining every year, my equipment now includes :-
        Karrimor 60-100 litre Condor Expedition backpack
        The North Face 2000 Canyonlands solo tent
        Ajungilak Kompakt sleeping bag.
        Therm-A-Rest 3/4 length ultralite sleeping pad
        Sigg water bottle
        Petzl Tikka LED headlamp
        Salomon Exit Mid boots
        Teva XPD sandals
        Berghaus fleece, shell and vests
        Lowe Alpine dryflo vests
        Columbia shorts
        Thorlo socks
        Casio Twin-Sensor watch (Altimeter, Barometer, Thermometer)

FOOD

The first nights meal is always steak and mashed potatoes, after that its dehydrated stuff including :- chilli and rice, pasta and beans, macaroni cheese, ramen, carbonara, spaghetti and couscous.

SCHEDULES OF THE WALKS

walk 93 photos

• Courtright Reservoir to North fork of the Kings River.
  (Voyager Rock camp grounds) via Post Corral Meadows
• North fork of the Kings River to Half Moon Lake
  caught trout at the lake
• Half Moon Lake to Ambition Lake
  via Division Lake
• Ambition Lake to Martha Lake
  crossed the Le Conte Divide just north of Mount Reinstein
• Martha Lake
  climb Mount Goddard
• Martha Lake to Guest Lake
  cross over Le Conte Divide again at Lake Confusion, climb Blackcap Mountain
• Guest Lake to Devils Punch Bowl
• Devils Punch Bowl to Courtright Reservoir

walk 94 photos

• Florence lake to Muir Trail Ranch
  via Blayney Meadows
• Muir Trail Ranch to Spearpoint Lake
  via Senger Creek, Upper Turret Lakes, Old Squaw Lake and Big Chief Lake
• Spearpoint Lake to Golden Trout Lake
  via Hutchison Meadows - there was heavy snow here
• Golden Trout Lake to Lakes 11540/11546
  we inadvertently went the wrong side of Goethe Lake which meant we had to hop over snow covered talus to reach Alpine Col. This was a serious situation, a slip here could have been life threatening - we were , after all, 3 days from help. It took us all day to get over the talus and over Alpine Col into the Darwin Canyon.
• Lakes 11540/11546 to Evolution Lake
  the exertions of the previous day had left us drained, so we stayed an unscheduled day here.
• Evolution Lake to Evolution Meadow
  Bruce and George climbed Mount Darwin during the day, John and I stayed behind at the camp - after Alpine Col, I had lost my confidence in my ability to climb. Whilst they were away, the weather started to close in - there was was thunder and lightening all around us. As soon as Bruce and George returned (having successfully climbed Darwin) we broke camp and moved down the John Muir Trail to lower ground.
• Evolution Meadow to Blayney Meadows
• Blayney Meadows to Florence Lake

walk 95 photos

• Lake Thomas Edison to Graveyard Lakes
  via Graveyard Meadows
• Graveyard Lakes to Lake of the Lone Indian
  via Goodale Pass
• Lake of the Lone Indian to Mott Lake
  via cross country
• Mott Lake to Grinnell Lake
• Grinnell Lake to Lower Mills Creek Lake
  down Laurel Creek to Mono Creek. At this point John bailed out for the car, he has previously hurt himself and didn't feel up to any more climbing. The rest of us waded across Mono Creek and climbed up Mills Creek which eventually becomes the Second Mono Recess.
• Lower Mills Creek Lake to Toe Lake
  went over a snow covered Gabbot Pass. We waited for the sun to soften the snow which made climbing up it easier.
• Toe Lake
  climbed up Mount Gabb but had to leave the summit early when the weather deteriorated. We just made it back to camp, when we treated to an amazing light show (see my picture gallery).
• Toe Lake to Bear Creek
  via Lake Italy
• Bear Creek to Lake Thomas Edison
  via Bear Ridge and cross country back to the dam at Lake Thomas Edison where John was waiting for us.

walk 96 photos

• Roads End to the south fork of the Kings River
  via South Paradise Valley and eventually camped where the Kings River splits.
• south fork of the Kings River to unknown Lake 3200m
  bushwacked up Arrow Creek (for a bet, say Mark you never did pay up!)
• unknown Lake 3200m to unknown Lake 3360m
  a short day because Bruce and George climbed Arrow Peak.
• unknown Lake 3360m to unknown Lake 3300m
  we had a big down to the south fork of the Kings River, then a big up via an un-used shepards trail towards Cartridge Pass and camped at unknown Lake 3300m.
• unknown Lake 3300m to Marion Lake
  over Cartridge Pass into Lake Basin. George spotted a shirt (as used by the rangers) in the distance ; we had been told earlier that a ranger had gone missing and was last seen at Bench Lake - could this had been his shirt? Marion Lake is considered one of the most beautiful in the all the Sierras.
• Marion Lake to State Lakes
  via Red Point, Marion Peak and Horse Shoe Lakes
• State Lakes to Granite Basin Lake
  via Granite Pass
• Granite Basin Lake to Roads End
  a big down via Copper Creek passing Upper and Lower Tent Meadows.

walk 97 photos

• Roads End to Junction Meadow
  via Bubbs Creek
• Junction Meadow to Lake Reflection
  via East Lake
• Lake Reflection
  stayed at Lake Reflection and attempted to climb Mount Brewer
• Lake Reflection
  rest day
• Lake Reflection to Lake South America
  via Millys Foot Pass
• Lake South America to John Muir Trail
• John Muir Trail to Junction Meadow via Forrester's Pass and Vidette Meadow.
• Junction Meadow to Roads End
  long walk out.

walk 98 photos

• Wishon Reservoir to Chimney Lake
• Chimney Lake to the north fork Kings River
  via Half Moon Lake
• north fork of the Kings River to unknown lake in Kings Canyon
  via Crown Basin, Hummingbird Lake over Kettle Ridge into Kings Canyon.
• unknown lake to Finger Peak
• Finger Peak to unknown lake
  ice field at Finger Peak.
• unknown lake to Martha Lake
  via Mount Reinstein Pass
• Martha Lake to Lake Confusion/Rainbow Lake
  George and Bruce climbed Goddard again - we got hit by swarms of mosquitos walking around Martha.
• Lake Confusion/Rainbow Lake to Woodchuck Lake
  a long day via Blackcap Basin, the north fork of the Kings River, Half Moon and Crown Pass.
• Woodchuck Lake to Wishon Reservoir.

walk 99 photos

Our first cross Sierra trek. Bruce, George and myself started at Florence Lake in the west - Kim and Alex started at South Lake in the east. We would meet at McGee Lakes, swap car keys and carry on walking out.
• Florence Lake to the hot springs by the Muir Trail Ranch
  we had to cross the San Joaquin which was running quite high to get to the Hot Springs.
• Hot Springs to Davis Lake
  via Mosquito Pass, Upper Indian Lake
• Davis Lake to the San Joaquin River at Goddard Canyon
  via Hell For Sure Pass
• San Joaquin River to McGee Lakes
  via Davis Lake, Davis Lake Pass.
• McGee Lakes
  rest day whilst we waited for Kim and Alex who arrived in the afternoon.
• McGee Lakes to Muir Pass Hut
  via Wanda Lake, Lake McDermott. At Muir Pass Hut we meet Scott and Barry, two walkers from San Diego - these guys were nuts! They had with them an inflatable dinghy (which must have weighed a lot) and they treated us to Brandy and Port!
• Muir Pass Hut to Dusy Basin
  via the Le Conte Canyon, Big Pete Meadow and Little Pete Meadow
• Dusy Basin to Timberline tarns
  via Bishop Pass ; Dusy Basin is a real pretty bowl.
• Timberline tarns to South Lake
  The car was left by Kim and Alex at South Lake.

walk 00 photos

• Lake Thomas Edison to Devils Bathtub
• Devils Bathtub to Anne Lake
  via Graveyard Peak pass.
• Anne Lake
  stayed here and climbed unknown peak 11225.
• Anne Lake to Hortense Lake
• Hortense Lake to Tully Lake
• Tully Lake to Big McGee Lake
  via Red Slate Mountain
• Big Mcgee Lake to Lower Hopkins Lake
• Lower Hopkins Lake to Lake Thomas Edison
  got the ferry at Quail Meadows back to the car (at Vermillion)

walk 01 photos

Another cross Sierra trek, this time to Mount Whitney!
• Crescent Meadows to Bears Paw Meadow
• Bears Paw Meadow to Tamarack Lake
• Tamarack Lake to Lion Lake
• Lion Lake to the Kaweah River Basin
  via Triple Divide Peak and Triple Divide Pass ; a HUGE down from Triple Divide to get to the river basin.
• Kaweah River to Junction Meadow
  got painfully stung here by yellowjackets ; met John and Robin at Junction Meadow.
• Junction Meadow to Tarry's Lake
  strictly an unnamed lake but I named it for my nephew Tarry.
• Tarry's Lake to Guitar Lake
  via Crabtree. During the night Bruce got up and saw weird cloud formations - he felt that we should break camp early and start moving because weather might be coming in.
• Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal
  via Whitney ; we got up at 3.00 in the morning and were walking by 4.00. It was a moonlit night so we didn't use headlamps. Reached the top of Whitney at about 8.00, stayed to watch the sun rise and left after about 1 hour. Reached Whitney Portal just after 14.00 - a LONG day.

walk 02 photos

• Florence Lake to Muir Ranch
• Muir Ranch to Unknown Lake at 10400 via Senger Creek
• Unknown Lake at 10400 to Sandpiper Lake
• Stayed at Sandpiper and climbed Seven Gables
  R.J. Secor (the man) had signed the book on top of Seven Gables
• Sandpiper Lake to Seven Gables Lakes
  via the pass between Seven Gables and Gemini
• Seven Gables Lakes to Merriam Lake
  via Merriam Pass (steep both sides). We were meant to climb Merriam Peak but the weather was bad (lightening, wind, rain etc) so we headed for lower altitude.
• Merriam Lake to Puite Canyon
  via French Canyon.
• Puite Canyon to Florence Lake
  It was raining again, so we decided to shoot for Florence Lake and try and catch the last ferry.