Backpacking adventure outcome

Once again, I find it’s been a long time since I blogged anything. Should I say “I’ll try to post more frequently”? Nah… I’ll try, I just won’t commit to it

The backpacking trip with my 13-year old daughter Melissa was incredible, real “experience of a lifetime” stuff. It was perhaps the most physically challenging thing I’ve done in my life, partly because of the weight we were carrying, but mostly because of the altitude. The itenerary was basically drive fron San Diego (approx sea level where I live) to Mineral King. The last part of the drive is 2 hours of 1.5 lane road switch-backing up a mountain. I read somewhere there were 698 turns in this road, I believe it. We camped overnight at 7,500ft. Next day we went for a medium difficulty hike just to get used to the altitude. On the Sunday we set out on the REAL backpacking trip. We started up from the Mineral King valley floor:

It was about 8 miles, with several water crossings. The water crossing were interesting because the creeks were all snow-melt fed. We crossed them either in bare feet or with sandals. What made it interesting was the intense pain that set in after a few seconds exposure to the frigid water. Seriously, you get across in 5 seconds, or you start screaming.

 

We FINALLY made it to what would be our base camp on a ledge above Frankin Lake just as night was setting in. Dinner was freeze-dried backpacking gourmet Pad-Thai, and I swear it among the best I’ve ever had anywhere, including Thailand!

 

The next day we just hung out by the lake and recuperated. The day after that we made a run for Franklin Pass. As it was every day, the weather was a perfect 80 degrees. Because of the huge amount of snow they got last winter (30 foot snow pack in some areas), there was still a lot of snow around, so we got to throw some snowballs wearing shorts and T-shirts.

We made it to Franklin Pass, at 12,000 feet. I will never forget the feeling of awe that came over me as we crested the ridge and saw the Sierras spread out before and below us. It was truly amazing. We had lunch up there, and stayed for a couple of hours, etching the landscape into our memories.

It was an amazing experience. Once we got into the backcountry, we rarely saw other people, and once went almost 2 days without seeing anyone. I have NEVER had to research and plan a trip as carefully as this one. It’s a bit intimidating being out there knowing that if something were to happen, you’re either on your own, or you’re a day’s hike (assuming you can walk) away from other people. Cell phone coverage? Not a chance.

We were very self-sufficient, and had lots of good equipment. Ultralight tent, mini high tech ceramic water filter, ultralight sleeping bags, etc. The coolest gadgets I had were the JetBoil, a superbly engineered (why didn’t I think of this???) water boiling pot that is super fuel-efficient, and of course, my GPS. I had bought a handheld GPS about 5 years ago for safety reasons because of my frequent trips into the desert, and upgraded it to the Garmin Vista C before this trip. AWESOME unit. Highly recommended if you’re into GeoCaching or heading into the backcountry.

Despite a lifetime of camping and hiking, that was my first backpacking experience. It will not be my last.