SummitPost.org

Almost started a forest fire one time with the burning TP..... true enuf

Best be careful with that stuff, it is pretty toxic.

But back to the OP.......

One will find zero folks if you follow these rules.... start at a low trailhead, with tons of elev gain to get to the MTS. Example, go up Baxter Pass.

Better yet.... go up passes that do not have roads leading to the start.

Go in from almost anyplace from the west.... start low down and walk 10-15 miles that will do the trick.

Go to any of the rock climbing places I visit. ....... Completely deserted, year after year.

So PM me if you wish, I'll draw you a map.

gk

Bob Burd wrote:

ksolem wrote:I am bummed to hear the Forest Circus opened Blue Canyon to packers. Bad idea there.

I was in Blue Canyon on a weekend this past July. The trail is easier to follow than in the past, but it is still some effort to stay on it and not lose it. Looked more like the packers had opened up the trail themselves than any concerted trail-building effort by the FS.

And I think the idea of the crowded Sierra is far overblown. I didn't see a soul in Blue Canyon (no surprise), but didn't see anyone in Crown Valley or on the Rancheria Trail all the way from the start and back. There was only one other car in the lot when I got back - a weekend in July. And I could tell a similar story from hundreds of visits in the past ten years. The High Sierra crowds are in two dozen or so locations we could all name, like Whitney, Onion Valley, Rock Creek, Mammoth Lakes, Tuolumne Meadows, the Valley, Cedar Grove, etc, but there are far more places that one can go and find almost no one. If you leave the trail for more than a few hundred yards, your chances of seeing anyone diminish to close to zero even near the crowded trails.

Judging from the summit registers, I'd say there were more visitors in the remote places thirty years ago than there are today. Sport climbing, video games, and the Internet seem to have supplanted Sierra Club outings and the like as recreation for many.

For you, Kris - Gorge of Despair from Blue Canyon:

Nice shot Bob, you can see "the coolest place on the planet" in that shot. Have you ever climbed Kettle Dome??

gk

Guyzo wrote:Have you ever climbed Kettle Dome??

gk

No, but it has caught my attention:



It's on the todo list.

hellroaring wrote:for all you Sierra veterans/locals...Just wondering what you would consider the most remote area(s) in the Sierra?

Kaweahs?
Great Western Divide?
Ionian Basin/Enchanted Gorge?
Goddard creek watershed?

hey Doug, I really enjoy reading your posts and appreciate your love of the wild mountains.

That sounds like a totally amazing trek. I hope you make a point of doing it.

Can't call myself "new" anymore, but still a fledgling to wild places, and am branching more and more as I can allow. Even living in Bishop, I am under the same constraints as most others, since I have the M-F jobbie. Just takes me less time to get to the trailheads.

This thread has been awesome in that it made me get out the topos again. This, a glass of wine, and some time to kill dreaming and I'm putting together trips that are probably over my head and more and more burly. This time of year is perfect, too. The crowds have gone home, the backcountry seems to be headed for hibernation and recovery from the hordes that have trampled over every inch.

Best part is, this time of year, that you don't have to go that deep in to be totally alone. I did a trip up to Honeymoon Lake, camped for 2 nights, cruising and snowshoeing through the Granite Park area to Italy Pass (over Thanksgiving weekend) and never saw a soul until I was below the high mine on the Pine Creek trail Sunday on my exit.

Only drawback (if you call it that), is carrying a heavy pack. Darn. The hordes won't do the work. Save that for the load-bearers like myself who actually enjoy hefting 50 pounds of gear and food and whiskey on my back, leaning into the hill, and moving on. Point your BOOTS UP, put your HEAD DOWN, and GO.

Can't wait to see what's over the next ridge, but if I find another fire ring full of trash, I might strangle someone.

-L

FAIL:

WIN:

What a pack full of 36 cans of beer looks like:



Yeah, that was not a hard walk out.

Especially if I didn't have to lug the ...um..root beer up there!

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:
Kaweahs?
Great Western Divide?
Ionian Basin/Enchanted Gorge?
Goddard creek watershed?

Your photos are awesome. Each one could grace the cover of Freedom of the Hills.

Sam Page wrote:

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:
Kaweahs?
Great Western Divide?
Ionian Basin/Enchanted Gorge?
Goddard creek watershed?

Your photos are awesome. Each one could grace the cover of Freedom of the Hills.

Agreed. Where's that last shot of Mr. SLR? Beautiful.

Sam Page wrote:Your photos are awesome. Each one could grace the cover of Freedom of the Hills.

Thanks dude!!!!!!!!!!!!

dskoon wrote:Where's that last shot of Mr. SLR? Beautiful.

South ridge of Mount Ericsson on the Kings-Kern Divide, looking SW towards the Great Western Divide and Milestone Mountain.

Very nice. Thanks.

dskoon wrote:

Sam Page wrote:

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:
Kaweahs?
Great Western Divide?
Ionian Basin/Enchanted Gorge?
Goddard creek watershed?

Your photos are awesome. Each one could grace the cover of Freedom of the Hills.

Agreed. Where's that last shot of Mr. SLR? Beautiful.

I'll second Ionian Basin, but it is not all that spectacular a location in my opinion, unlike the Kaweahs... really spectacular and remote. The Great Western Divide is less remote (at least not if entering via Shepherd Pass), but having been on both sides, it is a very nice area. Have not been to Goddard, and it definitely looks remote. Is it worth the effort for any of those having done Goddard?

Not on the list, beautiful and remote as goes location, is the Dumbbell Lakes Basin.

Best part about Goddard was going through the EVO Basin to get there. It's mostly just a rock slog on the ridge, but the scramble up Starr's Route was fun.

Lots of water faucets:


Cool and easy ridges:


And perfect vistas (my friend Charles):


I'd like to head back when the air is a little more clear, but there are just so many OTHER things to do in that area, I think I've got some work to do, first. Enjoy.

-L