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Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 7:04 pm
by Cross Country
Mark wrote exactly what I wanted to write "Ya think?", and Mark and I have been over LOTS of cross country passes (he, more than I).

tom

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 7:20 pm
by tim
I just wanted to say thanks to Rogue for sticking with the board despite some of the concerns expressed over his plans earlier. I've really enjoyed his photos and just wish I could spend months each summer in the Sierra.

I remember doing some pretty ridiculous things in my 20s also, that I now look back on and think I must have been crazy (in particular the 2 week hike through a 13000ft mountain range in Turkey in the pre-GPS days, with only a 1:250K map drawn by the British Army in 1941 and thick fog 60% of the time - think US hikers now in Iran). In a way I'm glad there weren't message boards where people could have told me I was mad and dissuaded me from an amazing and unrepeatable experience.

Nevertheless, I'm sure the various pieces of advice and cautions are helpful - I too am now at an age where caution overtakes boldness/foolishness most (if not all) of the time, and it is great to learn of the challenges I and others might not have thought about from those with many years of experience in these beautiful mountains of ours. Its just that if someone had told me "no that's impossible", as opposed to "these are the difficulties, some of which you might not be able to overcome, so you might need to backtrack, re-route or whatever", then (especially at that age) it would have been easier to ignore their advice than to take it on board.

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 8:40 pm
by RoguePhotonic
I'm more then happy to keep posting even if people are hostile towards me. At least your overt about it and that's what's important. I left another hiking forum after learning I was about ready to get banned and that many of the people hated me when I had no idea anything was wrong at all.

In general I like talking about hiking because it's all I have in life that brings me any happiness to get back into the mountains and I only know two people in person that "sometimes" hike. One describes a view such as Glacier Point as being "nice but is just what ever". The other being my dad that rarely goes and is more annoying then good company on the trail.

As for my trip if I do make it through as planned I certainly will be experienced at cross country!

I spent some time today reviewing my route and analyzing the profiles of cross country days and other then some days with extreme altitude gain i'm fairly confident with what I have planned.

This is the final plan:

SJune 26 - 1 - Grasshopper Flat
MJune 27 - 2 - Rifle Creek
TJune 28 - 3 - Aspine Flat
WJune 29 - 4 - Monarch Creek
TJune 30 - 5 - Kaweah River
FJuly 1 - 6 - Moose Lake
SJuly 2 - 7 - Emerald Lake
SJuly 3 - 8 - Lodgepole
MJuly 4 - 9 - Bear Paw
TJuly 5 - 10 - Lonely Lake
WJuly 6 - 11 - Layover
TJuly 7 - 12 - Colby Lake
FJuly 8 - 13 - Lake 10,760
SJuly 9 - 14 - Lake Reflection
SJuly 10 - 15 - Cross Creek
MJuly 11 - 16 - Roads End
TJuly 12 - 17 - Cross Creek
WJuly 13 - 18 - Charlotte Lake
TJuly 14 - 19 - Lake 9560
FJuly 15 - 20 - Gardiner Lakes
SJuly 16 - 21 - Dragon Lake
SJuly 17 - 22 - Layover
MJuly 18 - 23 - Arrow Creek
TJuly 19 - 24 - Cedar Grove
WJuly 20 - 25 - Middle Fork
TJuly 21 - 26 - Middle Fork Kings River
FJuly 22 - 27 - Tehipite Valley
SJuly 23 - 28 - Layover
SJuly 24 - 29 - Simpson Meadow
MJuly 25 - 30 - Lake 9702
TJuly 26 - 31 - East Kennedy Lake
WJuly 27 - 32 - Cedar Grove
TJuly 28 - 33 - Granite Creek
FJuly 29 - 34 - Small Lakes 11160
SJuly 30 - 35 - Marion Lake
SJuly 31 - 36 - Amphitheater Lake
MAugust 1 - 37 - Below Potluck Pass
TAugust 2 - 38 - Bishop Lake
WAugust 3 - 39 - Parchers Rainbow Village
TAugust 4 - 40 - Leconte Canyon
FAugust 5 - 41 - Muir Hut
SAugust 6 - 42 - Lake 11910
SAugust 7 - 43 - Layover
MAugust 8 - 44 - Merriam Lake
TAugust 9 - 45 - Lake Italy
WAugust 10 - 46 - Mono Creek
TAugust 11 - 47 - VVR
FAugust 12 - 48 - Cotton Lake
SAugust 13 - 49 - Minnow Creek
SAugust 13 - 50 - Iva Bell Hotsprings
MAugust 14 - 51 - Layover
TAugust 15 - 52 - Reds Meadow
WAugust 16 - 53 - Cecille Lake
TAugust 17 - 54 - Lake Catherine
FAugust 18 - 55 - Harriet Lake
SAugust 19 - 56 - Red Devil Lake
SAugust 20 - 57 - Lower Ottoway Lake
MAugust 21 - 58 - Illilouette Creek
TAugust 22 - 59 - Yosemite Valley
WAugust 23 - 60 - Layover
TAugust 24 - 61 - Near Tenaya Lake
FAugust 25 - 62 - Tuolumne Meadows
SAugust 26 - 63 - North of Green Treble Lakes
SAugust 27 - 64 - Small Lakes above Return Lake
MAugust 28 - 65 - Twin Lakes
TAugust 29 - 66 - Kerrick Meadow
WAugust 30 - 67 - Benson Lake
TAugust 31 - 68 - Layover
FSeptember 1 - 69 - Return Creek
SSeptember 2 - 70 - Tuolumne Meadows
SSeptember 3 - 71 - Echo Lake
MSeptember 4 - 72 - Clouds Rest
TSeptember 5 - 73 - Babcock Lake
WSeptember 6 - 74 - Tuolumne Meadows
TSeptember 7 - 75 - Below Donohue Pass
FSeptember 8 - 76 - Reds Meadow
SSeptember 9 - 77 - Layover
SSeptember 10 - 78 - Purple Lake
MSeptember 11 - 79 - VVR
TSeptember 12 - 80 - Sallie Keyes Lakes
WSeptember 13 - 81 - South Fork San Joaquin
TSeptember 14 - 82 - Martha Lake
FSeptember 15 - 83 - Lake 9840
SSeptember 16 - 84 - Cartridge Creek
SSeptember 17 - 85 - Marion Lake
MSeptember 18 - 86 - Muro Blanco
TSeptember 19 - 87 - Paradise Valley
WSeptember 20 - 88 - Cedar Grove
TSeptember 21 - 89 - Roaring River
FSeptember 22 - 90 - Tamarack Lake
SSeptember 23 - 91 - Soda Creek
SSeptember 24 - 92 - Columbine Lake
MSeptember 25 - 93 - Mineral King
TSeptember 26 - 94 - Forester Lake
WSeptember 27 - 95 - Little Five Lakes
TSeptember 28 - 96 - Mineral King

The changes are:

Will take Milestone Pass after Colby to the Upper Kern Trail.

I decided instead of crossing Frozen Lake Pass then Upper Basin Crossing it would be a nicer route to take Dumbbell and then Cataract Creek Pass.

On the return trip South I changed the miles and days up to make the bushwhacking a more realistic goal to get down to the Middle Fork of the Kings.

I decided to take the crazy bushwhacking route and go up Cartridge Creek but instead of Cartridge Pass which is more heavily traveled i'll take Pete's Col and then down through the Muro Blanco. I figure if I make it that far I will have been on the trail for over 80 days, probably 45 pounds lighter in body weight, in great shape and done more than enough cross country to want to take on some mean bushwhacking.

The last note in general is that this is only my planned route. If I reach it's end and am in good shape and the weather isn't turning on me yet and I still have the money to keep going then I will just keep hiking.

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 12:39 pm
by whrdafamI?
Removed after re-evaluation of contents.............

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 1:57 pm
by rlown
as annoying that it may be to you, it's his choice.

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:14 pm
by RoguePhotonic
With my dad it's not him being "willing" to go but I am accommodating him. He wants to get out for a week long summer hike and I have arranged my schedule to allow him to come along with me. And you really don't know him. He is the type that shows up completely unprepared and then drains your resources which you planned to only be adequate for yourself and his general attitude often just brings you down when your supposed to be enjoying yourself in such beautiful locations.

With SAR it's a simple logical constant or something along those lines. As I said I respect what they do and that they are there to do it but I cannot plan my life around the notion of an unstoppable mechanical machine. The idea that action A could lead to action B which like it or not will lead to action C which could hypothetically lead to result D which is just wrong of you to even set worth a set of actions at all that could lead to this hypothetical scenario. It's insanity to me.

As for being ready to die I am well aware of the taboo held on the subject in our society and it's not something I advertise to people but it's a simple matter of truth. I say it only because it's a statistical fact on my journey. I am ready to die in my life and I am not setting out to get myself killed but when warning me of dangers that aren't that severe it's important for me to point out the fact that I am willing to accept the ultimate consequence which of course is death.

Your wrong though that I am the kind of person that gets people killed. I never like to lead people any where that I feel is beyond their comfort zone. I once started out on a 10 mile one way cross country back packing trip in Death Valley over very tough terrain and the friend that came with me was so out of shape and clueless at the time that he was sitting down every hundred yards when we were hardly a mile in. I immediately realised that it was a mistake to bring him out there and that he could get both of us in allot of trouble so we turned around and didn't do the hike. I may be willing to die but that doesn't mean I am willing to let anyone else die with me.

War is not so different for a soldier that truly believes. You don't go into battle hoping you die and you do everything you can not to but if you do die you are more than willing to do so.

I still quote John Muir as a motto: "The worst that can happen is we could fall and then what a glorious grave site we would have!"

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 2:30 pm
by Wandering Daisy
My parents were "annoying" to me until I had kids. I was "annoying" to my kids until they had kids. My kids were "annoying" to me in their 20's. Interesting how having your own kids puts it into perspective!

This is a very ambitious plan that will take a ton of will power. Be aware that one of the toughest things is being out there all alone, day after day. This is not like the PCT where you meet and chat with people about every day. Learn to talk positively to yourself - this is a skill you will need. When things get to the edge, take a deep breath and think clearly about your next move. It takes a bit of "attitude" to do a trip like this, but be careful that the "attitude" does not get in the way of good judgement. You are guarenteed to have a few setbacks. Put them into perspective. If you have to divert around an obstacle and loose half a day, that really is not much in the big picture of being out 100+ days. When things repeatedly go wrong it may be time to take half a day off and just focus on the beauty of the outdoors.

I think everyone on this forum, whether they "like" you or not, hopes you succeed and stay safe.

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 9:26 pm
by RoguePhotonic
Actually being out there alone is one of the easier bits for me. I have in one way or another always been alone in my life so as a result I am quite comfortable with it. As much as I enjoy chatting it up with the hiker passing by sometimes spending as much as the entire day just talking to one person like I did last year I am really ready for a complete bit of solitude out there. You tend to have to explain the same thing over and over to people and of course when people want to know where you have been and where you are going it's a very long answer and most people don't know the Sierra all that well so they don't know where you mean anyway.

The biggest question is will my body survive the trip? And the second is will my money hold out? Probably more than half the trip will be buy as you go for food which makes it impossible to know how much it is really going to cost.

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 7:11 am
by obxcola
Looking over your schedule:
July 8 - 13 - Lake 10,760
SJuly 9 - 14 - Lake Reflection You have to cross the Kings/Kern divide somewhere. I'm curious about this crossing sometimes referred to as "Little Joe Pass"

It appears to have the best south western or western exposure ( Milly's foot, Lucy's foot and Harrison all face north )
Little Joe Pass.jpg
And Wandering Daisy: Perfect description of the "joys" of parenthood! It's the abrupt transition at puberty ( hows that work? ) from leader advisor sort of friend to complete idiot that''s so jarring. As mine are now passing 20 and the older is getting more than half way to 25 I see some glimmers of the friend re-appearing while the idiot diminishes and even occasional hints of the advisor.

Re: Cross Country Route

Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 11:14 am
by whrdafamI?
RoguePhotonic wrote:With my dad it's not him being "willing" to go but I am accommodating him. He wants to get out for a week long summer hike and I have arranged my schedule to allow him to come along with me. And you really don't know him. He is the type that shows up completely unprepared and then drains your resources which you planned to only be adequate for yourself and his general attitude often just brings you down when your supposed to be enjoying yourself in such beautiful locations.

With SAR it's a simple logical constant or something along those lines. As I said I respect what they do and that they are there to do it but I cannot plan my life around the notion of an unstoppable mechanical machine. The idea that action A could lead to action B which like it or not will lead to action C which could hypothetically lead to result D which is just wrong of you to even set worth a set of actions at all that could lead to this hypothetical scenario. It's insanity to me.

As for being ready to die I am well aware of the taboo held on the subject in our society and it's not something I advertise to people but it's a simple matter of truth. I say it only because it's a statistical fact on my journey. I am ready to die in my life and I am not setting out to get myself killed but when warning me of dangers that aren't that severe it's important for me to point out the fact that I am willing to accept the ultimate consequence which of course is death.

Your wrong though that I am the kind of person that gets people killed. I never like to lead people any where that I feel is beyond their comfort zone. I once started out on a 10 mile one way cross country back packing trip in Death Valley over very tough terrain and the friend that came with me was so out of shape and clueless at the time that he was sitting down every hundred yards when we were hardly a mile in. I immediately realised that it was a mistake to bring him out there and that he could get both of us in allot of trouble so we turned around and didn't do the hike. I may be willing to die but that doesn't mean I am willing to let anyone else die with me.

War is not so different for a soldier that truly believes. You don't go into battle hoping you die and you do everything you can not to but if you do die you are more than willing to do so.

I still quote John Muir as a motto: "The worst that can happen is we could fall and then what a glorious grave site we would have!"
So take the time to make sure that Dad has what he needs before you go. Take the leader position. And as far as a "Glorious gravesite" you are mistaken. If the SAR group didn't find you at first it wouldn't matter. Sooner or later someone would find your bones and it would become a potential crime scene and your bones would end up being hauled off the mtn. for evaluation. This isn't Everest were talking about. Becoming a human popcycle isn't a option here.