High Sierra Topix

Those tent stakes are not trash! What a great find. That is the way I get a lot of my tent stakes.

I agree--although we've found so many of those tent stakes that we once left a complete set at the backcountry ranger's cabin in Hockett Meadows near Mineral King...

A week ago a trip around Mt Senger out of Florence Lake:

A 5 day trip last week. Duck Pass (this time explored some lakes NE off the trail before crossing the pass), Purple Lake, Lake Virginia, cross country to the valley with creek and lakes NW of Cecil Lake, Cecil Lake, Lee Lake, circle south of peak 11652' near some small lakes, the valley under McGee Pass near the trail, many lakes south and west of Tully Lake, Cotton Lake, Izaak Walton Lake, Horse Heaven, and out on the trail.

I also found Nemo.

I find and carry out the coins that I find, typically around campsites. My average is about 37 cents per trip.

Monarch divide tip last week, 5 days.
Some trash not packed out but carried only part way:

Found long underwear at a lake in lower Granite Basin and found some cloth at Granite Lake. Carried them to the junction of the trail to Granite lake and left them there facing the way out. I put a small rock on them so they don't get blown away. I wasn't sure I was going to go back that way. I ended up not going back that way.
Also found a glass jar at Volcanic lakes. I left it at the junction of the trail to Kennedy Pass for someone to pack it out. Closer to the the end of my hike I pack out heavier trash.

No photos, but on my last trip out of LLV I packed out the upper 2/3rds of a hiking pole with the handle chewed on (found partially tucked under a rock at 13,000 feet -- odd) and an old Red Stripe beer bottle with the wrapper long worn away, in addition to the usual microtrash found at campsites.

I found a t-shirt draped across a rock on a recent backpack a few weeks ago. It was soaked (it had rained hard during our trip) but still fully intact, so probably had been accidentally forgotten by a hiker earlier in the season. I brought it home and washed it, and since it's my size I added it to my rotation of shirts.

LLV last week. This is one of my favorite campsites here and it was occupied so found another site a couple hundred yards away. Later in the day saw that it was empty, but not entirely:
How do you miss a 5 gallon ziplock...



I didn't pack this one out (from Gem Lakes), but what's up with this:

Mylar balloons on almost every trip I take. Otherwise broken glass, bits of foil and wrappers, and rusted food cans from the days of yore are most of my hauls. Found several broken trekking poles along the trail, and a broken ski, deep in the Sierra interior. Southern Kern I came upon two outfitter camps on the Rincon Trail that were as much middens as gear stashes, enough stuff that a pack train would be required to remove all of the mess. Disgusting! On the south shore of Hilton Lake we came upon an abandoned camp, complete with a shredded tent, some kitchen wares and soft goods. Could not determine if the camp was evacuated for some reason, or if the shredded tent happened before or after being abandoned. We took what we could, but the bulk was more than we could stash/lash to our pack.

Found arrow heads along various lake shores and mountain passes, abandoned gear from the Calvary patrols, mining, outfitter and herder relics - but I guess really old trash gets redefined as artifacts. We left these as we found them...

Ed