perm filename SIERRA[D,LES]1 blob
sn#006695 filedate 1972-08-08 generic text, type T, neo UTF8
00100 SIERRA TRIP AI-5
00125
00150 DATES: Friday, August 18 through Saturday, August 26.
00200
00250
00300 ITINERARY
00400
00500 Leave here Friday, August 18 and drive about 7 hours to Bishop in the
00520 Owens Valley, then to North Lake and camp overnight. Beginning the
00540 next morning, make a leisurely hike of about 8 days through Piute
00560 Canyon, Evolution Valley, Muir Pass, Le Conte Canyon, and Dusy Basin,
00580 returning to South Lake. The total distance is 56 miles and the
00600 maximum trail elevation is 12,000 feet.
01100
01200 We will pass numerous lakes and may take side trips to some hot
01300 springs and to Mt. Sill (elevation 14,000 feet), overlooking the
01400 Palisade Glaciers and the grandest view of the Sierra Crest.
01800
01900
02000 WHO IS INVITED
02100
02200 Anyone who can carry a pack. We will distribute the weight so as to
02400 slow down the jocks and will keep the pace moderate.
02500
02600
02700 COST: About $28 each for food and transportation. Drivers will be
02800 refunded $4 for each person.
03000
03100
03200 FINAL MEETING: Wednesday, August 16 at noon in the AI Conference Room.
03700
03800
03900 QUESTIONS? See Les Earnest.
00100 PROCEDURES
00200 BEFORE THE HIKE
00300
00400 1. To be included, you must pay your share of food and
00500 transportation by the final meeting. If you subsequently drop out,
00600 the money cannot be refunded, but we will try to give you your
00700 moneysworth in food. If we run over the budget, there will be a
00720 small extra assessment after the trip.
00740
00760 2. Your pack and personal belongings should weigh no more than 20
00780 pounds. See the list at the end of this file for suggestions on what
00800 to bring and what not to bring.
00990
01000 3. Transportation will be arranged at the final meeting. If you
01100 can't attend, appoint a proxy to negotiate on your behalf. Departure
01200 times are up to the individual travel groups.
01700
01800 4. We will attempt to find each other in the campground nearest the
01900 trailhead. Food is an individual responsibility through the first
02000 night.
02200
02300 FOOD ON THE HIKE
02400
02500 1. We will have a group breakfast the morning we begin hiking. Food
02600 and cooking equipment will then be distributed among the group for
02700 carrying. Breakfasts will typically consist of hot cereal and drinks
02800 (coffee, tea, hot chocolate). Lunches will usually consist of
02900 sandwiches (salami, cheese, peanut butter, jelly) with something cool
03000 to drink (e. g. milk or "green death"). Dinner might be beef stew,
03100 spaghetti, or something equally delicious (or obnoxious, depending on
03200 your viewpoint).
03300
03400 2. We will divide into a number of cooking parties, each of which
03500 will have cyclic responsibility for preparing a breakfast or dinner
03600 for the entire group and for cleaning the cooking utensils. Lunches
03700 are a freeforall, since they involve no cooking. At each encampment,
03800 people who are not cooking should assist in gathering firewood.
03900
04000 3. In cleaning up after a meal, don't dump substantial quantities of
04100 food into streams. Bury it. For cleaning pots, a little sand will
04200 take the place of a scrubbing brush.
04300
04400 4. If we are in bear country, all food should be placed in a few
04500 packs after the evening meal and hoisted at least 10 feet into the
04600 air on nylon chord slung from trees.
04700
00100 TRAIL PROCEDURES
00200
00300 1. When people meet on the trail, those going uphill traditionally
00400 have right-of-way, since they are working harder. Whenever you meet
00500 pack animals, get off the trail and wait for them to go by. Some of
00600 them kick.
00700
00800 2. Don't cut across switchbacks. It promotes erosion and annoys
00900 ecology freaks.
01000
01020 3. A row of rocks across the trail usually means "don't go this
01040 way". Look around for an alternate route. It may be marked by
01060 "ducks" (small piles of rocks along the correct route).
01080
01100 4. If you come to an ambiguous fork in the trail, preferably wait
01200 for the rest of the group. If you must proceed, leave a conspicuous
01300 note indicating which way you went.
01400
01500 5. Try not to get so far ahead that the group never gets together.
01600 The lead party should stop for lunch no later than noon. Pick a spot
01700 near water. You might even go swimming.
01800
01900 6. When nature calls, get away from streams and don't leave toilet
02000 paper lying about. Use a stick to dig a hole and cover it with
02100 earth or rocks.
02200
02300 7. Don't drop anything that isn't quickly biodegradable. We will
02400 carry out all cans, wrappers and frobs that we bring in.
02500
02600 AFTER THE HIKE
02700
02800 1. With any luck, we will return from the wilds with most of our
02900 group and some of the food intact. Non-perishable items will be
03000 collected and subsequently redistributed as uniformly as possible
03100 amoung all participants. Last year, some lucky people received a
03200 lifetime supply of Chicken Delight.
03300
03400 2. Immediately following the hike, you may have an urge to clean up.
03500 We will try to find a suitable hot spring nearby. The next step
03600 should be to find a restaurant that serves steaks. You're on your
03700 own.
03800
03900 3. Sometime after the blisters have healed, you may want to join in
04000 a slide show.
00100 July 1972 SUGGESTIONS FOR BACKPACKERS by Les Earnest
00200
00300
00400 These are my suggestions to the novice backpacker for what to bring.
00500 After the first trip, make your own list.
00600
00700 WEAR OR BRING THE FOLLOWING
00800
00820 1. A couple of shirts and some loose fitting trousers.
00840
00860 2. Either a sweater and a nylon shell or a rainproof jacket.
00880
00900 3. A backpack that couples the load to your hips rather than your
01000 shoulders.
01100
01200 4. A down sleeping bag (2 to 3 lbs.).
01300
01400 5. A tube tent and nylon cord. This can serve as a ground cloth in
01500 good weather and as a marginal shelter in case it rains (it often
01600 does in the Sierra).
01700
01800 6. A pair of hiking boots, preferably broken in.
02000
02100 7. One or more changes of underclothing plus either one pair of
02120 socks for each day (on short hikes) or 3 pairs to be recycled (wear,
02140 wash, dry). Some people with sensitive feet like to wear two pairs
02160 of socks at a time to reduce abrasion.
02180
02800 8. A Sierra Cup (preferably with a "1 measuring cup" line) and
02900 eating utensils (metal plate or bowl, knife, fork, and spoon). The
03000 Sierra Cup hooks on your belt, permitting a fast draw when you come
03100 to a sparkling stream.
03200
03300 9. Bandaids and/or moleskin for blisters, chapstick, sunburn lotion,
03500 insect repellant.
03600
03700 10. Toilet paper. A small roll will do.
03800
03900 11. Matches, preferably waterproof.
04000
04100 12. Trail snacks such as nuts, dried fruit, M&Ms, apples, oranges.
04200
04300 13. A tooth brush, if you believe in that sort of thing.
04400
00100 OPTIONAL EXTRAS
00200
00300 A good general rule is "don't bring anything that you won't use at
00400 least twice". You might want to take some of the following, but there
00500 will be times when you regret every ounce.
00600
00700 1. A small camera with extra film.
00800
00900 2. A small sharp knife.
01000
01100 3. A piece of sponge rubber to put your sleeping bag on. It should
01200 be about one inch thick and big enough to support your torso.
01300 Alternatively, you could bring an air matress, but they often leak.
01400
01500 4. Topographic maps of the hike area. Get the 15 minute series,
01600 available at the Geological Survey office, 345 Middlefield Road,
01700 Menlo Park.
01800
01900 5. Starr's Guide to the John Muir Trail, available at Keplers
02000 bookstores.
02100
02200 6. A roll of adhesive tape or electrical tape.
02300
02400 7. Sunglasses.
02500
02600 8. A small flashlight.
02700
02800 9. A small plastic water bottle, for dry climbs. (I never carry
02900 one.)
03000
03100 10. A hat with wide brim, for sunburn protection.
03200
03300 11. Light fishing gear.
03400
03500 12. A pair of slippers or other light footgear to relax in.
03600
03700 THINGS NOT TO BRING
03800
03900 In my opinion, the weight of the following items exceeds their
04000 usefulness.
04100
04200 1. Any clothing beyond bare essentials.
04300
04400 2. Shovels, hatchets, ice axes, and hunting knives.
04500
04600 3. Canteens. There is water nearly everywhere in the Sierra.
04700
04800 4. Binoculars or radios. The latter seldom work well in the
04900 mountains anyway.