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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Aug 25, 2017 - 07:14am PT
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I'm taking off this morning for a three day solo trip to the Ice Lake Basin. 5.5 miles and 3,200 vertical feet will take me to Fuller Lake at 12,500 ft. I'll camp there and feast on native cutthroat caught with my Tenkara rod.
Tomorrow i'll enchain three peaks between 13,800 and 13,950 snd return to camp for some more fishing.
Day three I'll hike out after a leisurely breakfast. The whole time will be spent above tree line in beautiful alpine tundra covered with all color shades of indian paintbrush.
The hike up to camp will be a bit of a drag but well worth the effort to put me in an absolutely gorgeous place accessible by no other means.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Aug 25, 2017 - 07:42am PT
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Thanks for the kind thoughts. I actually enjoy the physical challenge of hiking uphill with a pack. It's one of the reasons I'm still fit at my age. Heading out!
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Aug 25, 2017 - 09:22am PT
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Don't run away and hide in the mountains Jim, we know you want to watch the leprechaun dance with death while in repose in your Lazyboy, giant bag of Cheese Puffs handy. Mountains are dangerous, don't you know that?
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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Aug 25, 2017 - 02:20pm PT
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If you're not up for some suffering, what's the point? Plenty of time for nonsuffering when we're dead.
I feed the 6 yr old soccer girls otter pops to trick them into developing positive neural connections between suffering on the soccer field and fun. Start tricking them early and it might last a lifetime!
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Aug 25, 2017 - 09:38pm PT
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What's so great?
Let us know when you get back if you answered your own question. Hopefully, you'll find it boring and will never go again. The fewer, the better.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 28, 2017 - 05:26am PT
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It was a good time; albeit, I'd rather be climbing or surfing. My kids had fun as I carried most of the water and food. I wanted to make sure they enjoyed the time walking.
13.25 hours of hiking total to cover 27.5 miles.
Day 1: 5:00 pm - 7:45 pm, 2.75 hours/5.5 miles
Day 2: 10:00 am - 4:45 pm, 6.75 hours/15 miles
Day 3: 9:00 am - 12:45 pm, 3.75 hours/7 miles
The Pinchot Trail in NE Pennsylvania is a loop trail recommended for beginners. I think it was a good choice for the first outing. Not a ton of up and down, but it did have it's share of Pennsylvania rocky trail. The kind of trail where you have to look at your feet and never look up kind of hiking. Almost no views aside from a side trail to an observation tower. But it has plenty of nice camping sites and plenty of streams to filter water from. I'm sure we'll be out again and have our kit better dialed in next time. Way too much trail mix and not enough beef jerky. We camped at the very north site on night one and the very south site on night two.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Aug 28, 2017 - 07:06am PT
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Sweet! I was raised in the Philadelphia area. Went to boy scout camp in the Poconos. Those beautiful, thick forests back there limit you to territorial views.
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Slabby D
Trad climber
B'ham WA
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Aug 28, 2017 - 08:26am PT
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Your original question makes a lot more sense now that we all know your backpacking in Pennsylvania. Not quite the same vibe as the Sierras or the Cascades eh?
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Aug 28, 2017 - 08:46am PT
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Nice, the area looks great Scott. It's obvious the dog had a great time too.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Aug 28, 2017 - 08:46am PT
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Jonesing for Pennsylvania...
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Topic Author's Reply - Aug 28, 2017 - 08:58am PT
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It's obvious the dog had a great time too.
Yeah, after the second day, 15 miles...
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nita
Social climber
chica de chico, I don't claim to be a daisy.
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Aug 28, 2017 - 08:59am PT
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*
I like Mr Dangers quote, but i swapped out one word.. and added a couple of more words.
What's not to like about trees, sky, mountains, canyons, flowers, no phone, no traffic, no crowds, walking, smiling, smelling the out-of-doors, a cup of coffee in a wilderness setting, stars undimmed by street lights
Also the great thing about backpacking is... getting away from any t.v & radio news, hate, and noise....
Drinking in the fresh air and quiet beautiful views......lovely.
sigh, my knees are messed-up .. so, it's a no-go.. or.. no-go-far..until the knees are fixed.
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Risk
Mountain climber
Olympia, WA
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Aug 28, 2017 - 09:43am PT
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Places like this
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Aug 28, 2017 - 09:47am PT
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Classic Scott! "A good dog is a tired dog"
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Tom Patterson
Trad climber
Seattle
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Aug 31, 2017 - 10:31am PT
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Some people love it...some people hate it. I'm in the "love it" camp, though I've not been doing it lately since moving to Seattle.
When my son was a little guy (he's 26 now), we approached it from the philosophy of "leave them wanting more of it, not less of it." That was really effective, and he's now in the "love it" camp as well.
As to "what's so great" about it...I think that for me it's a different way of being somewhere. I mean, you can drive to some pretty amazing vista points, or pull your car into a beautiful campground somewhere, but backpacking brings you to more remote places, and your (my) experience of being there just feels...different. Life is simpler, the sounds are (for the most part) the sounds of nature, and your senses just feel more sharp, and yet more relaxed.
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Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
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Aug 31, 2017 - 11:50am PT
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Never knew backpacking existed until I was 25 years old.
On my first trip in 1958 I ran into Norman Clyde at 3rd Lake (15 years later I realized the significance of that encounter). My second excursion, in 1961, I discovered Mt. Aggasiz ... and climbed it. Without the Aggasiz ascent I would never have met the man that inveigled me into my first rock climbing at Stoney Point that same year. Rock climbing became raison d'etre!
Backpacking changed my life ... it is an integral part of my life to this day. I'm 85 now and I can't wait to get out the door next week on a five day Sierra trip.
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Gary
Social climber
Desolation Basin, Calif.
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Aug 31, 2017 - 12:02pm PT
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Five day trip? Where you headed?
We just got back from a four day trip to Lake South America. That's a great spot. We scrambled up Mt. Jordan while were there.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Aug 31, 2017 - 12:50pm PT
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Nice tent, but the price!!!!
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
Wilds of New Mexico
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Aug 31, 2017 - 01:00pm PT
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My wife's brother and niece come out from NYC once a year to camp and backpack with our fam so I go backpacking once a year. It's fun and the kids for the most part love it. Our trip is this weekend- we are doing the hike from Crested Butte to Aspen, which should be very scenic.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Aug 31, 2017 - 01:30pm PT
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Swellymon, that thing .. have you used it yet? Just curious..... I use a Six Moons single that's 6 or 7 years old now and weighs a little over 1.5 lbs for most my solo stuff.
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