Sierrapaloosa 2003

“Ice Tea, what city are you going to fly into?”

“"it looks like lots more snow than last year at about this time on the McGee Creek Trail" . . . WingDing . . .

There was a lot more snow this year at McGee than last year at this time.

Mammoth Mountain got 5 FEET so far in April. March brought 25" and Feb got 37". Last year Mammoth got 288.6" total snowfall. Right now, mid April, we passed it with 310", with more snow expected thru Thursday.

Last July 4, SnowDude and I bp'd Piute Pass, 11,423',which was very doable without the extra gear. We went thru Humphreys Basin, then x-try over Steelhead Pass, 12,102' (north facing slope) where it got a little sketchy because what little trail was was there was covered with snow. But the snow was soft enough to kick step down.”

“You guys are talking me into my 0 degree bag!!!”

“Tango, I took my 15 or 20 deg bag on that trip. The snow will only be on the passes.

I took my 0 deg bag this weekend but it was snowing and windy.

The weather should be warmer by July. I'll keep you posted.”

“I got goose bumps just reading your trip report! :)”

“tango, a 15 / 20 degree bag will be more than enough.
We're talking about snow on the ground. Bring shorts for the day time and a down jacket for the night.

Unless.....”

“It's gonna be great!”

“I've been snowed on in July while backpacking MK ...it didn't stick though.”

“Snow Nymph: I'll have to go look at your Humphrey Basin Album on Webshots. I'm planning on going into Humphrey Basin over Labor Day Weekend this year. Your pictures are always a great resource.”

“wingding - Also check the first llama-rama trip photos and other pages. It was in Humphrey's basin. We stayed within 5 or so miles of Paiute Pass once we got in there. There is a topo map on the site that shows some stuff.”

“So do you think we'll need crampons? It doesn't sound like I'll need my snow shoes, but maybe crampons? I don't have any. They have some that clip right on your boots, right?”

“HC, I'm not going to bring any.
If the snow is so deep that we need crampons, then I'm not going.
Why do you think they named it Precipice Lake? 8^D



July should not be a problem. IF we get MORE snow. IF it doesn't warm up. IF, IF, IF... We'll just have to keep our eyes on the situation.
And IF all those IFs come to pass, we'll just go somewhere else. It just won't be as cool as this loop, but it'll still be GREAT.





This trip is going to be SOOO COOOL!!”

“I'm not planning on bringing crampons,an ice axe, or snowshoes; so if I end up sliding down a pass just wave goodbye to me.”

“If we get too much snow we could always go to the beach.




How about "Santa Cruza Palooza"? 8)”

“Solvangpalooza
Bakersfieldpalooza
Winecountrypalooza
Mojavepalooza

Oh, Well. I agree with nav...we'll be OK with probability 0.985.”

“heaven save me from SolvangPalooza!”

“Winecountrypalooza...???...?
I like the sound of that!”

“We could always do what they did in the frontier days and put nails in the soles of our boots. Lightweight and effective.”

“Well I've decided to go to Sierrapalooza 1/2 naked, sort of!
I am only going to bring my digital camera, no Canon EOS! Oh my it feels strange just saying I'm not bring my close friend! I hope it works out.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?
The photo ops are many and MOST excellent.

I ran out of film the next to last day on my 1st trip. DANG!
A guy I took on my 2nd trip, and never takes a camera said, "I'll pay anything for a shot from here, and here, and..."”

“I have decided to bring one of my Nikons. I would love to get some time lapse shots at night. That would be great. I unfortantly will problably need a tripod. Ug. The burden of photography.”

“You can get those tiny little tripods, I think I've seen SnowN carrying one. Or for the rotating heavens shot, just set it on it't back on a rock or even the ground.”

“Navi, I have a 256 and a 32 mb cards. The 32 holds 80 or so medium quality pics, and I have no idea how many the 256 will hold, I haven't filled up the 32 yet. And my digital has almost all the manual settings my EOS does. The only thing my EOS has above the digital is a 300 zoom.
Ok now I am reconsidering . *THANKS NAVI*”

“I use to have a small little tripod. I will have to look for it. I use to use my hiking stick, but I have switched over to trekking poles. For every gain there is a loss.”

“I am thinking...always an adventure. My trekking poles have a screw on top, I wonder if you could replace that with all thread and be able to mount your camera on that. All you would need would be some kind of stabilization at the bottom of the trekking pole. What do you think?”

“What type of poles are they? My Leki's removeable handle is threaded for a camera”

“Mine are some kind of generic knock off Iron Mountain Gear. But they work well enough. I was actually thinking more for BigPoppa than for me.”

“My friend had a mini camera attachment that I thought attached to any poles. I've seen them either in a store or magazine and I think they were only like $6-8 bucks!

My friend's worked great! I'll look the next time at REI. I'll be going there soon to make some "lightweight" purchases. I want my pack lighter this time! I know it's going to cost me....but it's worth it.”

“I think I would ruin my handle on my Leki's if I attached a camera attachment. The whole grip is one piece. I am taking a full size Nikon F2. I am not sure I would be able to get it balanced like I could with my point-&-shoot. I will figure out something. I am thinking about somekind of sandbag like thing that I can set my camera on. I will have to look at all my gear and see what I can come up with. In the end, I can just attached a lightweight tripod. What is another pound? ( I will answer that question sometime in the end of July)”

“OH, I forgot to mention. A freelance gig came through and I haved an extra 150 bucks. Hello Bear Canister. Now I need to figure out how I am going to pay for a new pair of boots. I am looking at the old Vasque's Sundowner. A tried and true boot. I will have to try them on, as I remember they were a little wide on my foot. I saw them on sale the other day. Anythoughts?”

“poppa, hopefully I'll be close when you want to take a picture. I have a small tripod with flexable legs that fits inside the camera pouch. Got it at a camera store for less than $10.”

“I would only be able to come out on Thurs nite (late) be hikable friday saturday, and part of sunday and then go back to the airport late sunday for a return to memphis in the late evening.”

“Yeah...let Navi carry the tripod!

We all took turns borrowing Navi's tripod on the last trip :)”

“BigPoppa - There are different widths available, in the Sundowner”

“WW, are you trying to take advantage of me? 8^D”

“Navi my 256 mb card holds:

1024x768 762 pics
1600x1200 440 pics
2272x1704 222 pics”

“I'm bringing my new digital camera. IF I can get the 256 mb card. I'll have my tripod too. Don't you guys have natural tripods?

Stikmon, If you can take Thurs off, you can hike in 2 days and out the same way. I do it all the way. It would be fun if you could join us. Unless you start a day after, do double mileage to catch up . . . After this last trip, you can do it!”

“Did you get the s45? Have you tried it out yet?

I got my 256 @ Googlegear.com for $74, it is a Sandisk ultra compactflash card. Had really fast write speeds. If you are interested.”

“Well tango, that MIGHT be enough.



Snow Nymph said "all the way" heeheeheee.”

“I bow to the knowledge of the natives! LOL!”

“My "Word of the Day" calendar has lalapalooza: noun, Something superior or unusual : an outstanding example.


I think that definition fits Sierrapalooza.



This is going to be so kewl!”

“I'm 90% in for this trip, however, I'm considering doing a 9 day trip... starting out w/ 5 dayers and ending with 7 dayers. Right now I'm researching routes, etc. to be sure I'm up for the challange. I also need to know if I can get a ride from LAX on the 2nd, and back on the 12th. Any advice/input (i.e. - You're crazy!, please no, we can olny handle 5 days of BB, etc.) would be welcome.

Thanks,

Buddha Bear”

“Used my bearikade at the Smokies this weekend. Worked like a charm.No bears bothered it.Bring on SIERRAPALOOZA!!! :~ )”

“Buddha Bear - Nav and I should be headed back to LA on the 12th. We are probably heading out on the 4th.”

“I'm picking trekkngirl up on the 3rd.
After we come out on the 11th we're (that's me, T-Girl, & Tommy.) making a long trip back to L.A. via Yosemite.
Phil, you in for the long return trip too?”

“BB, you coming? Awesome!”

“Nav - Guess I missed those details. Where are you picking up T-girl and when are you driving to the trailhead? How long will the sidetrip to Yosemite take?”

“If the 5-day's trip permit fills up, it might work to say you're on my permit (I'll be starting on the 2nd, but maybe not until the afternoon), so I won't be too far ahead on the trail and you'll catch up to me by day 3 if not before.”

“OK Nav- You talked me into it. I will leave my tripod at home and use yours:) You know how to twist a guys arm.

Another great piece of news. I called up PUR tech support and he told me how to clean out my check valve or check filter, now my water filter it working. That is a big relief.

Buddha Bear, hope you can make it. This is going to be fun.”

“it's looking more and more like my mom & sister can watch the baby while i futz around in the mountains for a week or so. and i might go to MONTANA for a week or two right after that! yippeeee!! what a killer summer this will be!”