Sierra Rendezvous 2005

“i would recommend something freestanding, specially at trail camp...i had to use some rocks to stake out after bending a few stakes.

yipee and yahoo....this trip is going to be splendid.”

“So where you flying in to?”

“I'm taking my cute little Hubba tent..the fly comes off so I can look at stars too!!
Last year was awesome when most of us slept in our bags outside..the stars are like no where I've been..”

“It will be and my Henrys Tarptent. I can usually see the stars pretty well if I roll the beak up in front. Not freestanding but rocks work good too. My other tent is at least 3 lbs more.
Sleeping outside the tent would be cool on a nice night. Never done that.”

“Song, ya gotta try it!

8^)”

“76 Days and counting! This trip is going to be epic Sierra Rendezvous.”

“Mother nature gets me up a couple of times a night and I stare at the stars then. Does that count?”

“Yeah I have the same old mom. But I'm fighting back jvz. With good aim and a widemouth one gallon Gatoraid jug I'm winning the war. Not having to go out and look at the stars is so nice these days!
>
And if Depends comes out with their new better absorbing lightweight model I'm not even going to have to crawl out of my sleeping bag!!!!!”

“LOL Sol”

“S H, I'd hate to smell your tent at the end of one week. LMAO!! Remind me not to pitch next to you. PS, don't mind my tent zippers at 3:00 am. I choice to see the stars for my calling.”

“Talked to Skibum today on the phone...he was one of the guys that went up on Whitney to recover the body of one of climbers that died on the mountaineeers route of Mount Whitney recently....he said there is a huge amount of snow up there.

Skibum lives on the west side at 6,500' and reports they still have 37" of snow at that elevation...this time last year they had zero.”

“WindWalker - Mel reports the same thing. The snowpack is deep. In about two months we will be able to better assess the situation.”

“Looks I will be flying into Ontario and riding up with Phil& family.(thank you Phil!), so...will see YOU on Sunday :)

Hodgee-baba.....I will probably be taking you up on the switching groups thing ...i dont suppose I should entertain any idea of any McBeer leftovers for you guys to cache...ah well....sleepin out under the stars in the high sierras is blessing enuff...its all good ..and that is THE great truth~~~~~~~~
unfold~~~unfold~~unfold~~~~~~~~

today i am dehydrating a batch of living crackers (sounds scary huh?) tamari ,flaxseed , nori, parsley and sprouted lentil snackin crackers for the trail... yumba!
have a grateful day y'all~~~~~~~~”

“If those crackers go good with Navi Ale I'm sure he'll stash some for you. Race ya to the swimmin' hole!”

“jvz... oh lordy........ok...you're on =%)”

“Ok trekingirl i am official!!! Had to reset my password. I am going in at Keasarge pass and am supposedly coming out at Cottonwood Pass. Phil, I really do appreciate your letting be a part of this trip! I am all fired up and ready to go.”

“I hear the road to Onion Valley is plowed (narrow in places), but it may snow again this weekend. I'm hoping to go up to Onion Valley to do some hiking between now and the 21st of May, so I'll bring back some pictures. Also, people are now able to get to Whitney Portal. It looks like the southeastern trailheads should all be accessable by the end of May. We should have plenty snow through July. I'm pretty sure I'll be carrying crampons/ice axe over 4th of July this year when we head up to Shepherds Pass/Williamson.
last edited: 5/02/05 1:04:34 PM”

“Wow,
I wonder if crampons are in winter clearance yet? We may need them.”

“I don't think the snow is going to much of a problem. Because most of this trail is the JMT and the PCT, there's going to be a trench in the snow going over every pass.
And if there isn't a trench already, with 32 people, I'll just let the rest of you go first. Then I'll have a trench. No problem.


That's my opinion, it's all mine, and I'm sticking to it!”

“I'd wait until just before the trip to decide on crampons.”

“The way I have it figured is if I can get over Kearsarge Pass the trip is successful. I can fish in Bubbs Creek and go tramping about in the Center Basin. What we should do is, very early in the morning, send a strong ice and snow man or woman up to the top of Forester and have him/her radio back to everyone else if the pass is doable. That way the rest of us can sit down in the meadow and relax. I'm thinking Gem or Navi.”

“How can you use strong & Navi in the same sentence?”

“I just took a look at the trip page, because I had hoped to do this hike with you guys. Oh my goodness, I haven't looked in awhile. When did it get so complicated? Go Phil. He is king of organization! : )
Anyhoo, it's like window shopping. I really would love to go, but alas, I still live up in Seattle. Unless I still plan on going and fly down, I don't think it's gonna happen. : (”

“I think we will be in a better position to talk about trip modifications and equipment options as we approach the first of July. The JMT and PCT people will be able to give us a lot of feedback. Mel has lots of contacts for trail info also.

I think that the backside of Whitney is going to be the big question mark.

No matter what, this trip is going to rock!!”

“Pixie, Pixie....hey...come on down!! I don't wanna hike all alone with those strangers.”

“Gem, thanks..what am I and trekkngirl? chopped liver”

“I know! A lot o cool people are going on the trip!

Well, I'll think about it. See if it's feasible.”

“LOL just messin' with ya Ewker! tshee tsshee
pixie, it would be really cool to meet ya.”

“Well, looks like the trip is totally full on second look. I wonder if there is anyway to join up at some point or meet for the after party and do some bp-ing near there, apart from the trip? (I know, not the same.)”

“I never thought of that way. Maybe I should reconsider? But you do go snow camping so that qualifies you. Yeah, it's either you or Gem. We'll just stay at the bottom until you give the all clear.
last edited: 5/03/05 4:45:27 PM”

“There's only 32 of us going.

OMG! Did I say only?

But we're going in on different days and going out over different passes.

Getting a permit to do Whitney is a no go now. You could call the Forest Service and check on a permit for going in Kearsarge and exiting Shepherd.
I think that would be Group 27Q, but I'm not sure. 8^)”

“"group 27Q" What? I'm so confused.”

“Pix, so everyone else.”

“I think I am in group 666clueless too Pixie, so no worry... you can join me.


J/K
last edited: 5/03/05 5:05:59 PM”

“I sent Phil an email about it, since a loooong time ago I said I was going. I'm pretty sure I'm not on the "going" list tho. But maybe it might be fun to go and hang out at that little hotel and dayhike or a local campground, or hike up to meet you guys. Or something to that effect.”

“pixie, I already have a room booked for after the hike...your welcome to share it with me.”

“If the HST group can get through the backside of Whitney, I guess there'll be a good enough trail to follow. And we are all still planning on doing that two weeks before the Sierra Rendezvous.”

“the snow will just make the trip more scenic”

“You are so right about that wing!!

Pixie, read what I posted above, except for the Group 23Q, that part was a joke.
last edited: 5/03/05 9:59:25 PM”

“pixie - Got your email. I have been using the trip attendee list on the Trip Info Page to plan for the trip since January. In addition to the names on the attendee list there are several others who are doing their own thing and making their own plans. They post on the thread also...which can be confusing.

I do not know of any permits that have openings, but with over two months to go, anything could happen. However, I don't think that any of our permits would help you. You will need your own permit if you are coming in on your own for an abbreviated version of the trip.

Regarding how you could join the end of the trip, there is one obvious possibility. That would be to hike in and out via the Shepherds Pass Trail:

Tues, 7/18, Shepherds Pass Trailhead to Anvil Camp (9 miles and lots of elevation).
Wed, 7/19, Anvil Camp to Wright Lakes Basin via Shepherds Pass and Rockwell Pass (6 or 7 miles, last two miles cross country)
Thurs, 7/21, Layover Day
Fri, 7/22, Wright Lakes Basin to Anvil Camp via Shepherds Pass
Sat, 7/23, Anvil Camp to Trailhead...and then Dow Villa!!

That would be 4 nights. You could cut out the layover day and make it 3 nights, but you would miss the Whitney group by one day and spend all your time on the trail.

Would you be driving? If you fly down to Reno or something, you would have to rent a car, which you could leave at the trailhead.

The Forest Service always keeps some permits available for people who arrive the day before or the day of hitting the trail. You would probably be able to get one of those.

With the heavy snow pack this year, all of our plans are subject to the trail conditions being good enough to make the passes. That we will not know for sure until around July.

Hope that helps!”

“Oops. Notice the corrected dates in bold"

Tues, 7/19, Shepherds Pass Trailhead to Anvil Camp (9 miles and lots of elevation).
Wed, 7/20, Anvil Camp to Wright Lakes Basin via Shepherds Pass and Rockwell Pass (6 or 7 miles, last two miles cross country)”

“Pixie - Call the Ranger Station in Lone Pine. See if you can get a permit to enter Kearsarge Pass on Sat. 7/16 or Sun. 7/17 and exiting Shepherd Pass on Sat. 7/23.

If you can, cool, welcome to the trip.
If you can't, now this is just my opinion when someone showed up for the party that wasn't on the trip (the trip where we've bonded for 7 days) if felt to me like they were crashing the party.
That's my 2 cents, so hopefully you can get a permit and bond with us.



Then there's the initiation. heeehheeeeee”

“navi,
Or I can never meet anyone. : ( I'd rather be the party crasher. LOL!
I need to look further into doing this. I'm not even sure if my foot will be up to it. I see my podiatrist this Friday and will ask if by July I can even backpack.”

“Gem- Cool! Thanks for the kind offer!!!!”

“Hopefully he'll your foot will be OK, and you can get a permit. Then we'll have the joy of meeting you.”

“pixie, not a big deal at all. not sure how the rooms are layed out but if there's only one small bed, one of us can always crash on the floor. I am not sure what sort of room I have reserved. I just reserved one! LOL Shoot, actually there is prolly room for more people if it's needed.”

“I have a permit for 3 people - for the weekend of July 16th for Keasarge Pass and I'm the only one on it, so if anyone wants to do a two-day trip they're welcome to be on my permit.”

“Ooh! winding! But that won't allow time for the after party. : (

I'll start looking into this Friday when I find out about when and what I will be able to do, foot wise.”

“I have been following this trip ever since it was posted..enjoying reading all the post and all!
I had considered asking Phil if I could join the Shepherds pass group if I could still get a permit on my own..backpack with the group to Anvil camp..then day hike to do Tyndall and out the 3rd day.
Wingding...are you going just for two nights on the Kearsarge pass one? sat and sun and out on monday?
Pixie what did you do to your foot?”

“madeintahoe - I'm just going in overnight. Going in on Saturday coming out on Sunday. I want to do University Peak while there. I haven't decided if I'll go early and attempt University Peak as a day hike on Friday and then do a leisurely overnight trip to Kearsarge Lakes on Saturday or kill myself and try to backpack to Kearsarge Lakes and then day hike to University Peak. I'm tempted to try to day hike the peak first on Friday.

Another option would be to backpack in to Kearsarge Lakes on Friday, and then day hike University Peak on Saturday and head out Sunday morning.

There are others going in for either a 2-day or 3-day weekend too. I believe Trailtrekker is planning on making it a 3-day weekend and I think Snow Nymph mentioned going in for the weekend at one point.

It would be great if you could make it. I'm really looking forward to meeting all the TTer's that are going on this trip.”