Virginia Canyon/Yosemite Trip

“This is a semi-loop trip from Virginia Lakes Resort into the upper portion of Virginia Canyon, and return via Glines Canyon. There is an established cross-country route back into Glines Canyon.”

“looking forward to seeing Karen and Jerry!! You too Steve. Karen I want to hear about your other big trip too!
can we leave our bear canisters home this time or do we still need them?”

“we will be in northeast Yosemite, so they want you to bring them, but...”

“...we could share?”

“Mari, it'll be good to see you again. This trip should be less of a challenge than the HST. Hmmmmmm, why do I say that, considering who the trip leader is.........”

“We could share. He he”

“I've never been to Northern Cali.
This trip sounds very interesting.
Sure would be nice to see Karen and Jerry again.

Will it be pretty cold in Oct up there?
Any kind of special gear needed a Southerner may not have?
What's the closest major airport, Sac?
last edited: 8/24/05 10:42:11 AM”

“I'm going to think positive about this and hope my foot is better. Even still I'll just learn to live with it. Should still be some great fall color out of Virginia Lakes don't you think?”

“SS, Typically the days will be nice and the evenings cool. But you never know. Last year we did a trip in the same general area in late September. It snowed. Then all of October was nice. Sacramento is the nearest airport with people in the general area for carpooling.

JVZ, It would be great if you could make it.

Oh, Karen, I heard what you said. And you should see the trip I'm planning for next year.”

“stovestomper
i am by the san jose airport if that helps. i could pick anyone up and take them to tahoe or where ever we are hooking up”

“Hey Everyone,

I just saw this trip and might be interested in joining in. This is Bridgeport area just past Mono lake, right? What is this area like; hiking trails and such?

I am totally bailing on a Labor Day weekend trip. With Sawmill closed I could not decide where to go instead. Plus, I did not feel like hiking alone.”

“Hey Mark! The trailhead is actually between Lee Vining and Bridgeport. The area should be nice, and from what I read from others that have been into the area, the fishing is great. Virginia Canyon is beautiful! Just like the other canyons in northeast Yosemite.”

“Let me recap. My condition came on shortly after I went on a Hodgeman trip. Now if I can handle a Geo trip I'm good to 100. Or a bullet!”

“SS, would you really come way out here for a weekend trip? Cool.

Jene, if you carried less, maybe your foot would hurt less. I have no idea what you put in your pack to make it weigh so much, but you could probably do without a lot of it. Sharing is good for the sole.

GG, permits? Trip you're planning for next year? You mean Jerry and I won't have time to do the JMT?”

“SS, You never know with the weather in the Sierra! A week ago Monday (Aug 15) Mt Whitney got 6" snow! Last Sept: http://community.webshots.com/photo/214714404/214714404scWSdc
The day before there was no snow on the ground. Temps were in the single digits and low teens, so we bailed 2 days later.

Some scanned photos from Virginia Lakes a few years ago:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/52220345/52220345Xutvpj

Calhiker snowshoed there in a storm last October: http://community.webshots.com/photo/206095016/206095016prSLSW”

“Karen, I'm about to go stir crazy and need to get out of this Gulf Coast high 90s heat. I had to miss the BIG sierra trip, but I like smaller groups better anyway. It costs about the same to fly to CA as anywhere else, plus I'll 'know' at least a couple of peeps on this trip.

Still just thinking and planning right now.”

“SS, think fast if you want cheap airfare :)”

“Karen, I called the Ranger yesterday regarding permits, and he said we can self-register (I wonder if thats anything like self-medicate) at the Ranger Station in Bridgeport on our way down (i.e. no permit request required).
And yes, you'll also be able to do the JMT. The trip I'm looking at is only 30 miles (most likley out of Pine Creek, through Granite Park, over Italy Pass (unmaintained trail), to Lake Italy, over Gabb Pass? XC, through Second Recess, to Pioneer Basin, and out over Mono Pass. Or Leaving Rock Creek TH over Cox Col XC to Lake Italy...)”

“You do know that 3 people have been killed along that route this year. Not to mention the 22 people seriously injured from rockfall along the cliffs.

Have a nice a hike!

:)”

“THIS route for THIS trip or the one Geoguy just talked about?”

“I'm sure Bill posted that for me (aka quitter)he just loves scaring me! No body dies on geology guys trips!!! and I think he'll join us too!
Mark, I would like to see you too! how's the "bride"?”

“LOL
I've only met Karen & Jerry.
Are the rest of y'all '20 something' athletes?
I'm 50 and can hike well but I'm not 20 anymore. ;-)”

“Billy is such a troublemaker.”

“I'm 50. and i've only hiked with them for 2 days and they ARE 20 year old athletes including Jerry and Karen! Geoguy even runs back to the car 5 miles for gear left behind!!!”

“Ut Oh ;-)”

“SS, lots of rhetoric. Just my opinion, but you would have fun. If you can do the unmaintained trail to Peak Lake that we all did in the Wind Rivers, you'll be able to do anything this group throws at you.”

“The one with the giant boulder field we had to find our way to climb up through?

Piece of cake, I loved that part of the Winds trip.”

“Yeah, that one.”

“Peak Lake and Rock Cube Pass . . . cool area!”

“I decided I will join in on this trip. Just hope it does not snow on us.”

“Mark, that's great. We'll go over some of the details of next years trip so you and you new wife will be prepared.
last edited: 8/26/05 4:53:43 PM”

“Bill doesn't scare me! (well.. maybe only in the morning :-0) Besides it sounds like we can squelch any fears with "self-medicating" right? (Geoguy - I'm sure that is the same as self-registering..) I signed up for this trip since I"m still whinning about missing the Sierra trip. See you all in a month! (Bill - if you aren't too scared to go bring some extra Yukon Jack!; JVZ - You can share some gear - stove, water filter, etc.. so you can lighten up your pack, however do bring your compass! LOLOL; Karen & Jerry - just one reminder for you - Dark chocolate espresso beans!; Geoguy - will be good to see you again - Thanks for putting this together!)”

“You can't say you'll carry my gear openly on a forum.Sheeesh. I'll sneak it in when nobodys looking. Pantsy will probably be in Hawaii for this one. Can't remember when he said he was going. The phy.therapy seems to be helping. I'll be olroit!”

“This is going to be fun!”

“bump. Don't want to lose my "favorites" check.”

“i agree”

“bump.”

“My turn -- bump.

Take a look at Stove Stomper's post on 8/25, about needing to get out of the Gulf Coast heat.......... It would be great if he could take a break from Katrina's consequences and come on this hike.”

“Yeah, bump, I would be great to put someone up for awhile after that ordeal.”

“Howz this trip looking so far? Might be interested if the snow doesn't show up too quickly! Local weathercast for this weekend in Truckee CA area is for possible snow above 6500'...”

“Snow is a tradition on Geo's Sept trips.”

“Hmmmmm. When I signed on to a trip last year the talk turned to crampons. Are we going to start that line again?”

“During Geologyguy's trip last October, around the Mammoth area, the weather turned bad on us. We came out on the 2nd day instead of being out for 3 days. Good thing we did, it snowed a good amount the night we bailed. Then again, Steve's trips always have some kind of added bonus thrown in.”

“Karen/Jerry, just let me know when you want the axe back. You're gonna need it on this hike. :)”

“Ha!”

“That is so untrue! I have no influence over the weather. Just the high creek crossings.”

“Snow wouldn't be so bad. I've always wanted a photograph of gold and red aspen leaves dusted with snow.”

“Where and what time do we want to meet on Friday October 7? Where is the trailhead? If I come up that morning, will I be able to get a permit or do I need to call ahead and have one waiting at the ranger station? Where is the ranger station?”

“Hmmmm. I've been hoping to hook up with one more trip this fall - timing could work for this one. Plus, it looks from the maps I'm looking at like it would go past East Lake, site of my first ever backpacking trip. Can't make a commitment for a couple more weeks at least, though - we're doing some remodeling and it might not be a good time to leave town. I'll keep watching this thread....”

“Welcome, BowlderMan! Geologyguy's trips are always fun.”