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| View of Miter Basin from Upper Soldier Lake |
The MountainGuy News:
Miter Basin, Sequoia National Park
July 2012
The Lightweight Edition
Lightweight backpacking is all the rage. The MountainGuys
did not start this trend, but there is no one out there more lightweight than
us, so we could have. Given this natural affinity we decided to try it. Gone
were the elaborate three-course meals, the fancy campsites, the heavy packs,
and the tired groans of overburdened MountainGuys. In their place were much
lighter two-course meals, kitchen areas barely large enough for six to eight people,
and lightweight, slightly-larger-than-average daypacks. Well, maybe not quite.
Lightweight backpacking may be all the rage, but that’s not how MountainGuys do
it. When MountainGuys do lightweight
backpacking, it’s a lot less light than it could be, and comfort still counts. We
carry chairs.
Nonetheless, as we gracefully slip into middle age, weight
matters more. Last year, on an eight-day trip to Mt. Whitney, my pack weighed
57 pounds, including fuel and water and two bear bins. This year my pack
weighed 47 pounds, including fuel and water, one bear bin, and scotch. Through
careful planning, thoughtful elimination of less-often-used gear, and
aggressive use of my credit card, I was able to shave ten pounds off my load. I
like to joke that it costs $100 dollars to get the last half a pound out of
anything. You do the math.
Mine was not the only success story. Oliver, too, managed to
get his load to less than 50 pounds, and he even added the chair. Snow Toad’s total
pack was lighter still, somewhere around 42 pounds, but he doesn’t eat anything
except gruel and the occasional Top Ramen. Rick took a different approach,
losing 40 pounds of body weight through a carefully controlled diet and a
punishing regimen of climbing small mountains with a massive pack on his back. Rick’s
pack could not have weighed less than 60 pounds when we started the trip, and
was stuffed so full that the bag was grotesque and misshapen from the strain. But
overall he was lighter, too.
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| Lightweight packs. You can tell because we are all still smiling. |
We were lighter in other ways, as well. Dan T. was unable to
make the trip because he was scheduled to get shoulder surgery, Kevin dropped
out due to pressing family matters, and Dan S. waffled so much that he was
invited to become the IHOP spokesperson. (He’s still trying to decide if he
wants the job.) So in addition to pack weight and body weight, we also shed the
weight of three heavy personalities. This would truly be a lightweight trip.
The venue for the MountainGuy trip this year was the Miter
Basin in Sequoia National Park. Miter Basin lies just south of Mt. Whitney, and
is a well-worn cross-country route from the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead to
Crabtree Meadows, a major staging ground for those planning to climb Mt. Whitney
from the west. We were all looking forward to a cross-country trip. Our plan
was to hike in from the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead, climb over Army Pass,
descend to Upper Soldier Lake, and from there we would hike into Miter Basin.
Once in the basin, we figured we would have many options. We
could climb over Crabtree Pass, head down to Crabtree Meadows, and then hike
back to Cottonwood Lakes via the Pacific Crest Trail. Another alternative would
be to hike down Rock Creek, which drains Miter Basin, and into the Golden Trout
Wilderness. Both of these options were long on hiking and short on layover
days, but with our new, lightweight approach to backpacking, no big deal. A
third option, which seemed far-fetched in the planning stages, included up to
three lay days in the itinerary so that we could explore Miter Basin. Such an
easygoing approach is unheard of for a MountainGuy trip, except when Dan T. and
Dan S. come along, because they are always advocating for more lay days. Then
we hear about it a lot. Imagine the irony: the year that we decide to have
three lay days on an eight-day trip is the year that neither of the Dans was
with us.
Despite our commitment to getting lighter, that commitment
did not extend to the first night barbeque. This was the 10th Annual
First-Night Barbeque and MountainGuy Extravaganza, and there was no way we were
going to cut back there. The menu featured steaks, onions, potatoes, and
vegetables grilled on the fire, served with a fine selection of beer, wine,
tequila and scotch. However, the entire operation looked doubtful for a time,
even though we were packing all the supplies.
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| Annual Barbecue Extravaganza. (Photo ST) |
Who knew that the week of July 4th would be such
a siren song for backpackers from far and wide? When we pulled into the
Cottonwood Creek Campground, it was mayhem all around. The walk-in campsites
were all taken, there were backpackers stretched out on the asphalt parking lot
and spilling out of cars, and there was a constant stream of even more
backpackers emerging from their week-long sojourn in the wilderness. July 4th
fell on a Wednesday this year, so I guess people figured they might as well
take Thursday and Friday off too. But if you’re taking three days, might as
well take Monday and Tuesday, and get a whole week. If you have a whole week,
you can go someplace far away—like the east side of Sequoia National Park.
Good fortune smiled upon us, however. After stationing
Oliver by a flat spot in the walk-in campground adjacent to one of the walk-in
sites—just in case—Rick, Snow Toad, and I set off to find a better spot. We found one
on the far side of the horse campground, far away from the mayhem, but not so
close to the small herd of horses, mules, and wannabe cowboys that we could
smell them. Rick and I walked back to get the car and collect Oliver, we paid
the fee (twice as much as the fee for the walk-in sites, but well worth it), and
then stretched out for a fine evening of gear talk, drinking, and excellent
food.
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| First night campsite at Cottonwood Lakes campground. |
