Backpacking Trails and Destinations
Here are some questions I have received in my email about
particular backpacking trails and destinations, along with my
answers. I have edited for clarity. I am still collecting those
emails and my responses, which I will use for more pages in the
future, so watch the "new pages" section on the homepage.
Q: How was the difficulty on Shasta? And what equipment
was involved?
A: Long story, but I'll try to shorten it. Me and a friend
had driven there from Michigan in August. The rentals for boots,
ice axes and crampons weren't in the budget, so we decided to
just go take a look and camp (neither of us had ever used ice
axes or crampons in any case). We spent the night (after a long
hike) at Lake Helen, a frozen lake/icefield, and decided to go
as far as we could starting at five the next morning. My buddy
gave up at about 11,000 feet. He headed down and hiked out to
the car.
I went to the other side of the gully from all the climbers
to avoid the worst of the ice. I was wearing what were essentially
tennis shoes, but I managed to find a route to the top. It did
involve crossing at least a mile of snow fields, but I avoided
the glaciers. My head was pounding like someone knocking on a
door, so I didn't stay long.
On the way down everything was wet and sloppy. I slid in and
out of giant depressions in the snow (called "sun cups"),
each with water in the bottom. But I made it down safely by late
afternoon.
Q: How much California hiking have you done, and have
you been on the John Muir Trail?
A: I have been to the top of Mount Shasta on an overnight
trip. That was actually many years ago (the first 14,000-foot
mountain I climbed), and I spent five days hiking in the Sierras,
including going to the top of Mount Whitney. Part of that hike
was on a section of the John Muir trail, much of which is above
the trees and passes many beautiful little lakes full of trout.
I love the Sierra Nevadas. So much granite and alpine lakes
along the way. I got lucky on my five-day trip and had not one
cloud the entire time (it was September). I didn't even bother
with the tarp most nights, instead just sleeping under the stars.
Otherwise I've done day hikes in California when "touristing"
with family or friends. California has everything - beaches,
mountains, volcanoes (Shasta smelled like sulfur and made hissing
noises near the summit), forests, deserts, rivers, big cities
and big wildernesses.
Q: How many different environments have you backpacked
in and which are your favorites?
A: I'll run through a few of them and tell you what I liked
and disliked about each.
Michigan - This is where I was born and lived for many
years. I camped in the woods of lower Michigan, but I prefer
the Upper Peninsula. There I have backpacked along deserted Lake
Michigan beaches and camped on little uninhabited islands. Summers
are nice, but I hate the mosquitoes. I prefer to camp in the
early spring before they hatch out in the fall after the first
frost.
Isle Royal, where I backpacked at the age of fourteen in 1978,
is a great place. I love rocky environments, and this is essentially
a forty-mile-long pile of rocks. Big waves too, and you have
to take a six-hour ferry to get to the island, which is fun.
The Sea-to-Sea
Route, which was originally proposed by Ronald
Strickland, and which incorporates the North
Country Trail, also goes through Michigan. I have hiked on parts
of this route, including those stretches that go along the Manistee
River.
Ontario, Canada - The area from Sault Saint Marie north
along Lake Superior is an awesome drive. I have camped in both
Lake Superior Provincial Park and Pukaskwa National Park, kayaking
along the shoreline in both cases. These are incredibly isolated
stretches of beach and rock.
I also like just getting out on the logging roads and finding
undiscovered wilderness areas to the north of Lake Superior.
Rocky rivers, waterfalls without names, and bears - one of the
few areas I have actually seen the latter. I have since learned
that we were supposed to pay $10 each for sleeping on "crown
land" (public land). $30 per night for the three of us is
more than a campsite, and pushing people to use the latter to
help those businesses must be the point.
Most of these areas are without backpacking trails. In fact,
once you get a little bit north of Lake Superior you are past
the last of the highways and roads. A few small towns are scattered
in the woods, accessed only by plane. After that point its all
wilderness from there to the North Pole.
California - I have backpacked in Kings Canyon National
Park, Yosemite National Park and many other places. This is one
of my favorite places in the world. there is such a wide variety
of environments in California. I have experienced 107 degrees
and ice on the tent within the same 24 hours, and been woken
up by sea lions while sleeping in the cliffs above the Pacific
(also see my answers about Mount Shasta and California above).
Colorado - This is where I live now. Years before I
lived here my first ultralight trip was on the backpacking trails
to the east of Silverton, in the San Juan Mountains. I went about
115 miles in Seven days with never more than seventeen pounds
on my back. I love that area, but I discovered that it rains
every day in August, so I will plan future trips accordingly.
Otherwise, I backpack in any of the high mountain areas around
here and love it. Near Bushnell Peak last year a friend and I
ran into 20-foot-deep snow banks at 12,000 feet on June 19th,
and I tried pushing through four feet of new snow once on Crestone
Peak in September. Obviously the season can be short here if
you go high.
On the other hand, in the hills around us (Canon City area)
there are often snow-free weeks in winter. We have hiked in 65
degrees in January, and 70 degrees in early March.
Montana - If you want true isolation head for Montana.
We used to live there, and the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness area
is still virtually undiscovered despite the occasional mention
in Backpacker magazine. Just get off the Continental Divide Trail
and you can have a whole valley or mountain to yourself in the
middle of summer.
If you are high up but still in the spruce woods, watch for
little red berries that taste just like blueberries. They're
grouse whortle berries, and handfuls of them once quenched my
thirst when I ran out of water on a 23-mile day high in the mountains.
Tennessee - I loved the four days I spent on the backpacking
trails of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
Awesome rock formations (including an arch that we walked over
the top of). Too hot for me in the summer, but early spring was
great.
North Carolina - I like the backpacking trails of the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In three days I went several
times from winter - snow and all in late April - in the morning
to leaves and spring flowers as I hiked up and down. I didn't
find room on the shelters, which are the only legal places to
camp, so I went off-trail and hid out each night. These are not
as spectacular as the western mountains because they are so heavily
wooded, which blocks the views.
Mexico - I hitchhiked from Michigan to Mexico at age
seventeen, and spent some time in the Sierra Madre Mountains
around Copper Canyon. There were no backpacking trails there
at the time (that I knew of anyhow), but I camped out near the
train tracks that were the only access to some areas.
Ecuador - My wife and I hiked along an old Incan path
(and a five-hundred-year-old rock wall that went on and on) in
Las Cajas National Park, but there are not a lot of backpacking
trails in the mountains of Ecuador. I did go up Mount Chimborazo
on another trip (20,700 feet), but camped in the wooden shelter
rather than backpacking.
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