2001 Sierra Trip – Photos & Narrative

This trip marked the demise of my beloved Olympus XA rangefinder camera. Many of the pictures on this page are soft. I have since replaced the XA with a new camera, an Olympus 3.3 Megapixel C-3000 Zoom. Not as light or easy to use as the old rangefinder, but the digital camera makes loading up photos on to a web page a lot easier. With a 128 Mb of SmartMedia, I can take over 170 3.3 MP pictures. 2015 Note: my how things have changed in the digital world!
Kevin fishing the evening hatch at a remote back country lake.
Traveling ultralight on some smooooth granite: Kevin, Colin and Silvio.
Trekking poles make kicking steps a breeze on a late season snow field
The brothers at the summit. I always love a picture with a glacier in it.
On top of the world, or at least our part of it. From left to right, Kevin, Silvio, and Adventure Alan.
On our way down. Easy walking along a granite ridge
Camp mid-trip. The clouds are the very beginning of a huge cold front blowing through.Notice the neat two tarp pitch using two trekking poles and a stick (far left). We never got rain but had a very hard frost overnight. This was the morning that we went for the very early, very frosty swim.
Father and son enjoying a very cold water but what a bathtub!
Some of the weight savers on the trip. From L to R, Barricade Food Can, less food (inside the can), light plastic cup, SnowPeak Giga stove with homemade heat shield and windscreen, Primus 450 g fuel canister, titanium cup, 1.9 L ti pot, 2.5 L Platypus reservoir.
The hike out on the last day. Last big mountain lake <sigh>. Colin, AA, and Silvio in a communal hug. Next stop the ice cream stand at the Tourist Lake From Hell (TLFH). At the TLFH Kevin went on a 20 minute rant about power boats, SUV’s, summer homes, and mass consumer culture. Can’t blame him. It’s such a shock to the system after 7 days in the high country.
Colin strolling into camp. We got done hiking by 1 or 2 in the afternoon most days.
Enjoying the last bit of alpenglow glow and staying warm my a 8 oz Cirrus vest and 8 oz Montane Sirocco Smock. We saved over 5 lb. per person on clothing this trip. We were never cold.
Colin and Silvio heading back to lunch after filtering water.
Kevin running a streamer through a deep pool. As usual he’s hoping to entice a large trout.
Kevin leaning against his rod case and looking very philosophical. Not! I guarantee you that he is intently looking at the obvious drop off for large cruising trout. The aluminum rod case served double duty as Kevin’s walking staff for the trip.
Pitching the tarps as the winds pickup and the cold front comes rolling through. Notice the windward pullouts in the middle of the 10×10 Oware tarp. Lee edge is raised to for ventilation.
Adventure Alan enjoying a mid-trip layover day and fishing his heart out. This lake held some very, VERY nice fish. Put that streamer over the drop off and strip, strip, strip…. BANG!
Colin had a touch of trail sickness mid-trip. I got up, gave him two ibuprofen, and threw my bag over his. You can see he is warm and resting peacefully. Who wouldn’t the both a Marmot Hydrogen and Western Mountaineering Ultralight sleeping bag over you. Note the Photon light, Swiss Army Classic knife, and small whistle all on a lanyard by his head. The kid knows the drill!
Kevin making a long cast on a windy day. High altitude lakes are often difficult to fish in the middle of the day because of they are unprotected from strong afternoon winds.
In fine spirits and winding our way up to a rocky “pass.”
Kevin and Silvio skirting a small lake as we navigate our way cross country. Kevin was disappointed that this lake held no fish. Nice weed population though, and probably a good breeding habitat for the endangered Yosemite Toad.
Father and son getting ready for steep cross country descent.
It’s a delight traveling across large granite slabs.
Colin in a pensive moment at the end of the day.
A cheerful conversation over the morning’s tea.
A very windy afternoon. My hair is blowing straight back. I need the Montane shell to stay warm.
A refreshing swim after a hot 2,500 foot climb.
Silvio doing what the likes most, going to every snow field I had to walk him across a big moraine to get to this one.
Silvio and Colin hanging out after dinner. This was a deep canyon and quickly got dark. You can still see alpenglow on the peak at the end of the canyon.
Silvio having a sunny breakfast on a warm rock. The drying clothes are Kevin’s. He took an unexpected and fully clothed plunge into the nearby stream. As usual, concentrating a bit too much on the fish and not his feet!
Alpine meadow and stream meanders.
A drying lake. Lots of great tadpoles. And lots of fresh bear prints in the mud.
Too cute for words. Kevin and Silvio sharing a cup of tea.
The End!

 

2 replies
  1. Lacey
    Lacey says:

    Your site is saving me at least 100 hours of researching all these subjects on my own. Getting ready for 3 months of trekking in the Alps has never been so easy. I can focus on trail and rifugio preferences rather than gear research. Have you tried the My Trail packs? And the best part-confirmation that the Gaia app will truly do the job well rather than spending $700 on a Fenix 5x.
    Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Alan Dixon
      Alan Dixon says:

      Hi Lacy. So glad you found the site useful. And three months in the Alps is fantastic. Jelly! Wishing you some great trekking. Warmest, -alan

      Reply

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