Where To Fly To...Mid-Late December??

[tgtaylor]

From your itinerary I doubt that you Will need snowshoes: Any hiking that you end-up doing will probably be just a couple of miles each way and on main trails. So unless its snowing when you head out a trail through the snow will already be there from other hikers who went before. Do carry and use a compass and know where you started from and the azmuith back in case the unexpected should arise.

If you have the MSR Whisper light international, then it can burn regular gasoline. That's the stove that I use and although I prefer white gas for stateside backpack trips I burn regular automobile gasoline when on extended bicycle trips. Just be certain that there is no fuel oder when going thru airport security.

Have a great trip!

Thomas

[Drew Wiley]

Snowshoes are rather bulky, and for short distances just some fun casual snow boots like Sorels might do, though they would per worthless for any serious hiking,
so not a substitute for real hiking boots. I wouldn't even think about glorified tennis-shoe "hiking shoes" except in lower southernmost deserts of Arizona or Calif. Most Western desert is fairly high and can get very cold, esp at night. Always ask around locally before taking any random shortcut roads. Failing to do so has led
to numerous instances of doom, as has naive reliance upon auto navigation devices. But if you're prepared and patient, winter travel can be a treat!

[Leszek Vogt]

Just for the heck of it I dialed several towns in So Calif and there are slew of snowshoes to be had...from Camarillo to Turlock to Pasadena and some even in the S. Diego area. When you get on CL (say Los Angeles), you can write in snowshoes at search box and then just flip city that appeals to you the best....or several cities. For the most part the used ones go between 30 and 65 bucks. Personally (since I'm taller) I like the wider models....making sure I don't sink. It appears that you shouldn't have an issue getting a pair.

As Drew indicated, for the most part you may not even need those (???), but if there are any snow dumps or there is a large snow base already (it's mountains afterall)....it's good to have them and you can step away from the routine (paved) track.

Enjoy snow crunchin'.

Les

[HMG]

Also, here in MN in the winter, I wrap the top section of my aluminum tripod legs in the foam Home Depot and others sell for insulating pipes. Not sure if it will be necessary for the temps you'll encounter. Another thing I like for winter photography is a pair of mechanics gloves. Not super warm but they allow me to manipulate the camera. I use heavy gloves (actually surplus shooting mittens) over them.

[appletree]

Thank you all for your advice. I will be using an FLM carbon fiber tripod. Haven't considered if I need to do anything special in the snow or wintry conditions.
Yes, I have some thin gloves I will wear underneath some heavy duty ski gloves. That way I can still function a camera when the occasion arises.

I may just pick up a pair anyway, just so I have them in the event I want them.

But YES, most are right in my thinking. I don't suspect I will ever be more than 3-5 miles from camp/my car. That said I saw my father last night and he is insisting on me taking my 15ish year old GPS for trails and hiking. You can mark your spot and it will send you back to it. I don't even remember how to function that brick. I plan on bringing a compass for sure, a whistle, some emergency fire stuff, etc. JUST IN CASE something turns south on me. I was considering a few topo maps, but most are specific to each park/region....so I wasn't sure if I really wanted to pack around 3-4 maps. Maybe I should still grab one or two on amazon. Just to have.

I am flying SW, so I can check a bag or two. Am hoping I can get away with two bags (backpack and duffel), but may go with three just b/c. Backpack (which will go on plane with me) will have cameras and film. North Face duffel will have camping stuff in it. And a Filson pullman will have clothes in it. That way I am not constantly taking stuff in/out of my backpack when I want to go hike.

Thanks for all the advice.

[appletree]

From Amazon (regarding a Tom Harrison waterproof map for SEKI):

The map is fine. It's waterproof and includes the majority of the popular (and not so popular) hiking trails of SEKI.

But this map isn't particularly useful once you're on the trail. Here's why:

1. Despite how well-marked the High Sierra Trail is on this map, almost none of the backcountry campsites are plotted. I only have experience with the HST, but I imagine this is true of other trails as well. It would be incredibly helpful for both planning and hiking if the campsites were on the map along with the distances between them.

2. Again, despite how well-marked the HST is on the map, the distance markers aren't particularly "useful." It's difficult, using the map alone, to determine distances between campsites and other relevant spots along the trail. To be fair, major distances, like those between trail intersections, are plotted and somewhat useful, but the scale isn't fine enough to determine other distances.

3. The distances which are plotted differ (sometimes not inconsequentially) from the National Park Service trail markers. And those, in turn, differ from what my GPS measures.

While the map is useful, there are other free resources which are equally or more useful for planning a backcountry trip than this particular Tom Harrison map. Google is your friend.

[Drew Wiley]

The High Sierra trail is basically a popular backpacker freeway, but now inaccessible except to highly experienced backcountry skiers. Nobody in their right mind
would pass under those steep cliffs this time of year. Too much avalanche risk. At the lower end one can still have safe fun just tromping around amidst the giant Sequoias with a camera; but snowshoes help. You won't get far in fresh snow. Grant Grove facilities like the coffee shop are open year-round, and the highway is
typically open to that point only. If you do come back for an extended summer hike, waterproof National Geographic maps are nice; but caltopo.com is the best source to download topo maps for anywhere in the country. Try to team up with someone experienced if you head into high altitude, especially off trail. Even
mid-summer can bring blizzards of freezing rain anytime. These are real mountains, with real weather. Reservation backcountry campsites exist in only a few
places in the Parks, including Bearpaw on the High Sierra trail. Otherwise what they routinely want is a Wilderness Permit with an outline or your itinerary, in
case someone has to search for you. There are also numerous guidebooks in print regarding Sierra trails. Only the western half of the High Sierra trail, sections
of the Muir Trail, the Mt Whitney trail, and trails leading out of Yosemite Valley or Tuolumne Meadows are crowded, and even those can be quiet after August.
I've taken hundreds of backpack trips in the high Sierra, including a lot of off-trail travel, and there are still significant areas I haven't even seen yet.

[brucep]

Don't forget that most rental companies explicitly ban the use of chains on their vehicles, which would invalidate your insurance.


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[HMG]

Some/many cell phones have gps receivers that operate independently of cell reception. But your 15yo GPS unit might have more functionality.

I like maps. Somehow knowing my gps coordinates isn't the same as seeing where I am on a map. You can download and print maps from USGS. And a compass only tells you which direction you're going. A map tells you which direction you need to go.

[Drew Wiley]

You don't have to get far into the woods during a white-out to get lost and in real trouble. Happens to several people every winter, with one hypothermia victim already last month at a surprisingly low elevation. By contrast, up among the peaks, rescue crews do not even use GPS, but are expected to know the terrain
from sheer familiarity, just like the helicopter pilots. They do have big radios; but even those don't work everywhere; and choppers can't land just anywhere or
fly in just any conditions. I was helping on a search one day when two different hikers than the one I successfully found froze to death on a midsummer day hike. Took off in the morning under warm bright sun in hiking shoes, shorts, and T-s, and by afternoon found themselves in a blizzard with those flimsy boots frozen through. Oddly, when people are very close to death they seem to feel euphoric and intensely warm; so both these guys shed all their clothing and were found naked and dead in the snow.