LF means heavy hiking. What's on your "not necessary" list?

[goamules]

Wonderful, inspirational post David. You're taking some fantastic photos, whatever you do. I keep thinking that my hiking days are over, but you inspire me to keep at it. I don't do it much anymore, and don't use my mules either. Need to get out some, but 110 degrees is offputting right now.

[Lenny Eiger]

Years ago I had a filter, filtered the water, and drank a little from the river, in Yellowstone. I wasn't quite careful enough, maybe a little spilled out the top, etc. A couple of days later, on the way home, I was pulled off the plane, at one of the scheduled stops, in a gurney and taken to the hospital. They set me up on an IV of Flagil and fed that stuff to me all night long. It was a very rough night. I don't like going to hospitals. But this wasn't at all like a little case of the runs... I have a fairly strong constitution and I was really in trouble...

Of course it could have been the food at the foodservice place, or the fact that I was also walking in the river, might have had a scratch on my leg, etc.

I appreciate you all have been lucky. I think that's great. I'm really careful with my filter these days, change the filter insert often, etc. I still like mountain water. I am just a little filtration-happy....


Lenny

[Tin Can]

Flatlanders also carry filters. The lower the land the more you need it.

[Vaughn]

You CARRY a mule?
You're supposed to let the mule carry your junk!

I use to pack mules. First rule is to always make air-holes in the boxes.

[goamules]

And if you do wetplate, where you need water, collodion, fixer, and a darkbox, you use mules. Definitely necessary. Two of mine, Horace and Cricket.

[Drew Wiley]

David - what a wonderful story. I'm was just the opposite, and started out with a Pentax 67 in the mtns, and after only a couple years switched to a 4x5 Sinar for twenty more years, then acquired a little Ebony 4x5 to reduce bulk and weight on long trips. On weekends I most shoot 8x10, but not exclusively. The Silver Divide was virtually my back yard growing up, long enough ago for me to actually back a couple of first ascents of peaks up there. I still have a 30x40 Cibachrome of reflections on Peter Pande Lake in my living room, left over from a gig. One of my nephews did trail work there in Fish Creek valley and later married one of the gals stationed at the High Sierra ranger station over the Kaiser Pass, just before Mono Hot Springs and Lk Edison. It's been about five years maybe since I've been back to the Silver. Remember crossing the divide off-trail three times in three days once, back when an ice axe was required up at the head of Grinnel Basin, over one of those magical secret ledges, followed by a 22-mile day starting at 5AM. I got back to the truck parked at Edison at 1:00 in
the morning, exhuasted, filthy, and feet throbbing, desperate for a shower and sleep back down the hill. Then headed up to Kaiser Pass, on that very narrow
one lane section with a steep dropoff, there was a motorhome stuck with a broken driveshaft. Eventually a convoy of jeeps etc was backed up enough to tow
the thing up out of the way. But that took four more hours. Good thing I was a lot younger then than now!

[David_Senesac]

Very cool.

Yeah have more trips into the Silver Divide, Mono Creek, and Bear Creek than other parts of the Sierra. You might have noticed there are 2 Silver Divide backpacking trip features top right on my homepage:

Minnow Creek Backpack July 2012
Pioneer Basin Backpack August 2013

So both of us could tell each other some tales about that region. Would enjoy seeing some of your prints. When we get older it is still possible to climb into those mountains with heavy burdens, one just climbs shorter distances with less vertical going slower and taking more breaks.

Have been considering a 4 or 5 day solo trip this droughty summer out of Edison up into the Laurel Creek area including Grinnel before its turfy lawns dry out. Often one visits places but conditions and or weather don't cooperate or season or time of day is off. So one adds it to a list of places to return to and my list in the Sierra is longer than this old guy will ever get back to. Laurel Creek with Red and White Peak in the back is one of several go back to's in that region.

[Drew Wiley]

First time I was up Laurel there were so few people ever in there that obsidian atlatl point were laying all over the ground around Grinnell, probably bighorn sheep hunters long long before bow and arrow days. As as kid I gunned clear up Mono Creek to Golden Lk and back in one day once from the west. Can't imagine doing that now. Went in thru the east a few years back between heavy Oct snowstorms and got some lovely fresh snow shots, exp around Fourth Recess. Such memories! I've got a three-week Goddard Creek circuit on my bucket list, but can't get enough time off this summer. Bagged Kaweah Basin a couple year back, another "must-see" sanctuary in the Sierra while I can still lug 4x5 that many days. That trip was soggy too. A hard place to get in and out of if you have to time slippery ledges precisely between daily lightning storms and whatever else comes along, which in that case included snow, hail, and heavy rain daily, depending on the specific altitude. Maybe not an epic adventure for the typical in-n'-out climber; but serious photo gear changes the equation entirely.
We'll have to hook up one of these days and compare pictures. This is a tough summer because my wife is under a lot of pressure at the moment learning a new tweak in her medical field, a new job, so I don't want to be AWOL from helpful chores too long at a time. And the house is still a disaster from half-finished remodel projects. Meanwhile, I work out over in Marin until the first high country break in Aug. Bear Creek is another area I've been into quite a bit ever since
my youth. The only place I haven't gotten to there yet is Apollo Lake. But that's fairly easy country to enter from Bear Diversion Dam, though I've taken various
routes over the top from the East side too, including the now-gone glacier between Merriam Lk and Seven Gables. The black ice mini-glacier on the backside of
Red n' White is still there. That dang but beautiful crumbly hill damn near got me with a huge rockslide on one of my foolhardy teenage climbing misadventures.

[Fred V]

Drew, how do you have your golf cart configured? I am contemplating the same approach, but have not been able to figure out how to do it?

am trying to get my 4x5 kit down from 27 pounds to something I can carry.

Went to Colorado last week (Estes Pk area) and nearly died from multiple age related degenerative processes.

Current kit is a little Wista mfg Zone-VI and three lenses (90mm, 150mm, 210mm)with 12 film holders, meter, loupe BTZS hood, and a Velbon CF tripod with a magnesium ball head.

We are going away again later in the summer and I'll try to reduce this to one lens (15mm?) and a Grafmatic in a smaller bag.

Any thoughts?


For Ultra-heavy gear; Wheels.

I have played aound with a golf-bag pull along cart modified for hauling my 8x10 gear. I figure that many really nice areas of Nat Pks are wheel-chair accessable with board walks and paths. The cart will go into a short grass meadow and the wider stance and large-ish wheels will handle the rocks. Can't fly with it.

I am waiting for our grand kids to outgrow their elaborate stroller with pneumatic wheels.

[Rayt]

Very often the camera bag weighs as much as the camera. I just use a normal over the shoulder messenger bag or a simple back pack the type for school books.