Haeckel Col ~ Cross Country Route Detail

The easiest way to access the cross country route to Haeckel Col is from Sabrina Basin. It is about six miles on a maintained trail from the Lake Sabrina trailhead to Midnight Lake. Once at Midnight Lake follow the easy granite benches on the east side of the lake to the top of the ridge between Midnight Lake and Hungry Packer Lake.

The route up the ridge from Midnight Lake: 

Six Moon Designs Cuben Haven Tarp and Inner Net Tent

After years of searching for a lightweight two person shelter I finally settled on the Big Sky Evolution 2P/2D/2V free standing tent. I thought it was great, but at 3 pounds it just seemed like there should be a better option. . .

Big Sky Evo 2 person/2 door/2 vestibule free standing tent on the JMT.

 Then I found the Six Moon Designs Cuben Haven Tarp & Inner Net Tent.

Cross Country Loop Around Mt. Darwin via Haeckel Col & Darwin Col

After finishing a section of the Sierra High Route a few weeks ago I met a guy named Donn while hiking out through Sabrina Basin. We talked nutrition, gear, exercise, footwear and world politics while hiking a few miles to the parking lot. I rarely meet somebody who shares so many similar common interests, including a passion for cross country backpacking in the High Sierra.

I couldn’t believe it when he showed me a map of the cross country passes he had been scouting out for the past week. They were the same passes that I had been researching all winter. We decided to take one last trip of the season together, weather permitting. 

During the next few weeks we had to delay the trip due to the mid October storm, but we lucked out and took advantage of an unusually warm break in the weather last week. 

We started out by acclimating at Midnight Lake the first day. It's only a few miles to Midnight Lake from the Sabrina Lake TH so I was able to leave home in the morning and still get there in time to have dinner at the lake.

Sabrina Basin Trail Head.

Gould Pass ~ Cross Country to Rae Lakes

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea".

That's what I was thinking at the end of the first day of this loop hike out of Onion Valley last weekend. Although there were some challenging moments it was a fun trip. Thanks to Maverick at High Sierra Topix for the route suggestion, I would not have been aware of this alternate route into Rae Lakes without his recommendation. 

I started out leaving home at 3:30 am on Friday after working till midnight. This seems to be my routine when trying to leave town for a long weekend, but I was feeling good and the excitement of a new adventure in the High Sierra kept me going. The ranger sent me on the way at 8:30 am and with a walk-in permit in hand I headed up to the Onion Valley TH.

Onion Valley Trailhead

John Muir Trail Thru Hike: Day Eleven

Tarn above Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal: 16.5 Miles

Sept. 22nd, 2011.

I woke up to the sound of groups of hikers passing by at 3:45 am. They were heading up the switchbacks by headlamp. I wasn't comfortable hiking on an unfamiliar trail at high elevation by headlamp, so I relaxed and dozed off.

Within an hour or so I could see their headlamps on the side of the mountain, way way up toward the top. A friend had told about seeing this same thing many years ago, and now here I was.

By 6:30 am I had gathered my gear and while wearing every piece of clothing I had I started up the trail toward Mt. Whitney. For the first 20 minutes it was seriously cold, but soon I removed almost everything and hiked there rest of the way in shorts with silk long johns, a wind breaker and lightweight hat/gloves.

The views of Mt. Hitchcock and Hitchcock Lakes in the sunrise was beautiful. While hiking up toward Trail Crest I passed a few bivy camp sites (possible camp spots for next time). The trail was basically dug out of the granite most of the way. There was a storm passing from the east and although it was sunny there was snow blowing over from the other side of the ridge.

Sunrise on Mt. Hitchcock.

John Muir Trail Thru Hike: Day Ten

Tyndall Creek to tarn above Guitar Lake: 13.5 Miles

Sept. 21st, 2011.

This was a relaxing day with low mileage and easy terrain. I stopped to clean up a bit at the Tyndall Creek crossing and made my way through some lightly forested areas toward the Big Horn Plateau. The amazing views of the Kaweah mountain range started to open up through the trees. . .

and soon I was on the plateau. . .

Lightweight Summer Quilt

This is a simple summer quilt with 1" baffles. After fooling around with a lot of different designs, dimensions and materials this final version of the summer quilt seems to be perfect (or whatever perfect is today).  

Materials: 

Momentum50 Black for the liner and Aegean Blue for the outer/shell. This is the latest and lightest breathable material from Thru-Hiker.com
30% overstuffed with 6.3 ozs 900 f/p down from Thru-Hiker.com
1" baffles spaced every 5" using 0.34 oz/sqyd cuben from Zpacks.com.
1/16" shock cord for the adjustable neck from Zpacks.com.
1/2" plastic D-Rings (questoutfitters.com)
Small metal eyelits (questoutfitters.com)

Dimensions: 

50" at the neck end tapering to 56" for the 2nd to 9th baffles, then tapering down to 40" at the foot end. The total length is 78". 

The loft seems to have come out over 1 1/2" probably due to the 30% overstuff. I think this should be good down to 40 degrees easily, and probably into the 30's with a silk base layer/puffy jacket/wind shirt/sleep socks etc.

Total weight is 12.48 ozs.

Here are a few photos: 

2012 Sierra High Route 9 Day Gear List

I will be doing the first section of the Sierra High Route this September with my backpacking buddy Dan.

Although this portion of the SHR is usually finished in less time, I have allowed extra time for some possible side trips (Mt. Sill or Agassiz) or for continuing on over Snow Tongue Pass into Humphreys Basin.

This list is similar to the gear I used on the JMT last summer, with a few new custom pieces of gear. Much of my gear is homemade (MYOG/'make your own gear'). For details of some of my custom gear projects check out the The Custom Shop.

So here is my initial gear list. Dig it!

Click for full size.

Cuben Kindle Dry Bag

Some good ideas are simple. The first time her Kindle gets dropped in a stream my wife will be hoping this was one of those good simple ideas.

The Cuben Kindle Dry Bag is made from 0.51 oz/sqyd cuben fiber and is made to fit a Kindle. All of the seams are taped with double sided cuben tape. The roll top is water tight and is attached to the body of the dry bag using hook and loop (velcro).

The total weight barely registers on my scale, but it looks like 0.1 oz (2 grams). . . and at that weight how can any of us leave home again safely without a custom Cuben Kindle Dry Bag?

The Cuben Kindle Dry Bag.

Ryan Jordan would approve!

0.1 oz.

Half Ounce Cuben Roll Top Dry Bag

Most of the lightest dry bags and pack liners that I've found are around 2 ozs, and that just seems way too heavy. So I made a simple roll top dry bag that weighs a half ounce using 0.51 oz/sqyd that is large enough to hold a 20 degree winter quilt and a puffy jacket. To some people it may seem a little extreme to go to all this trouble to save 1.5 ozs, but in this case the weight savings is 75% over the lightest alternatives.

This roll top dry bag is 26" x 18" and is made using a triple stitched flat felled seam that is taped on the inside. I used small 1/2" clasps attached to the bag using 1/2" gross grain webbing. The attachment points are reinforced with 0.51 oz/sqyd cuben fiber and cuben tape. 

Cuben Fiber Roll Top Dry Bag.