Backpacking Plan

Things are moving fast. Original plan was to do the Electric Hobo season 2, the repeat of the car camping and hiking, and then get into backpacking next year. But now I got my backpacking gear and I'll be on the 4-day trip to Thousand Island Lake. And I'm already thinking about doing a thru-hike, as soon as next year.

Not all places are reachable by day-hike; backpack is sometimes necessary even for car campers. In fact, many "tasty" places require multi-day backpacking. To get to Reflection Canyon in Escalante, for example, requires overnight camping. 

For now though, getting there is the goal, not the backpacking itself. That means trips of a few days at the most to get to remote destination.  But I'm still planning out the gear as if I'm doing 2-person backpacking through JMT because I didn't want to get a new set of gears to do thru-hikes later on. That meant 65L pack and 2-person tent. The base weight came at 20 lbs. Add food and water, it'll be 30 lbs pack. It's not ultra-light by any means. But I'll have all the comfort in the world and I still can use it for JMT later.

So, new plan and new toys. Maybe backpacking will finally get me out of the remaining exertion hyper-sensitivity. Meanwhile, I'm still crashing after 4x1 block jogging. I get hit by the bus two hours after and get knocked out for a couple of hours. Then I get debilitated for the whole afternoon the next day. But the crashes only last hours, not days or weeks as it used to. It's an improvement. But I still have to plan so that I won't get debilitated when I have things to do. Which means jogging after 8PM so that, when the bus comes, I could just go to bed.

Kern River Loop

 There were lots of water in the river. The snow from the late storms must be melting and the river was raging, like it did in April of 2017 on our way to Death Valley. And yes, the river north of Lake Isabella was clearer. It is not Lake Tahoe-clear, but you could see through it for more than a few feet. The trail also sported several lovely sandy beaches. People's been camping there obviously -- there were charred remains of fire at several places. 5 miles in, camp, 5 miles out. Seems like a good practice for backpacking. Something I should do before attempting Rae Lakes Loop.

On the way to Johnsondale Bridge, where the Kern River Loop starts, was Brush Creek. It was only 1.7 miles long, so I decided to hike it first.  After the river loop, I may not have enough energy left for it. And I was right, I did 10 miles at 2 mph and I was pooped out. I would've missed it if I did the river loop first.

Brush Creek was just as I imagined: clear water cascading down granite rocks forming swimming holes here and there. I got to the end, skinny-dipped, dried up and came back down. It's a dopamine-inducing antidote to CFS if there ever was one.

Day off at Hannings Flat

I should've brought the fan. I left it out because it's bulky and I never used it the last season. But I could've used it today. The temperature went up to upper 80s and I sat in the shade all day long because tent was too warm. The breeze kicked up at 4 PM and it cooled off a bit. I crawled into tent, napped for about 15 minutes and then came back out to the shade to write.

Then again, I may not need it. I need a fan on my day off at the camp, but I've improved enough that I no longer need to take every other day off. I did 10 miles yesterday and I could've been back on the trail today. Except that I figured I'd take the day off and do photos and blogs. I would've been hiking if I knew it would've been too warm to stay at the camp. Even if I say at the camp, I can stay up all day long. Before, the fan was a necessity because I had to lie down in the tent.

So, my new goal, back to back hiking 2 days in a row, seems within reach. I think I'll give it a try the next 2 days. I'll do about 6 miles tomorrow on Bull's Run Creek and Salmon Falls. Then I'll go right back on trail the day after for Kern River Loop and Brush Creek for the total of 12 miles. If I survive that, then Rae Lake Loop backpacking for 40 miles over 5 days will be the next.

I may have to return to Sacramento in a week. I still need to get my backpack and REI is having sale starting next week. I'm hoping to pick up the new Osprey Atmos 65 at 20% off. If they have Big Agnes tents on sale, I may pick that one up as well and then return MSR Hubba Hubba NX2. MSR is a great tent, but its weight has been, well, weighing on me. It is 0.75 lbs heavier than Big Agnes. That's extra 3 quarter pounders that I'd be carrying. I'm already spending over 4 lbs on the backpack, I need to go light on everything else. 

It's almost full moon at the camp. The moon lit up the earth so bright, I could walk about without any lights. 

Kern River Trail

Miracle Spring was about a mile north of the boondocking site on Kern Canyon Road. And Kern River Trail was supposed to be a few miles south of the site. But there was no Kern River Trail off Kern Canyon Road. I guessed that the trail was off the Highway 178, not Kern Canyon Road. They run in parallel, and I might have mistaken Highway 178 for Kern Canyon Road. But there was Mill Creek Trail just about where I thought Kern River Trail ought to be. I figured I'd do it just since I didn't find Kern River Trail. Then, about half way to Mill Creek, I found cell signal. I pulled over and searched for Kern River Trail. It was off Highway 178 indeed.

Mill Creek was a pleasant trail complete with sun exposure, shade and creek. But it wasn't anything exciting and I still have Kern River Trail to do. I walked for an hour, crossed the creek with trickle of water half a dozen times and then turned back.

To get to Kern River Trail, you have to park your car on the other side and then across the highway. You may be able to park at Delongha day use area across the river and then walk over the bridge, but I did not explore that option. Another possibility could be to park at Democrats Hot Spring and then hike in the other direction, I imagine. But the trail description did not mention that, so I assume nobody is doing it in that direction. 

The trail was completely empty. It was one of the top rated trail near Kernville, but apparently not too many people know about it. There was no sign marking the trailhead anywhere; you have to walk into the trail from the road to see the sign. I had the trail all to myself all day long. I intended to go all the way to Democrats Hot Spring, take a dip and then come back. I turned around two thirds of the way. I already did 4 miles on Mill Creek and I wasn't too excited at the prospect of the trail turning inland away from the river. It already did that about at half way mark and it was too hot. And I wasn't looking forward to dipping in the hot spring at that point. I figured I'd turn around and dip in the cold river at a low point of the trail. 

I didn't dip in the water. I got down to the river when I got close to the bridge, but the water wasn't too inviting; it was murky. I got straight back to the car, drove to Hannings Flat and took a cold bath. The temperature dropped quite a bit by then and I was shivering.

Good day overall. I don't know what it is about rivers and streams, but they just get my juice flow. And Kern River Trail was an excellent trail. I only wish the water was clear. It flows off Lake Isabella, a rather murky and toxic one. Kern River that flows into it should be much better. I'll find out in two days.

Ladybug Trail and Garfield Grove

Garfield Grove was a bust. I intended go to the beginning of the Grove expecting number of giants. I went well past that, for the total of 4 miles instead of 2.9, and only saw a few. In the process I almost got hypothermia. About a mile of the trail was snow covered and freezing.

Add 4 miles on Ladybug, it was another 12 miles day. Lady bug was a smashing success, thankfully. It follows the south folk with spectacular view of the stream and the falls. I planned to go up further, but the trail disappeared after the creek and I couldn't find the easy path to bushwhack. I returned to the camp, had lunch and nap and then went up Garfield Grove trail.

The next one will be 14 mile one to Pear lake. I'll have to get to at crack of dawn so that I can charge the car for an hour at get to the trail head by 7. That means I'll have to leave the camp at 5.

I'm running out of food. I have enough rice, pasta and left over chicken, but not enough sauce, onion and carrot. If push comes to shove, I'll just eat pasta without sauce. Going back out to Visalia for grocery means having to go all the way to Traver to recharge and I don't want to do that. I'll make it with what I have.

A Day Off at South Fork Camp

Rain and sleet last night. Then It's been raining off and on all day long. I had to bring the kitchen to inside the tent. I didn't bother to set up the table -- there was a picnic table and the bear locker at the site -- so all my stuff are strewn all over the floor. I now look like a bona fide homeless man. But I still have electrical power. It's a luxury to have power. I'm hurdled inside the tent, but I still can power my stove, electronics and electric blanket.

Speaking of electric blanket, it appears I wouldn't need it. The new sleeping bag is working out fine. At least at 30F. I had to wear thermal underwear and fleece though. I'll probably need the electric blanket, or all least a liner, if the temperature dips broke below 20 F. The bag is rated at 15F, but it really isn't as they usually aren't. For 3 seasons however I think I'll do just fine without the electric blanket.

Topokah Falls and Marble Falls

The locals, mostly blue color Whites, probably doesn't venture out too often. A few guys in the bar are in a good mood. It's not every day that they get see an Asian guy walk into the bar, let alone a soaking wet one.  I'm game -- I'm in a good mood too. One drunk patron cheerfully asks where I'm from. I tell him Sacramento, among many places. He ruefully shuts up and fist-bumps instead.

In the morning I asked the ranger at the entrance which falls, Topokah or Marble, is better for a day hike. He said Tokopah. Then he said that they are expecting winter storm between 2 and 4 at higher elevation. That gave me an idea: why not do Tokopah Falls in the morning and then do Marble Falls in the afternoon? Marble Falls is at 3000 feet, it's safe from winter storm. It took no time to hike the pretty trail to Topokah Falls, photographed bear cubs along the river. I had plenty time left for Marble Falls. Or, so I thought.

It was 4:30 on Marble Falls and I almost turned around. I needed to get to Gateway Restaurant by 6PM so that I can charge the car for a couple hours and then get back to the camp. Then I saw the glimpse of Marble Falls from distance and it was marvelous. I had to get to it. I marched on and got to it a little after 5. I had my camp-made burrito, enjoyed view and left at 5:30. The rain came on the way and me and my camera got soaked good. It was almost 7 when I got back to the car. 1.5 hours for 3.5 miles, just like I did in Missouri. The total trip for 7 miles took 4.5 hours. 

The total for the day therefore is 12 miles for 2400 feet. Not bad for a day's work.  Now I'm sitting here in Gateways Restaurant typing away while the car is getting charged. I still have to get to the camp and wash up. I'll probably be finished around 11PM. Doesn't matter. I'll take a day off tomorrow and rest.

The plan for the rest of Sequoia is as follows. On Saturday, I'll hike to Pear Lake. It'll be a grueling one of 14 miles and 3400 feet gain. Then I'll hike the trail off the campsite on Monday. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll pack up and head to Cedar Grove of Kings Canyon and hike Mist Trail.  Depending on how the sleeping bag problem gets resolved, I may have to return home to return it for refund or exchange.

Yes, Blue Kazoo is leaking downs. The shell is rather flimsy -- they may have chosen it to reduce the weight -- and downs are poking out of it. It's also not as warm as it should be for a 15F bag. I'll have to review other brands and decide. The problem is 0F bags are several times more expensive. I may just exchange for the same model.