The Tahoe to Yosemite Trail

North
TYT

Lake Genevieve

Maps
INDEX

Tahoe
Weather

All
Weather

Desolation Wilderness

Meeks Bay to Lake Genevieve

Just the Facts, ma'am

Lake Genevieve

Elevation
7400 feet
+1161' above Meeks Bay trail head elevation

Mileage
4.39 miles
South from Meeks Bay trail head

4.49 miles
South to Phipps Pass

Camping Notes
Departing Lake Genevieve

Sunrise
6:42 am or so, mid-September

Temp before Sunrise
43°
Low 40s was typical of September morings, until Oct 1,
when morning temps dropped to 19° !

Camp Status
No weather, no mosquitoes, so no tent.

Overall Weather
Clouds in morning, cleared nicely.

Time, Space, Direction, and You
"or so" note: I record the exact astronomical Sunrise/Sunset times, their compass points at rise and set, and the time and altitude of the daily transit of the Sun across North-South line, AKA when and where it crosses the celestial meridian.

I also record the key dates of the Moon Phases. This information, along with some weather notes, trip title, and dates composes the header of all my trip journals.

This handy information allows us to use the Sun as a compass and a clock. We now know both the exact time and precise compass points at sunrise, sunset, and the "city time" of when the Sun crosses the North-South line, AKA, High Noon.

FACT: It is Noon when the Sun crosses the North-South line in the sky from our position, NO MATTER WHAT your watch says. One is "city time," the other is your own personal "astronomical time."

Yes my dear, all time and space does rotate around you.
Well, at least in the sense it is all measured from the observer's perspective.

The last bit of astronomical information I am bringing is either
a current star chart or my star guide.

The backpacking links page has a wide selection of different types of nature, instructional, and trail guides, maps for use on the trail, and even a selection of free utilities and technical resources helpful for backpackers.


We Measure Time
Using this astronomical information we will literally measure time as the Sun rises off the Eastern horizon in the morning, to and across the celestial meridian during mid-day, and dropping down to the Western ridge producing local sunset in the evening.

We'll use this information to ascertain the Sun rise and set compass points and timing on the horizon without using a compass, and know the "civil" time when the Sun crosses the celestial meridian.

We will literally and accurately measure the distance of the Sun's daily travel across the sky to both estimate and precisely determine both "city" and "astronomical" time, as necessary for our situation.

Our planet spinning around our Solar System is literally our
clock and our compass.

But unlike most watches, I'd argue that ours is actually wearing us,
rather than visa-versa...

Who's in who's pocket?

Is each of us no more than a little "second hand," running around and around on the face of the master clock of life?

The "times" mentioned above, being the Sunrise and set times when I take my daily temperature measurements reflects the time of Sunrise and set during late September, which was the start day of a particular trip. This brings up two important facts.

First, the time and location of Sunrise and set are in constant motion over the course of a year, even if we retain a fixed position.
Second, the positions of Sunrise and set also change as a function of our
changing position and perspective as we hike South.

I have brought together a number of astronomical tools and information resources that describe and explain the rhythms of celestial and terrestrial motion and how this relates to navigation, and us keeping our bearings.

Everything is Moving
In fact, each day the Sunset and Sunrise times and compass points and timing change at a certain rate. We also hike a certain "X" number of miles each day.

Accuracy
Both motions affect the accuracy of our astronomical Sunrise and set bearings. The rate of Sunrise and set change is up to a minute a day for both, depending on the time of the year.
Our hiking to different positions each day also alters our relationship to the timing and exact compass points of Sunrise and set.

That's why the astronomical data we need is derived by entering a location as well as a date in the database. Exactly where and when the Sun rises and sets is dependent on our location and the date.

Short Backpacking Trips
Thus trips up to a week in duration, or those remaining near their start point don't require a correction factor to compensate for changes in location as we hike. We are not hiking far enough to significantly distort their timings or positions.
On these shorter trips we are not too concerned with factoring in the changes made by our changing position, if we are not hiking too far.

We can record the timing and positions of Sunrise and set from the beginning and ending dates and locations of our hike if we desire a higher degree of accuracy.

A Regular Rate of Change
The average daily rate of the timing and position changes in Sunrise and set should be calculated and noted in the journal header prior to departure. The correction factor would read something like, "three degrees and three minutes a day."

We can figure it out by noting the change in timing and location of Sunrise and set from a single position over the duration of our trip.

This rate of change will be a reliably consistent correction factor to reasonably correct our Sunrise and set figures.

Long Backpacking Trips
Long distance backpacking trips will require more than a correction factor as our changing position hiking down the Sierra Crest greatly distorts the compass points and timing of Sunrise and set as calculated at the beginning of our hike.

To retain accuracy hiking down the Sierra Crest we will have to take note of the Sunrise and set times, and their compass points, from at least three points along length of our trip. Our figures for the beginning, the middle, and the end of long trips will maintain the accuracy of our celestial clock and compass over the length of our trip.

The Tahoe to Whitney
I generally measure the timing and compass points of Sunrise and set from South Lake Tahoe, Tuolumne Meadows, and Trail Crest for backpacking trips from Tahoe to Whitney.

Astronomical Information

This information will not just keep us "in time," but also establishes a fundamental context structuring the terrain we cross by keeping us aware of and engaged with the physical relationships between time, space and terrain.

Time, direction, terrain and our position within it are different, changing, and related aspects of dealing with these grand mountains who's crestline we are hiking.

We're going to keep our bearings and time squared-away as we hike South.

Our ability to organize and correlate time and space information adds extra dimensions to our engagement and understanding of the logical and physical relationships holding the the High Sierra together.

comments

top of page

Morning One
Granola is Fun
and the
Zipper Dance

The temp was 43 degrees at Lake Genevieve when I woke and rose well before dawn.

Granola, powdered milk, and dried fruit were rapidly brought to life with a little heat under the roar of my old-school MSR white gas stove, and I was shortly fed, packed, and ready to saddle-up. Time to take off the insulation and freeze a bit before the pack and the trail warm me up.

I tried to unzip my REI fleece jacket, and everything went to shit. The zipper is one of those fancy "clasping" zippers, the type that lock. The fabric pull and its ring broke off the zipper, locking the clasping zipper in place. With no pull strap there was no way to unzip the fleece jacket, and claustrophobia set in, and I was soon bouncing/hopping about in circles trying to get the damn thing unzipped from high around my neck.

Finally, I used the flat end of the can-opener on my Swiss Army Knife to pry up the edge of the spring-loaded locking clasp on the back of the zipper assembly, and was finally able to unzip my fleece jacket in fits and starts. I was tempted to use the knife's blade to cut the coat off.

Relax Al, Chillaxation required... take a couple of deep breaths.

I promptly removed the locking mechanism from the zipper, (a zipper-ectomy) and everything was all cool again. The jacket still zipped-up, but I had to grasp the zipper on both sides to make it work, as the pull tab had broken off. But my gear was falling apart.

This was not unexpected. I had already put 750 long-distance backpacking miles on the gear this Spring and Summer (2009), and my gear was showing it. My boots, pants, and socks were all starting to wear thin. The harness of my pack was worn, and all grommets were distorting. I was monitoring the degradation of all key gear components. I was packing a bigger spare parts kit than normal.

I am facing a maintenance cycle with my clothing, pack, boots, and most of the gear elements that wear out. Clone me a new frk'n body too, while we are at it... I'm going to re-harness my pack frame, replace or repair my worn-out clothing, and new boots have been necessary for awhile.

Where are you in the "Gear Cycle?"

Keep tabs on how your gear is wearing, and check your harnesses, stitching, clasps, and eyelets often during your long trips, and an inspection before every trip. Inspect the stove and water filtration device, and clean each as necessary.
Keep a list of upcoming problems and repairs that will be necessary at home that is updated after each trip, and check the list before the next trip. Pack the replacement parts you may need, or replace degrading parts prior to departure.

Broken and fixed
on the trail.

Be Ready!

Check out the Gear Section

Now that's an "on the trail" backpack strap repair!

A frk'n gopher ran a hole up to the surface under my backpack, which was laid flat on the ground with rocks on top to protect its salted straps from just such a varmint attack...

Sometimes we just can't win...

Wilderness gear Repair at Kennedy Meadows Pack Station, earlier in the 2009 backpacking season. Pants in hand, fleece pants deployed during the day!

I love
Kennedy Meadows Pack Station

They loaned me the needle, and gave me the thread to keep my ass in my pants, and my straps on my shoulders.

The cowboys offered me the use of their saddle shop, but I didn't need to go nuclear!

Gear Repair Forum

South
Crag Lake

top of page

Backpacker Forums

Post it on
TahoetoWhitney.Org
The Backpacker's Forum.

Welcome to Tahoe to Whitney
The link above brings us to the Front Page of the High Backpacking Trails and Topics Forums. Below we break the forums down into its basic categories:

Anyone can post text comments in the existing forums, but only members can post up new topics, along with images, maps, and formatting.

Become a Member

As we addressed some gear issues on the page above,
these forums are pertinent:

If you have experiences, comments, questions, trip reports, trail conditions updates or pictures and/or videos of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail from Meeks Bay to Lake Genevieve, and camping around Lake Genevieve and up the valley, post up your images, experiences, notes, and advice here as an unknown hiker or as a member:

Section
Meeks Bay to Echo Summit

Segment
Lake Genevieve