Tree, Poison Flat, Carson Iceberg Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Your Backpacking Guide to the High Sierras Yellow Flower
Leavit Peak in December with Snow Plume
Sierra Crestline extending East off the main line across Leavitt Peak Massif. The North Gap is under that cloud.

 

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ALL
High Sierra Weather

 

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Sierra Weather

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Sierra Weather

 

 

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Testing yourself and gear

 

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Favorite Gear

 

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top of page

 

The Very Best
High Sierra
Backpacking Information
&
Links

 

High Sierra Nevada
Information-Knowledge-Experience


-- Identification Guides --
-- SCIENCES --

&
All Types
of
Helpful Information for High Sierra Backpackers and Hikers

 

Languages

Translate

 

 

Trail Skills

The trail

Navigation

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Off the trail

Scrambling

 

 

Mountain
Safety

Safety Topics

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Incidents

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Food

Resupply
FORUM

Food

 

 

Planning

40 Days to Whitney

 

Introduction Tahoe to Whitney

 

Introduction Tahoe-Yosemite

 

 

Trail Arts

Art of walking

 

Physical
Preperation

 

 

More
Information

Links

 

News
and
Science

 

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Catagories

 

 

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Trail Culture

 

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Terms and Conditions of Use

 

top of page

 

Last
Backpacking
Organizations
Next
Backpacking
Books
  Camp
and
Trail
Skills
Trail
Guide

INDEX
Maps
INDEX
Miles
INDEX
Tahoe to Yosemite
Trails
Introduction
Tahoe to Whitney
Trails
Introduction

 

The Best
High Sierra Backpacking Links
Page

SUBMIT
YOUR BEST RESOURCES!

We've lots of good backpacking information and resources linked below!

Everything we see in the Sierra Nevada have extensive natural and social histories that are as interesting as beautiful.

Everything is much deeper and more complex than its surface appearance indicates. The information below is designed to increase our understanding and deepen our experiences hiking the Sierra Nevada Crest Trails.

The deeper we look, the more we see.

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

Linking Policy

I may link to you if you have high quality backpacker-related information, services, or products. I may not. It depends on the utility of your service, its relationship to backpacking, and the quality and character of your company/efforts.

Backpackers who have great information should email me!

All links here are because of the quality of their information and presentation.

 



High Sierra Backpacking
LINKS INDEX

Guides

 

 

High Sierra
Backpacking Guides

 

US
Backpacking Guides

 

International
Backpacking Guides

 

Gear & Skills

 

 

Trail Skills

 

Gear
Information

 

Astronomical
Information

 

 

Environment

 

 

 

 

Local Color

 

Sierra Groups

 

Sierra Geology

 

 

Identification

 

 

Sierra Animals

 

Sierra Birds

 

Sierra Plants

 

Sierra Insects

Arts and Letters       Digital Tech

For links related to specific trail information concerning the High Sierra trail guide's maps, miles, elevations, permits, and weather see the links on every page's sidebars.

 

High Sierra
BACKPACKING LINKS

BACKPACKING GUIDES

             
 

High Sierra
Backpacking Guides
and
Hiking Accounts

High Sierra Nevada Hikers.
See what the locals have to say.

Post up Your Own Accounts
HIGH SIERRA TRAILS FORUMS

 

 

Local Sierra Information

The Leader of the Pack
HST
High Sierra Topix

 

 

Cool Planning Tool
Craig's PCT Planner
Covers PCT corridor from
Tahoe to Whitney

 

 

see all
Online
&
Paper Maps

 

Short List
of
Paper Trail Maps


Halfmile's Trail Maps
Printable Maps of PCT corridor
from Tahoe to Whitney

Map Tools

 

Tom Harrison

 

Wilderness Press

 

National Geographic

 

Post up comments
and
resources
in the
Navigation Forum

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

Index

   

Peter's
amazing accounts of the
Tahoe to Yosemite Trail,
and
Tahoe Rim Trails in Snow.

 

High Sierra Backpacker Resources

Roper/High Sierra Route

 

Halfmile PCT Maps

PCT.ORG

ADZKO

JMT-YAHOO GROUP

 

Trail Journals
Meet a PCTer on the trail? I've tracked their subsequent adventures on Trail Journals.

 

Backpackthesierra
M & P put their deep experience, wisdom, and the Sierras at your feet. This is a good approach to Sierra Nevada Backpacking.

 

Bob Burd's Sierra Travels
"Almost all of my hiking/scrambling/climbing involves dayhikes of varying durations, some more than 20hrs in length. This is all part of a somewhat haphazard effort to show that any peak in California can be dayhiked given enough determination. That, and I happen to like hiking - a lot. :-) "

 

DipperFlyFishing. Brendon's a cool dude-hunting-fishing guide from Lee Vining. (Moved to France)

 

High Sierra Fun,
Richard's guide to the North Sierras he so enjoys.

 

Gone Hiking!
Ekulytes's California Hiking Page

 
         
         
         
     

Lake Tahoe
Court Brock has pulled together local backcountry resource around Lake Tahoe on his About Lake Tahoe hiking resources page.

 

California High Country
A look at the Sierra.

 

California

Avid Backpackers
Mark and Leo's backpacking trips across California and the Sierra

 

Backcountry_Resource_Center
Inactive Avalanche Page
Mountaineer and Long Distance Backpacker Paul Richin's wide of range of experience, knowledge, and history at your fingertips.

Sierra Avalanche Center

National Avalanche Center

 

 
           

 

National Backpackers

             
 

Backpacking Guides

National, Regional, and Local Backpacking Sites. See what the locals have to say.

 

 

Post up Your Own Accounts
HIGH SIERRA TRAILS FORUMS

 

 

 

 

Appalachian Trail
The Motherlode
WhiteBlaze

 

 

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

 

Index

   

Wildbackpacker
is centered in Utah but these guys hikes reach from Hawaii through California, Arizona, and Colorado.

 

In Dee's Woods,
A Californian that loves the high country...the low country...wet, dry, snowy any kind of country I can hike,ride horses, ski, surf, bike, snowshoe...run in!

 
         
         
         
     

The Southwest Backpacker,
Four Corners, USA

 

WawHiker
(YouTube) Backpacking beautiful Washington State. wawhiker blog.

 

Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail 101: The Complete Guide For Beginners

 

Intense Angler
Backpacking Fishing, Gear.

 

Sierra Visions:
An old lover of the Sierras transplanted into Michigan

 

Peak to Peak
A Guide to Hiking, Backpacking, Trail and Wilderness Web Sites!

 
  top of page        

 

International & Specialized Backpackers

             
 

Backpacking Guides

International
&
Specialized Information

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

Index

   

Nature Dogs: Explore Nature with your dog.
This site is fantastic for dogs and their owners who want to get out and explore!
(not currently active)

 

The Spanish High Sierra

 

 
         
         
         
     

Nomad and Rebel,
and website: Belgium trekkers.

 

MindWiseMan,
Very cool dude in UK.

 
  top of page        

 

Backpacking Skills

             
 

Analytical Survival,
your guide to surviving modern times.

 

Map Tools,
excellent tutorials on UTM and coordinate systems that will make you a better map reader.

 

Map and Navigation info, and Survival,
Army Study Guide.com.

 

Skills

These sites supplement and expand different elements of your backpacking skills.

These sites also apply and stretch backpacking skills to cover emergency and disaster situation in the field or at home.

I'm just getting started here, so stay tuned as the links section expands.

 

Tahoe to Whitney
Backpacking Skills

 

Navigation

 

Post up your experiences, skills, resources, and thoughts in the
Backpacking Skills Forum

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

Thinks About It!

Backpacking Lists, Information,
&
Instruction

 

Index

     
     
     
 

Snow Travel

Wild Snow,
Lou Dawson's
Awesome Winter backcountry Wonderland on skis

 

Cold Water Survival,
YukonMan, good tips.

 

Backcountry_Resource_Center
Inactive Avalanche Page
Mountaineer and Long Distance Backpacker Paul Richin's wide of range of experience, knowledge, and history at your fingertips.

Sierra Avalanche Center

National Avalanche Center

 

Rope & Fabric

RopeWork,
Stormdrane's Blog. The art and skill of knot tying.

 

TNT Repairs
is Terry's deep well of sewing machine experience. Terry's generous spirit and informative site makes setting up, tuning up, repairing, or learning the basics easy. Mention you found TNT on TahoetoWhitney for a 5% discount.

 
      top of page

HISTORY of FIELD RATIONS
&
SURVIVAL KITS

     

Best Survival Kit

Check out this Video for Ideas

1967 Vietnam Era Pilot Survival Escape Evasion Kit
SEEK Test Fire Emergency Pen Flare Gun

This kit goes past what most individual backpackers need in a survival kit, as we are normally & optimally carrying sufficient, "survival," gear as our Standard Operating Procedure. If not, we are in trouble no SEEK kit can fix...

My survival kit boils down to my buttpack survival setup when I'm fording a dangerous river, and worried about my pack getting swept away. This tells us that survival kits are, "situational," and must be tuned for the specific dangerous situations you will face.

This fine video reviews a survial-kit setup that certainly covers areas & items most backpacker's first aid kits miss, while informing us about the potential requirements for a backpacking group's first aid/survival kit.
This kit in the video below would be a must-have for a group of hikers, and especially a group of kids. Steve's SEEK video serves us up some fine food for thought and consideration for all backcountry travelers.

I suggest Steve's Videos for those of us interested in field rations of the past to better understand who we were, who we are, as well as what we may well need today.

Check out

Steve1989MREInfo
on YouTube

Index

 

 

Backpacking Gear

             
 

Backpacking Gear

United States

 

The Gear List

 

Questions, comments, and resources to offer? Post up in the

The Gear Forum

 

Tahoe to Whitney Backpackers
Members Favorites'
Backpacking Gear

 

Submit
Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

 

 

Index

   

Backpacking Gear
Information

Planning and Selecting Gear

Best Gear
Selected by
Experienced High Sierra Backpackers

Sleeping Bags

Water Filters

Backpacking Stoves

Tents

Internal Frame Backpacks

External Frame Backpacks

Ultralight Backpacks

Boots

Also See
Trailspace Outdoor Gear Reviews
"Comprehensive Community-based reviews"

 

Outdoor Gear Lab
"The OutdoorGearLab mission is simple: to create world's best outdoor gear reviews."

 

 
         
         
         
     

 

Tahoe to Whitney
Backpacking Water Forum

 

Best
Backpacking Water Filtering-Treatment Options

 

 
  top of page        

 

Astronomical Information

             
 

Backpacking
Astronomical
Information

Astro & Science News Fourms

 

Backpacking Navigation

 

Backpacker's Full
Digital Star Chart

 

United States

The Sun precisely locates our compass points and sets the clock while rising and setting. Its highest point marks local Noon everywhere.

The Moon tracks the progress of the month, while the positions of the fields of Stars in the night sky precisely measures our seasonal progress through the year.

Time, the position of celestial objects, and our position in the terrain are precisely related to each other.

Well, except the planets. The ancients considered the planets unreliable wanderers, as far as charting time and space were concerned. Though amusing, planets were no help to navigation at all.

The planets actually vexed ancient astronomers, for their motions made no sense at all in their Earth-centric Universe.

Our view of what reality is, and the perceptive distortions of reality induced by our own desires, have both changed and yet remained roughly the same over the ages.

Sunrise, set, and noon are as sure a set of reference points in time and space as any compass or clock, if you know how to properly use them.

Each provides information that gives us context into our local position, the time at our position, and our overall position within the relationship between us, our planet, our solar system, and the greater galaxy beyond.

At least it will after we watch the galaxy rotate around us for a few decades, and get a feeling for just how we are getting the grand view of everything, of our surrounding galaxy and the universe beyond as we go spinning around our Sun.

That's what time it is.

 

 

See the Navigation Page for more information and resources.

 

Post up your questions, comments, information and experiences!
Navigation-Astronomy Forum

 

 

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to
Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

 

 

Index

   

Evening
PAPER Sky Chart
,
Downloadable
FIELD USE

Print your own star chart for your backpacking trip, or home use. It prints well! Skymaps.com.
ALWAYS
BRING A STAR CHART BACKPACKING !

 

Backpacker's Full
Digital Star Chart

 

Selection
of
WEB-BASED
Sky Charts
,
Adjustable, Your Sky, "the interactive planetarium of the Web." Mess around with it. Increase the image size to fit your monitor.

 

 

All Astronomical Events

All Naval
Astronomical
Data Services

 

In-the-Sky.ORG
Data Tables: What & When

Digital Star Wheel

Constellations Map

 

Tahoe to Whitney
Physics and Astronomy
News

 

All
Tahoe to Whitney
Astronomy-Navigation Resources

 

Let's Talk
Navigation

 

Essential Resources

Atlas of the Universe
FANTASTIC set of nested maps that lay out the universal context around us.

 

2017 Equinox, Solstice & Cross-Quarter Moments
archaeoastornomy.com. Past and future times and dates.

 

Popular Astronomy
EarthSky.Org
Keep up with what's currently happening in the sky with Deborah Byrd, a great voice for keeping our eyes open.

In-the-Sky.ORG
An amazing astronomical resource

 

Sky & Telescope
The Essential Guide to Astronomy

 

Go Astronomy
a great source of information.

 

Astronomical Image on the
Home Page:
The Cheshire Cat Gravitational Lensing Field

Hubble

All Hubble Images

 

Also See
Navigation Astronomy

 
         
 
           
  top of page        
       

Favorite Field Handbook
The Observer's Sky Atlas

E. Karkoschka, Springer-verlag, Berlin, 1990. Handbook,
Best of Breed.

 

Information for EVERY backpacking trip:
Astronomical Information

Derive Sunrise and set times and their compass points, time of local Noon.

 

General Text
Discovering the Universe
(Kaufmann, WH Freeman and Co., NY, 2nd edition, 1989.) This is my fantastic lower-division college astronomy text. No math, but current observations and their theories are laid out.

 

Fun Facts

The width of the four fingers of the human fist held up against the sky at arm's length measures out 15 degrees or one hour of the Earth's rotation.

It is local Noon when the Sun bisects the North-South line on our compass. We can compare this with our figure for "city time" at High Noon to derive both the local and "Standardized" time for Noon.

By writing down the compass points and times of Sunrise and Sunset, and the "clock" time of local noon we can use the Sun as our compass and timepiece on our backpacking trips.

Unless it's cloudy.

 

See the Navigation Page for more astronomical information and resources.

 
           

 

The Local's Perspective

             
 

Local Information

Sites that give you an in-depth look at local resources available up and down the Sierra

 

The Leader of the Pack
HST
High Sierra Topix

 

Post up questions, comments and more resources in the


Resupply Forum

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

 

 

Index

   

Lake Tahoe: Court Brock has pulled together every type of resource at Lake Tahoe in his
About Lake Tahoe.

 

Carson Pass & El Dorado National Forest
The Eldorado
National Forest Interpretive Association

 

Carson Pass Vacations
Again, this same guy puts up some of the best specific-location information.

 

The Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway

 
         
         
         
     

Arnold Rim Trail.
Mid-elevation Sierra Trail Project.

 

Sonora Pass Vacations
This guy has a huge amount of information.

 

Mammoth Lakes: Mammoth Lakes Tourism is the official Visitors Bureau for the Town of Mammoth Lakes.

 

John Muir Trail Yahoo Group
Very Cool Folks

 
  top of page        

 

Backpacking Organizations

             
 

Pacific Crest Trail Association

 

Tahoe Rim Trail

 

El Dorado NF Interpretive Association

 

Desolation Wilderness Volunteers

 

Backpacking Resource Center,
Boy Scout Centered

 

Backpacking
Groups

This is the short list.

Buying your Trail Maps
from these
Forest & Trail Organizations
Supports their Efforts!

Paper Maps

Post up comments and resources in the
Groups Page

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

Index

     
     
     
 

Student Conservation Association

 

Bay Area Wilderness Training,
Earth Island Institute

 

ADZ: the Official Story

 
  top of page    


On
Identification

Learn to Teach Yourself in the Classroom of Life.

Excellent Observers need excellent resources.

Note
KEY General Reference

A Sierra Club Naturalist's Guide to The Sierra Nevada,
by Stephen Whitney, Sierra Club Books, SF, 1979.

 

Note
The above is the standard reference for all types of fundamental environmental and biological identifications
in the Sierras Nevada Mountain Range.

This book treats all aspects of the High Sierras, and is the best place to begin obtaining a general understanding the Sierra Nevada.

High Sierra Geology

High Sierra Geology

The geological history of the High Sierra has been rewritten by great leaps in knowledge, scientific advances, and insights over the last twenty years.

 

Geology News

 

Introductions
to
High Sierra Geology

 

High Sierra
Geological Information

Sierra Nevada Mountain Range Rises Rapidly,
5-3-12, Live Science.

 

Birth, rise, and Growth of the Sierra?
Current research survey by Ars Techica

 

 

High Sierra,
Wikipedia

 

 

Sierra Nevada Physical Geography
Joel Michaelsen
BAD LINK

 

 

Glaciers of California
Hassan Basagic

Glaciations of the Sierra Nevada
Gillespie and Zehfuss, pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

Index

Geology Generally

AGU Blogosphere
American Geophysical Union
"A Community of Earth and Space science blogs."

 

Locations in the Sierra

 

Lake Tahoe

USGS on Lake Tahoe

 

LTBMU explains
Genesis of Lake Tahoe

 

Tahoe Facts & History
Keep Tahoe Blue

 

Tahoe Census Facts

Latest Research
March 2019
Complex Geology of Tahoe Basin, Emerald Bay

 

Emigrant Wilderness

Tungsten Road:

Emigrant Wilderness Geological Survey,
Mineral Resources of the Emigrant Basin Primitive Area, California,
(USGS, Tooker, Morris, Fillow, and Oliver, 1970), pdf.

 

 

Yosemite

The Geologic Story of Yosemite National Park
N. King Huber

 

 

Mono Lake

Mono Lake,
Indiana U student project, 2014.

 

 

Mammoth Mountain

USGS Volcanic Monitoring,
East Sierra

Monitoring Volcanoes in the Eastern Sierra
Indiana U student project, 2014.

NEWS

Keep up with the speed of rock!

Keep up with the geological news!

We track
Geological, Biological, and General Science News of concern to the High Sierra.

 

For Example
"Sierra Nevada Mountain Range Rises Rapidly"
5-3-12, Live Science.

 

Submit NEWS to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

Natural World

             
 

 

Identification

High Sierra Animals

 

 

 

Post up questions, comments, and resources in the
Living Things Forum

or

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

News from the Frontlines of Nature

 

Bear News

 

Fish News

 

Bird News

 

 

On the Birder's Bookshelf

 

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America

 

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Index

   

Animals

Greg Lasley
North American Mammals

 

Yosemite All Species List,
National Park Service
.

 

Animal Life in Yosemite
National Park Service

 

Mammals of Yosemite
Parker, 1952

 

Animal Diversity Web
University of Michigan

 
         
       
         
     

High Sierra Birds

 

Bird News

 

Graeme Colmer's
List of Images/Identifications of Sierra Birds

A Handy Thing

 

Ashok Khosla
Seeing Birds

 

Gred Lasley
Birds of North American

 

BirdMom
-BIRDS-

Excellent observer of Sierra Nevada from her foothill perch. Flower identification by color.

 

Birds,
Species List
,
Yosemite
.
National Park Service.

 

Joe Morland's
Bird Links Masterlist

 

Birds
enature.com

 

Animal Field Guides
eNature.com

 

Sierra Nature Notes
informing beauty with science.

 

Birdwatcher's Digest Bird ID Guide

 
  top of page        

           
 

Identification

Plants

 

 

Tree & Plant News

 

 

 

Sierra Bio Zones
A Naturalist's Transect along the I-80 Corridor in California:
Rockin to Donner Pass

J. L. Medeiros

 

 

Plant of the Week
Forest Service

 

Tree News

 

Bee News

 

Page Index

 

 

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

   

Flowers

BirdMom
-FLOWERS
-
Excellent observer of Sierra Nevada from her foothill perch. Flower identification by color.

 

Reny's Wildflowers Color and Shape Search
Pretty darn cool

 

Wildflower Sites Index
Gardening Launch Pad

 

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers
Mr. Sullivan

 

Calflora
Calflora.org

 

CalPhotos
UC Berkeley

 

Celebrating Wildflowers
US Forest Service

 

Flower Identifier
Healthy Home Gardening

 

Wildflowers by Color
Wildflowerinformation.org

 

Pacific Bulb Society

 
         
         
         
     

Trees

Trees of Lake Tahoe
beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com

 

Pine Cone Facts
PineConeFestival.com

 

VTree ID
Virginia Tech

 

Fungi of California

 
  top of page        

 

Insects

             
 

Identification

Insects

 

Post up comments and resources in the Insect Forum

 

 

 

Spider & Insect News

 

 

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

 

 

 

 

Index

   

Butterflies

Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site

 

Butterflies and Moths of North America
Alpine County

 

Greg Lasley
Butterflies of North America

 

The Butterfly Website

 

Lepidopterists' Society
identification page

 

BugGuide
Bugguide.net

 

Moth Photographers Group
Mississippi State

 
         
         
         
     

Insect Societies

 

Spider Sites Index
arachnology.be

 

Greg Lasley
SPIDERS
Greg Lasley
INSECTS

 

SpiderIdentification.org

 

American Arachnological Society

 

How Ticks Work

 

Tick or Spider?

 
  top of page        

 

Arts and Letters

             
 

Arts and Letters

Different ways of reflecting the beauty of the Sierra Nevada Mountains

Comments?

Post up comments and resources in the
Arts and Letters
Forum

 

Post up your Backpacking Stories

 

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

 

Index

   

Music
Steve Sheppers, Myspace

Words
Adam Blauert, Merced Sun Star

Education
Careers in the Environmental Sciences

 
         
         
         
     

 

Fine Arts
David Maxim Studio

Fine Arts
David Maxim Tahoe to Whitney Gallery

Fine Arts
Elena Kundell Painting

Pictures
TrekkingPhotography.com,
Josh Meyers,

Fine Arts
Markskor Gallery

Also See
High Sierra History

 
  top of page        

 

Technical Resources

             
 

Free
Technical Resources
For the Bootstrapping Backpacker

Backpackers use digital tools and the internet to access information and share resources. This requires technology.

Some of this technology is necessarily defensive. Much is potentially expensive. As with backpacking gear, I try to get the most bang for my buck.

A good "bang," as today's technology can pose as many blow-up risks as rewards.

TahoetoWhitney wants you to freely get access to our excellent backpacking information while being as safe on the digital trail as on High Sierra trails. So we've got some suggestions for you.

I've found the best security tool is a well-designed system, be it backpacking or computing. For that reason my first recommendation is to abandon Windows ASAP.

This fundamental change is best approached as a process, rather than an abrupt transition. Thus the free Windows security tools are still preserved on this list, as well as the many dual-OS versions of the free communication, media, and computer utilities suggested here. Now we've added an Operating System.

I suggest you take the time to study, prep and download a USB stick with
Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" Cinnamon.

Linux is the OS of the future.
Everything else will be a portal to rent "cloud" computing power.

Microsoft is moving towards charging rent for OS access to computing power, software, products, and services, while leveraging the theft and sale of any knowledge they can access about your behavior.

In addition to the logical excellence of the open source Linux, I've found many of these free, open source programs work extremely well keeping bootstrapping backpackers online, their personal information private, and their systems safe.

Better than commercial products.

Or not. We report failure and success.
Linux requires some study, and has a very rewarding learning curve.

Overall
These free utilities have helped make this "bootstrapped" backpacking trail guide possible.
Thanks, Developers!

Especially Mr. Linux, the cat-herder, and his herd of developer cats!

I've used these public (and private) tools to my capacity, and encourage you to find yours.

 

Security

First:
Screw Microsoft

I am over microsoft.

Linux Mint 18 "Sarah" Cinnamon

How to: Linux Mint 18

First 10 Linux Mint Tasks

The first thing you must do if you want security (and privacy) is to remove Windows and other Microsoft products from your computer.

This will be instrumental for keeping your computer under your own direct control in the not too distant future.

Win 10 rollout and features showed how openly untrustworthy Microsoft has become.

Every foreign government with any sense at all has removed Windows from all sensitive areas of policy. The Kremlin was using typewriters for a while...

The next step is installing and beginning to use and equip Linux Mint for your objectives. It may take some time to comfortably transition to Linux.

That's why we are setting up a "Dual Boot" system to create a gradual transition to the Linux environment. It may take time to setup all the necessary software to support all our activities as we transition off Windows.

You will find yourself enjoying and moving to the superior Linux environment more quickly than you anticipated, if you give it a chance.

These things are hard to change, but I should have switched years ago...

 

Have Big Problems?
If a hired gun is necessary...

PROFESSIONAL, TRUSTED HELP:
Ryan at
NORCAL HELPDESK
is
"Your Guy"

 

Index

   

Microsoft Needs Security

The Latest:
Panda Free Antivirus

Working well, so far.

Spyhunter Free Scanner.
REMOVED:
CONSTANTLY LOCKED-UP.

Though no auto-removal of threats, Spyhunter Free contains custom tools to find and manually delete malware Windows Defender and AVG miss.

Find a sketchy Windows file? Not sure you trust your Anti-virus solution? Run that sucker through:
Virustotal

 

sfc/runnow.
Run from your Windows command prompt to verify Windows registered files and drivers are not corrupted.

AVG FREE.
REMOVED:
New "Privacy Policy" steals and sells user data!
Fine AV Protection. Auto-removal of most threats, but sells your personal data security. LOSERS.

Windows Defender.
Windows AV Scanner.

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

Index

 
         
         
         
     

Free Windows Utilities

Windows

Cobain Backup.
Excellent free backup utility.

Crap Cleaner. Vital.
Clears temp files, cookies, trash, and registry.

 

Windows & Linux

Filezilla.
Ultimate FTP.

 

Browsers & Email
Windows & Linux

Browsing Security
Those of you still using Internet Explorer as your browser should switch to something else for security reasons.

Even Windows has abandoned Explorer.

Mozilla Firefox.
Free, much more secure than IE.

TOR.
Keep folks' noses out of your business.

Mozilla T-Bird.
Free email client.

 

Other
Top Notch
Free Utilities

NO LINUX VER!!!
Free Adobe Reader.
Displays Free USGS Maps.
Adobe Reader sucks.
But, it is free, it runs our free USGS maps, and therefore must be mentioned here. But, Adobe sucks, while being vital to use our USGS maps, just to be perfectly clear.
NO LINUX VERSION: A REAL PROBLEM

 

Windows & Linux

7zip.
Free zipper program to decompress your USGS Maps.

Google Earth.
Excellent tool to use with maps and trail guide. I have a test package of "pins" that fly the viewer from spot to spot along the TYT, displaying maps, images, and guide pages in the Goog Earth Presentation.

 

Windows

Video Pad.
Excellent free version of video editor. Convert VP Pro to Free version video.

 

Windows & Linux

VLC Media Player.
Top notch free video player.

 

Windows

CalcTape.
Wow. I do a lot of complex addition. Adding up the lengths of many-many tiny segments of trail, checking them twice, and making sure everything is nice.

That exercise rapidly exceeded the Windows Calc's nifty, but limited capabilities. Calc Tape gives a running total showing and allowing adjustment to the figures and the sum on the run. And, I started using it out of the box.

I should read manuals first...

 
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Discussion

 

There are many fine resources for backpackers on the internet, on the bookshelf, and in the heads and hearts of thousands of backpackers.

If you are aware of some good ones, let me know.

We'll add them to The Mix...

Submit Links/comments/questions to Alex,
hiker1@TahoetoWhitney.com

Also see the
Navigation Forum

Index

 

Backpacker Forums

Have a though or comment about Sierra Nevada backpacking Skies to relate?

Post it on
TahoetoWhitney.Org

Know any good Astronomy links you want to tell us about? If it is about a Backpacking Topic, check the Backpacking Topics Forums to see if your topic fits into any of the existing topics on the Forum.

For Astronomical Information see:

Astronomical Navigation References
Basics of Time and Space
Astronomical References
Star Charts

Members can post up new forum topics, and post up images and maps in their posts. Unknown hikers are limited to text comments.

Become a Member

Post up your perspective, the "natural" time and space tools and information you deploy to maintain your bearings, or your questions and/or comments in the Navigation Forum.

Navigation Forum
Trailhead
Contact
Alex Wierbinski

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Frosted Backpack

Backpacking Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney

Your guide to the High Sierra Crest, including the Tahoe to Yosemite, Pacific Crest, and John Muir Trails

Bear at Silver King Creek, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness
© Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Crown Jewel of the Pacific Crest Trail