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
Looking back at Leavitt Peak during a Winter Circle to Sonora Pass, over Leavitt, then back down to Highway 395.

 

High Sierra
Backpacking

Main
Trail Guide
TRAILHEAD

High Sierra
MAGAZINE

ALL BLOG

 

Trail Guide

Guide Index

Maps Index

Miles-Eleva

Permits

Resupply

 
Forums

All Blog

Trails Forum

Topics Forum

 

Sierra
Weather

ALL
High Sierra Weather

Weather
Notes

Northern
Sierra Weather

Central
Sierra Weather

Southern
Sierra Weather

 

Gear

Gear List

Gettin Started

Layering

Discussion

Testing yourself and gear

Member
Favorite Gear

Gear Reviews

 

top of page

 

Backpacking
Off the Trail Skills

 

Languages

Translate

 

Trail Skills

The trail

Navigation

Camp skills

Paper Maps

Off the trail

Scrambling

 

Mountain
Safety

Safety Topics

Safety
Incidents

Mosquito Info

Skeeter News

 

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

 

Books

 

Trail Stories

 

Photo
Catagories

 

Social

Trail Culture

 

Groups

 

Terms and Conditions of Use

 

top of page

 

HOME PAGE GEAR LIST Navigation Trail Skills Mountain Safety Planning Wilderness
Permits
Food News

 

THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION: STAY TUNED FOR MUCH MORE!

COME ON BACK NOW, 'YA HEAR?

 

Developing
Cross Country Skills and Routes

The middle stage of developing your backpacking skills, between Summer time backpacker and Winter backpacker, involves developing your off-trail skills. Once you begin to travel and explore safely off the trails during Summer time, you are laying the foundation for traveling along your own self-selected and identified trail routes during Summer and Winter time.

This happens with the application of time, experience, observation, analysis, and adjustments.

see
NAVIGATION

SCRAMBLING

Your first task, once you begin to backpack the long trails, is to to begin scrambling. Each section of the trail between resupply points is as full of scrambling opportunities as your eyes, imagination, and supplies allow. Bring an extra day's food to establish a campsite next to your proposed scramble. Kick back, rest, recover, and read your maps. The next day is your "off" day to accomplish your scramble. It could be a nearby peak, a hanging valley full of lakes, or just getting up to that gap in the Sierra Crest Line to see what's on the other side.

As opposed to scrambling, where you will explore the surrounding mountains and terrain from an established campsite, Off the Trail Backpacking involves creating your own route through the terrain as a stand alone trip or as a section of a longer backpacking trip.

This can involve following an unmaintained trail across rough terrain, following one of the many informal routes across the Sierra backcountry, or exploring and finally crafting your own routes across the Sierra.

Getting Started

This level of backpacking requires that you build "boots on the ground" familiarity with the local terrain and trails. Walk the trails through and around all points of your proposed off-trail excursion.

For instance, Let's examine one of my upcoming scrambles. if you are planning to hike cross country Goddard Canyon through the Ionian Basin to Lake Wanda or the Black Giant near Muir Pass, rather than hiking through Evolution Meadow and Basin to Muir Pass on the Standard John Muir Trail route, I strongly suggest that you become familiar with the terrain Northwest of Muir Pass, the terrain near the headwaters of the San Joaquin leading into Goddard Canyon, and the standard route of the John Muir Trail / Pacific Crest Trail to the East of your scrambling route.

This will give you experience and perspective on your route, and give you some degree of familiarity with the terrain at the beginning and end of the cross country route.

Don't just "jump in" to a difficult off trail route without building your knowledge and experience as if you are putting together a puzzle of natural beauty, piece by piece. The final piece of this puzzle will be actually doing the route.

 

THIS PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION: STAY TUNED FOR MUCH MORE!

COME ON BACK NOW, 'YA HEAR?

 

Next page:

Last page:                                                                                                                      Next page:

 

Backpacker Forums

Have a great Sierra Nevada route or trip to relate?

Post it on
TahoetoWhitney.Org

Experiences, comments, or pictures about this Section: Let it Rip HERE:
Backpacking Skills Forums / Navigation Forum

 

Trailhead
Contact
Alex Wierbinski

top of page

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

Snug tent after Snow Storm
© Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney: Crown Jewel of the Pacific Crest Trail