Hiking Plan
Segment to Segment
As we are sitting on the top of one pass, in this case Phipps Pass, I find it helpful to measure the distances and elevations to the next pass we have to cross. Our next pass to the South is Dicks Pass. These point to point evaluations of our High Point to High Point segments give valuable information about the nature of our upcoming hiking from low point to low points as well, which should give us some feedback as to how our experiences crossing it are affecting us and our evolving overall trip plan.
Hiking Plan
Big and Little Math
Questions
How far to the next highpoint? Of that distance how much is down? Up? What is our total elevation loss and gain? Where's the water, where's the views? How much Sun is remaining in the sky? How much gas in our tank?
In this case our next pass is Dicks Pass.
The most basic and important information for backpackers are the miles and elevations of this segment of the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail between Phipps Pass and Dicks Pass.
Let's do it.
It's 7.95 miles between Phipps and Dicks Passes.
We drop 880 feet over 3.44 miles from Phipps Pass to Middle Velma Lake.
Middle Velma Lake is the low point between the passes.
From Middle Velma Lake we climb 1430 feet over 4.51 miles to Dicks Pass.
Answers
7.95 total, 3.44 down, 4.51 up.
880 feet down and 1430 up.
TESTING THE HIKING PLAN
Now we have a clear picture of the physical nature of the upcoming features.
Now we can figure how long this upcoming segment of trail will likely take to hike.
This distance tells us we will be spending a little more than half our day hiking this
next segment of trail, if we are backpacking 15 miles a day.
Next is considering the locations of the upcoming streams, lakes, and premium views where we will take our series of breaks, our lunch breaks, and get water.
We can sketch out how well our "daily hiking plans" are working so far, and use these points of analysis and assessment to project how our plans will work out against how we will feel at the end of the day.
Contrasting these terrain, distance, and elevation observations against how we feel, how much energy we have, and finally, contrasted against the difficulties of our required miles for this day's hiking give us a very real assessment of our status.
The pertinent question is, "Are we moving towards our daily miles and our daily destination with strength? With weakness?" We need to know if we are getting stronger or weaker as each mile and each day passes.
All of these considerations determine if our daily goal is valid and if we can make our daily miles both today, tomorrow, and down the trail next week as we hike towards our goals.
These are also our final calculations determining exactly where we are going to camp tonight, and how we feel when we get there, which will affect the trajectory of each subsequent day of our trip.
We are thinking about how each step executing our daily hiking plan determines both the daily and overall validity of our plan. Projecting that plan on the upcoming terrain foretells how radically we are going to have to adjust our expenditure of energy to reach our daily and overall goals as our trip evolves.
On a clear day we can see the last steps of our trip from its first. We use this clarity to adjust the nature of each step we take down the trail to keep the to keep our steps clear of self-created obstacles.
Self-destruction hiking down the trail is the ultimate self-created obstacle.
Sitting at Phipps Pass at noon means that we are thinking of camping at Fontanillis or Dicks Lake as the day draws to a close.
I like to divide up the trail like this, by miles and elevations between mountain passes when I plan a trip. We keep our hiking plan tuned to the nature of the reality on the ground by updating it as we execute it.
This feedback loop keeps tabs on our daily internal breakdown and recovery against external progress, which helps set the optimal pace, and allows us to adjust hiking and camping plans down the trail to suite the situations we encounter.
THE INTERNAL YARDSTICK
Our information about our daily progress is contrasted against how we feel physically. Are we falling apart physically as we make our daily miles? Are we getting stronger? Are we feeling stronger or weaker each day after doing our daily miles? Or just hanging in there?
Our daily mileage trends must be compared with how our physical condition is trending. This indicates if disaster or delight is approaching us further down the trail, and help us properly adjust our hiking plans to mitigate weaknesses and enhance strengths. Plan our days off for optimal recovery to gain strength.
Would a half-day off at a beautiful high elevation lake allow our altitude acclimation to "catch up," not to mention pushing down rising fatigue? A half-day of fishing may very well be the solution, the "fix" for a ratty fatigue lurking at the fringes of our hike.
If we start falling behind plan we will have to start extending our hiking days by starting earlier in the day or hiking later into the day, or both. This is no problem. I generally don't walk from Dawn to Dusk until I've been on the trail a few days, so I always anticipate doing more daily miles as the trip progresses.
And, less miles at the beginning of the trip.
If we start running ahead of schedule or our "battery" starts running down excessively, it may be wise to weave a half-day or full day off into our hiking plan.
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