heavy on maps, photos and detailed accounts.
The purpose of this thread is to help those of us who are considering trips to Sierra locations that we've never been to, with an empahsis on the some of the more remote and lesser-known areas (but including some popular ones as well), and preferring those with the most details, maps, photos and information in general that would assist people in whatever planning they might need to get done before going or even making the decision to go. I've collected a lot of these over the years, and thought that they might not just serve this purpose, but be interesting virtual travel guides as well. Some of these can be great sites for time-wasting, so be warned!
Please feel free to add whatever you think would add to the knowledge-base here. Please also include a brief description of the site if you list one/some.
1: http://calitrails.com/
As the owner himself describes it, "A trail guide for California with an emphasis on dog friendly locations." He stays out of the National Parks for the most part, but takes his beloved canine companion with everywhere he can. GREAT photos, a map with trail route on every report and very detailed. He's also quite philsophical at times, and views the wilderness and time spent in it in a way most people here would relate to immediately. This is the initial report of his that I stumbled upon, and I'm going to do it myself one day. Been eying Cloud Canyon for a long time: http://calitrails.com/2013/02/03/circle-of-solitude-8-days-solo-in-sequoia-kings-canyon-np/
One need not have a dog (or even like them) to like this site.
Trips to many other places as well, such as the mountains of S. California.
2: http://pantilat.wordpress.com/
Leor Pantilat is the owner/operator of this site, and as an ultra-marathoer, he goes goes DEEP into the Sierra, some of the most remote areas, at a pace where almost all of his trip reports are done in one day, starting before sunrise and ending well after sunset. Nevertheless, invaluable information about some of the more obscure places you might have heard of in the Sierra, and a lot about Yosemite. LOTS of photos, most of them unfortunaely with no description, but the most comprehensive collection of 'what you'll see if you go' that I've ever come across. Exhaustive and beautiful in every way.
3: http://ladyonarock.com/hikes-backpacks-climbs/
"life, hiking and outdoor adventure"
When not on a rock, this lady gets around. I mean REALLY gets around. Trip reports from all over, but a wonderful collection of Sierra trips, with a lot of quality photographs. She knows how to shoot, and makes all of the locations look very tempting, especially to those inclinded to lug a lot of photographic gear into the back country. Most trip reports have topos, listed at everytrail.com, like this one: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=775520
Really admirable how she's made travel and getting out there into a complete lifestyle.
4: http://kathywing.smugmug.com/CaliforniaHikesandScrambles/Sierra-Nevada-Hiking
Kathy Wing: is there anywhere in the Sierra she HASN'T been yet? Great selection of popular locations and huge amount of photos.
5: http://peaksforfreaks.blogspot.com/
More accounts of some of the more out there places, and I found them specifically looing for information on/about Lake Tulainyo, supposedly the higest lake in N. America, and oh-so-close to Mt. Whitney, but hardly ever visited. Find their account here: http://peaksforfreaks.blogspot.com/2013/06/thor-peak-mt-russell-mt-morgenson.html Not only did they hard-core it up the wall for the quickest route in, but they climbed every high point on the surround cirque! Fantastic photographs of seldom seen places. Not any real personal info to speak about them, but their reports make all of that irrelevant.
6: http://www.mudncrud.com/forums/index.php?board=2.0
This is the 'Everything Else' subsection of the 'climbing' section of a board dedicated, believe it or not, to the (now) Pinnacles National Monument. Chock ful of delicious, detailed and sometimes hairy trip reports from the back-of-beyond places like, in this case, a trip from the rarely visited Kaweah Basin OVER the Kaweahs and down into the Nine Lakes Basin. GREAT photographs, but also photos of exactly what you'd need to know before getting stuck up in some place like the Pyra Queen Col: http://www.mudncrud.com/forums/index.php?topic=1928.0
What's that? You've never heard of the Pyra Queen Col before? That's exactly the kind of infomation you can get there.
7: Bill Finch's site: http://sierrahiker.home.comcast.net/~sierrahiker/
Loads of information about the SEKI area, with a lot of funky photographs from the late film/early digital days, as his reports go way back. He's been everywhere, and has a topo map with his route highlighed for almost every report.
8: Lance Simm's site: http://www.lancesimms.com/Hikes/
Smaller, perhaps, in volume than some of the others, but it makes up for it in detail. I stumbled upon him looking for information about the Enchanged Gorge, and he didn't disappoint. Great maps and specific route information coupled with lots of photos: http://www.lancesimms.com/Hikes/EnchantedGorgeHikeGPS2.html His trip reports are also conveniently broken down on a day-by-day basis, which is helpful for structuring your own trip, based on your physical abilities and what you have planned to do in which areas.
More to follow.