Re: Happy Xmas from Snow Creek

I'm a dozen yards from Point 6700,
4 bars on my cellphone.

I always wanted to camp up here.
Nice spot.

Happy Christmas.

What a great place to spend Christmas. Happy Christmas to you too.

This is where I was typing:



An awesome little trip. I'll fill it in with a few more details and photos.

Did you manage to stay warm enough?

Temperatures were quite pleasant - too pleasant, really. Days were warm and sunny. Nights barely dipped below freezing, a good ten degrees higher than when I was at Lake Vernon two weeks ago and my water and contact lenses froze solid. Oops.

I think it's actually somewhat warmer when you climb a couple thousand feet out of the Valley, particularly on the sunny sides of the canyons. All the cold air sinks to the floor, it's like an ice box down there.

I don't care much for the cold, but I have my tricks to stay warm, previously mentioned, MontBell thermawrap, Zippo handwarmers, etc.

Quote
QITNL
All the cold air sinks to the floor, it's like an ice box down there.

Indeed! The coldest I saw this weekend was 17 °F while driving by Crawley Lake. Much warmer at Tioga Pass.

My experience following Thanksgiving was similar with respect to temperatures...even a few _hundred_ feet off the Valley warmed things up. But the nighttime wind...hopefully you didn't have that.

That alpenglow off of Clouds Rest is nice.

Merry Xmas and New Year 2 ewe two.

w/r to temps... Yabba dabba doo. You found out why I try to not sleep in any valley...
be it Yosemite, Little, or other. Cold air drops down... big time
It was 22 degrees down at Poopenaut a few weeks ago.
(when you have a -10 degree bag though...not a big deal)

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Quote
chick-on
You found out why I try to not sleep in any valley ... Cold air drops down ... when you have a -10 degree bag though...not a big deal ...

I love backpacking because I usually learn something practical about nature, like that.

Another thing I learned was sleeping bag ratings. My stupid sleeping bag says "Marmot Helium +15F" on it, so I figured 20F would be ok. Nope. Turns out it's been EN rated for 'woman's comfort' at 28 degrees F. I'm not sure why a woman would be using a man's extra-long sleeping bag, but I sure wouldn't have minded having one with me when it got to 22 degrees and I was shivering!

Here are some of my photos from last weekend.
If nothing else, they'll give you an idea of how frighteningly dry it is in the high country.

Watkins Pinnacles:


Tenaya Canyon, Pywiack Cascade:


Natural Arch on Indian Ridge:


Mt Hoffmann:


Sentinel Dome, Basket Dome at sunset:


Half Dome:


I divided my shots into two groups, a lot more here:
Mt Watkins
Indian Rock
(I'm still editing and my server may be acting a little funny)

That sunset shot of sentinel/basket is spectacular. Thanks for sharing!

Merry Christmas QITNL, it was a pleasure to meet you at the top of Snow Creek. And funny how we had the exact same tents. Here is my pic from earlier in the afternoon on Christmas Eve:

Hey - sorry to be a little slow to reply - nice to meet you, too! I had just donned my headlight - your tent totally caught me off guard - but why was my bear can blinking? That turned out to be your little campfire, of course.

I try not to get in the face of fellow solo hikers, so sorry if I dashed off quick. It was nice to welcome a fellow wanderer Happy Christmas. As far as a home for the holidays goes, you have very good taste.

I had a feeling I might bump into you on this forum or another. Maybe I'll see you next Xmas.

(And I promise to be back soon with a few more pix)

What a beautiful spot, right in front of Watkins. Knew I should have taken advantage of the nice winter weather. Look at the sun hitting Clouds Rest.

I'm jealous.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2011 01:40AM by Ohnivy-Drak.

That's a great photo. Thanks for posting it.

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Thanks for the pics. I'm definitely jealous!

Here's the scary thing: there's no reason to be jealous. The backcountry is easily accessible right now. It's supposed to be winter, but it's a desert. Head up there.

Maybe a little chilly, but not too bad. If we don't get a couple of good dumps over the next couple of months, we'll be drinking from ponds next summer. On the bright side, less skeeters.

I'm also a big Bill King fan, gosh, I loved him.

QITNL,

First of all I am very impressed and surprised that you figured out who my avatar is! Well done! Its a travesty beyond words that he didn't get the Ford C Frick award this year, and its a slap in the face to all of broadcasting that Tim "I have nothing interesting to offer" McCarver was awarded it. Its always nice to run into another Bill King fan.

Believe me, its killing me how there is a lack of snow in the backcountry right now. I meant that I am jealous because I am working straight through until mid-March this year, so I have a long time to wait until I can get into the backcountry again. Even if there was snow, my snowshoes and my pack are still calling me...its gonna be a long wait until mid-March...

I do agree about the water situation though. Its gonna be rough come August if we don't start getting some snow, although on the flip side we will be able to get to a lot higher country earlier...all that being said, I'd still like to see a lot of snow come down.