LightBackpacking.com

Sometimes a picture IS worth 10,000 words … Be light. Be safe. be one with the pack.

The Eastern Sierra with all its wonderful lakes and incredible trails is my favorite. At Thousands Island Lake, about half way between Agnew Meadow and Tuolumne Meadow, the Pacific Crest and John Muir Trails cross. If you have time for one more ultralight backpack this year, this should be it. At 10,000 feet, when you [...]

Yesterday, I took some time off my regular job and drove 35 miles south with a friend along the Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) in Northern California to a new 2,000-acre preserve. Named after the adjoining dairy land, Stornetta Ranch is on lighthouse road, about half way between Highway 1 and the Point Arena Lighthouse. [...]

Here is Tom Stientra’s final story on his 70-mile trek through Sequoia National Park, across the Sierra. (08-12) 04:00 PDT Mineral King, Sequoia National Park — – From a notch in the rim of the Great Western Divide, you can scan east to the horizon and take in distant 14,497-foot Mount Whitney and the contiguous [...]

The Stienstra trek continues … (08-11) 04:00 PDT Forester Lake, Sequoia National Park – We stood at the foot of Rattlesnake Canyon and gazed up toward the Great Western Divide and the climb that faced us: 12 miles of up with a gain of 5,130 feet. “My body just said to me, ‘You must be [...]

This is a great trek across the Sierra, through the Kern Canyon, and Stienstra’s story an inspiration to backpackers. (08-10) 04:00 PDT Rattlesnake Canyon, Sequoia National Park — The rattle sounded like shaking maracas. But this was not a percussionist. This was a rattlesnake, about 4 feet long, coiled and poised on the side of [...]

Tom Stientra’s incredible journey continues … a trek of a lifetime. (08-09) 04:00 PDT Aspen Camp, Kern Canyon — – As morning broke, I stuck my head out of my “bivy” and had the surreal vision that I was camped at the base of Yosemite Valley in the early 1800s. On each side of the [...]

(08-08) 04:00 PDT Jeffrey Grove, Kern Canyon — From our perch on a boulder above the river, you could see three dark silhouettes in the pool below. “They can’t be fish,” said my brother, Rambob, “because they’re too big.” The morning light poured down over the Great Western Divide and to the floor of the [...]

(08-07) 04:00 PDT Junction Meadow, Kern River Canyon — It was a crisp 38 degrees at dawn. I filled my water bottle at Whitney Creek, and then heard a buzz. I turned to my left and looked up, and a hummingbird was eyeing me from three feet. It hovered, facing me, as if asking, “What [...]

Outdoor writer Tom Stienstra’s 70-mile trek across the Sierra in Sequoia National Park is truly inspirational. Here is the beginning of part 2 of his series: (08-06) 04:00 PDT Crabtree Meadow, Mount Whitney Wilderness — – Rising trout swirled on the surface of a small, pristine lake. The morning was so quiet that you could [...]