Photo: Linda Wall Women's Beginner Backpack, Ansel Adams Wilderness, California Highlights:
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Trip Number: 09109A Price: $515 Deposit: $100 Capacity: 13 Rating: L Leader:
The Trip  Photo: Linda Wall Just south of Yosemite, where lakes and streams are abundant and where the road is less traveled, we’ll learn and practice our wilderness skills. Short backpacking days leave lots of time for natural history study, day hikes, or relaxation. On many days, we will reach our campsite by noon and spend the afternoon hiking without a pack, botanizing, taking pictures, taking a dip in a cold mountain lake or stream, or just enjoying the view! The trip is suitable for beginners or experienced women who want to develop beginner skills associated with wilderness travel: reading topographic maps, planning trail and cross-country routes, picking campsites, operating and cooking on portable stoves, starting campfires, using tarps, and minimizing our impact on this fragile terrain. Everyone takes a turn with the cooking and camp set-up, hauling water, wood gathering, and planning the next day’s activities. Above all, we’ll have fun sharing this wilderness adventures with our new friends!
We will meet at the Granite Creek Campground on our first day, mid-day, near the Clover Meadow Ranger Station. Here we will get acquainted, have opportunity to perfect the fit of our packs with a short hike near the campground, practice putting up our tents, start to build our confidence in our skills so that we may fully enjoy our backpacking experience. That evening we will enjoy a potluck dinner in the campground. On the second day we will head north following the Isberg trail with plans to camp at Cora, Sadler, and Joe Crane Lakes with a lay over day at one of them in order to explore further without our packs. Our optional day hikes are off trail without our packs. Getting There Granite Creek Campground and Clover Meadow Station are a five to six hour drive from major Bay Area airports. The airport at Fresno, CA is about a two hour drive away.
 Photo: Linda Wall Our first meal together will be a potluck dinner in the campground on day one. More information will be provided on this later. The first meal provided is breakfast the following morning and the last meal will be lunch on the last day. The bulk of our meals will consist of high-carbohydrate cereals, pasta, crackers, and dried fruit, with cheese, nuts, chicken, fish and some all-vegetarian dishes adding small amounts of protein and fat. Easy recipes for soups and one-pot dinners allow even beginners to become four-star wilderness chefs. Vegetarians are welcome, but please notify the leaders well before the trip. Trail snacks will be provided.
This beginner backpack is rated Light (L), but participants should be physically fit. Elevations range from 7,000-10,000 feet and the total distance is about 30 miles, with one layover day. Though we won’t cover many miles, some of them will be scrambling over boulders, talus, and scree slopes. The travel itself will be as exciting as each day’s destination. As all backpack trips are strenuous, you owe it to yourself --not to mention the group -- to be in the best possible physical condition. Make sure your boots are well broken-in.
The Sierra Club provides food and cooking equipment, a first-aid kit, and iodine for water purification. A detailed list will be sent to registered participants. Bring only the absolute essentials and keep your pack as light as possible. A pair of good fitting Vibram-soled boots should be your first investment --buy them now and start wearing them. Most other pieces of equipment can be rented or borrowed. Temperatures range from the 80’s during the day to the 30’s at night. Your sleeping bag should keep you warm in freezing weather. For shelter, you will need either a tent or a tarp. Most women hike in shorts or long pants with zip off legs. Lightweight waterproof rainwear (coat/pants or poncho) is also essential for summer hiking in the Sierra.
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Conservation The Sierra Club’s history is steeped in efforts to preserve endangered habitat and wilderness. The club was instrumental in passing the Wilderness Act of 1964, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System, and affording the High Sierra the highest-level of protection possible. As Sierra Club members we have reason to be proud of this accomplishment when we hike through the region. The Sierra Club’s work on conservation issues continues to this day. While most of our outings in the Sierra Nevada visit places that have already been protected either as parks or as wilderness, lands surrounding them face threats on several fronts: Logging practices are still extremely disruptive, and logging roads leave scars that remain long after the forests recover. Cattle grazing at the edges of wilderness areas pose a direct threat to water quality and fish habitat. Recent efforts by local groups to “retire” grazing permits, which would allow watersheds to recover and rejuvenate themselves, are encountering opposition in the state legislature. The areas we pass through on our way to the high country face many of the same threats that prompted establishment of the parks and wilderness areas. While on this trip feel free to ask your leaders about any particular conversation issues that are relevant to this outing. The Sierra Club believes that its outing program provides a perfect opportunity for members to both enjoy the fruits of past conservation victories and learn about current concerns.
See the How to Apply for an Outing section for more details on registering for this trip and details about our Reservation and Cancellation Policy. The payment of a deposit does not confirm you as a member on the trip. Participants must be approved by the trip leader. After signing up for this trip, you will be sent a confirmation packet containing approval materials (Participant Approval Questionnaire, Medical Form, Liability Release Form). Each applicant (including those on the waitlist) must fill out these forms and promptly mail them to the trip leader. The leader will review the approval materials and notify you of your acceptance in a timely manner.
Leader: Linda Wall took her first backpack trip at age nine and developed a love for camping, hiking and photography as she traveled with her family. These wilderness adventures continued throughout her life on portions of the Appalachian Trail with college and local recreation groups, A.T. Clubs and Sierra Clubs locally and with Sierra Club National outings. She has backpacked portions of the Appalachian Trail, in the Brooks Range in Alaska, the Grand Canyon North and South rims, parks in Utah, Oregon, Washington and in four different wilderness areas of the Sierra Nevada. Linda is a nurse in the area of cardiology. In her life in Charleston by the sea, she enjoys kayaking, Gold’s Gym, joining in local hikes in the Southeast, and hiking with her two yellow labs. Assistant Leader:
E-mail: nancym@sbceo.org General Notes About Sierra Club Trips
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Nancy Mathison took her first wilderness trip in the Sierra Nevada in 1972, and she has returned every year since then to backpack and cross-country ski. She began participating in the Sierra Club National Outings program in 2001 to venture off the beaten path with other backpackers who share her love for adventure and the wild, pristine beauty of the Sierra. In her other life back down at sea level, Nancy is a professional clarinetist and teaches instrumental music in the public schools. She enjoys competitive ballroom dancing and joins other local Sierra Club members for weekly hikes in the mountains behind Santa Barbara.