Ali and I made it to Tehipite Valley on Memorial Day weekend. We ate, walked, saw a bear, nursed sore legs and tried to not touch our poison oak covered clothing.

It was excellent.

At fifteen miles, it was a surprisingly long day to reach the valley. At eight o’clock, after working our way down the sketchy switchbacks and thrashing to the camp spots, we were done.

It’s an amazing and legendary place. I’d wanted to return since I was thirteen. A nearly full moon spotlighted the totally full dome as we slept. Sometimes waking up in the middle of the night has it’s rewards. This was one of those times.

Long distance trails seems to pop up on my radar every few months. This week I learned about the “Coast to Crest Trail” in Northern California and Southern Oregon. It will go from Redwood National Park to Crater Lake National Park, using the PCT from Seiad Valley north. From a quick glance at their website, it looks like the trail is mostly based off of the historic Kelsey Pack Trail and the PCT. It was started with an MOU in 1992 and then stalled out. It seems like it might still have some level of official support.

Someone should email them and find out if it has been thru-ed, and if not, whether it can legally be hiked at this point. I think it can be. Then go hike it. Who wants a “first”? [EDIT: see Coniferman’s comment below. He’s done it :)]

Take a look at the other “Coast to Crest” trails that I know of: the Mokelumne Coast to Crest Trail and the Coast to Crest Trail in San Diego county.

Ali and I visited the mountains last weekend. While I don’t stop backpacking, it still felt like the “start” of the season.
We chose a classic early season trailhead. The rangers told us that the road was still blocked by downed trees. We found that someone had recently cut them enough to pass.

One set of footprints led the way. Everyone else stopped at Kibbie Lake. Relatively easy snow patches started about a mile before Styx Pass. We were glad that we pushed that far. The view of the snowbound high country and the roaring and empty forks of Cherry Creek were worth it.

Lightning and thunder came and stayed late into the night. We really felt like we had that corner of Emigrant and Yosemite to ourselves. The backcountry just feels wilder in the off season.