The next morning we head out for what will turn out to be a very long day. First let me say that despite the fact that regular readers of this website routinely think we go to places we've already hiked every year - which just floors me - and NO WE DON'T. A good 95% of the trips we take are to new places we've never set foot in, never seen - ever. What possible reason would we keep going to the same place and how on earth could you come to that conclusion reading this decades long adventures page? You dorks know who you are.

What does this mean? It means, other than studying the topographic maps and being super familiar with the conditions in the sierras, we haven't got a clue what exactly we will run into. Whether it is washed out trails, huge bogs, fourteen foot tall fictional bears where I have to pose on my knees to make the tree claw marks look tall to make fun of the clueless, cows, coyotes, mountain lions, or dried up water sources, the adventure part is not knowing. The fun of backpacking is problem solving your way through the forest for a week. Traveling from one predictable bed and breakfast to another is for the readers of this site, not the author!

That said, our original plan was to climb out of this valley and camp at around 8600ft near Highland Lakes. Highland Lakes are unfortunately (for us) dirt road accessible. So I knew even this late in the season there would be a few folks in the area. With a significant amount of climbing ahead, I planned to possibly pass the Lakes so we didn't have to camp near any human infestations. However, I didn't want to go too far past as we were already expecting a long day.