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Tag Archives: Hamilton Lakes

April 17, 2018

Photo Gallery: 15 Nicest Backcountry Campsites I’ve Hiked Past

In Backpacking, Family Adventures, Hiking, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged Arizona, Arrowhead Lake, backpacking The Narrows Zion, Bench Lakes, Boulder Chain Lakes, California, California backpacking, California national parks, Cirque of the Towers, Coyote Gulch, Glacier National Park, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River, Grand Teton National Park, Hamilton Lakes, Hance Creek Canyon, hiking The Narrows Zion, Idaho, Imogene Lake, Jacob Hamblin Arch, John Muir Trail, John Muir Wilderness, Lake Elizabeth, Lonesome Lake, Marie Lake, Montana, Phelps Basin, Sawtooth Mountains, Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth Wilderness, Sequoia National Park, Snowdrift Lake, Southern Utah hiking backpacking, Spider Gap, Tonto Trail, Tuolumne Meadows, Utah, Utah parks, Virgin River, Virgin River Narrows, Washington, Washington hiking backpacking, White Cloud Mountains, Wind River Range, Wyoming, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park, Zion’s Narrows   |   4 Comments

By Michael Lanza

It is one of those unfortunate inevitabilities of life, like death and taxes: Occasionally on backpacking trips you will hike past one of the most sublime patches of wilderness real estate you have ever laid eyes on, a spot so idyllic you can already see your tent pitched there and you standing outside it, warm mug in your hands, watching a glorious sunset. But it’s early and your plan entails hiking farther before you stop for the day—not camping there. Or you don’t have a permit for that site. Or even worse, you are looking for a campsite, but someone else has already occupied this little corner of Heaven. Continue reading →

July 12, 2016

Ask Me: Backpacking in Sequoia National Park

In Ask Me, Backpacking, Family Adventures, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged California, California backpacking, California national parks, Cliff Creek, Columbine Lake, family backpacking, Giant Forest, Great Western Divide, Hamilton Lakes, High Sierra, Kaweah Gap, Little Five Lakes, Lost Canyon, Middle Fork Kaweah River, Mineral King, Monarch Lakes, Precipice Lake, Redwood Meadow Grove, Sawtooth Pass, Sawtooth Trailhead, Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks, Sequoia National Park, Sierra Nevada   |   Leave a comment

Hello Michael.

While researching for a summer backpacking trip with my wife, I came across your excellent website for the first time. Thank you for setting such a high bar in quality images and narrative. My daughter is a writer and would appreciate your style. Two questions about your article on the 6-day, 38-mile Sequoia National Park loop: If you were hiking that loop without your children, would you have still been content with the daily mileage, or would you have done something different? (We are physically fit and 60, so we do have limitations.) Secondly, you mention the mosquito population. Our trip would have to be in that mid-to-late July timeframe. Do you know if most hikers experience such a thickness of mosquitos that the experience is negatively affected to a great extent? Continue reading →

August 27, 2014

Heavy Lifting: Backpacking Sequoia National Park

In Backpacking, Family Adventures, National Park Adventures   |   Tagged Bearpaw Meadow, Big Five Lakes, California, California backpacking, California national parks, Cliff Creek, Columbine Lake, family backpacking, Giant Forest, Great Western Divide, Hamilton Lakes, High Sierra, High Sierra Trail, Kaweah Gap, Little Five Lakes, Lost Canyon, Middle Fork Kaweah River, Mineral King, Monarch Lakes, Precipice Lake, Redwood Meadow Grove, Sawtooth Pass, Sawtooth Trailhead, Sequoia & Kings Canyon national parks, Sequoia National Park, Sierra Nevada, Timber Gap   |   34 Comments

By Michael Lanza

I stare at the backpack on the ground in front of me. At 85 liters, with every milliliter of it stuffed with about 60 pounds of gear and food, it looks like something that should be lowered by a crane into a container ship rather than attached to a person’s back. If it had legs, teeth, and an appetite for meat, I wouldn’t stand a chance. Continue reading →