Sierra Club Outings | Granite Creek Lakes Backpack, Ansel Adams Wilderness

Photo: Lynda Witzel

Highlights:

Explore, fish and swim in mountain creeks and lakes
Hike or relax on a layover day
Enjoy spectacular Sierra views

Includes:

Off-trail hiking to secluded lakes
Tasty, nutritious meals
Group cooking gear and bear canisters

The Granite Creek Lakes Basin shares the dramatic mountain scenery of famous Yosemite National Park, immediately to the north. Granite rimmed lakes and streams sparkle in this alpine wonderland. Granite basins open to wide views of Mt. Ritter, Mt. Banner and the Minarets. Historic trails and peaceful off-trail rambling take us to our camps. Short hiking days allow time for fishing, photography, relaxing, swimming, and basking after a dip on glacier smoothed granite slabs. Fit beginners are welcome.

Day 1: We will meet at a campground near our trailhead, enjoy a hearty dinner, check gear, and get acquainted.

Day 2: We will drive a short distance to our trailhead and begin hiking. This will be our most strenuous day as we'll gain about 1,200 feet in elevation over four and a half miles to reach our first backcountry lakeside camp.

Day 3: This will be a short hiking day. We should arrive at our lakeside camp by early afternoon, giving us an opportunity to hike to nearby Chittenden Lake for fishing, swimming, and photography.

Day 4: We'll hike off-trail to Anne Lake, with opportunities for map and compass practice.

Day 5: We will continue our cross-country hike up Slab Creek Basin to camp at Slab Lake. A short afternoon hike to Walton and Frying Pan Lakes, perched on a high granite bench, gives us wonderful views to the Ritter Range in the east.

Day 6: We will indulge in a layover day. Participants can choose to relax at Slab Lake, or to hike cross-country to Post Peak Pass to see Porphyry Lake and Yosemite National Park from its southern border.

Days 7-8: We will wind our way south back to our trailhead via Staniford Lake arriving at our cars in early afternoon.

The route and itinerary are subject to change. Snow conditions, runoff, progress of the group, camp site availability, and other factors may require the leaders to make adjustments. Participants must be flexible and keep a sense of humor.

The closest airport is Fresno Yosemite International Airport located in Fresno, California; about a two and a half hour drive from the campground where we will meet. Bay Area airports are about a five to six hour drive away from our meeting point. Maps and specific directions as well as a roster of trip participants will be sent out well in advance of the trip to assist those who wish to share rides and/or rental cars.

Leaders will secure group campsites for our first night at the campground. All meals will be provided, from dinner our first evening in camp through lunch on the final day. Our menus include delicious foods that are lightweight, simple to prepare, and offer variety and quantity. A sample dinner menu might include soup, pasta with pesto sauce and pine nuts, and a sweet treat dessert. Several meals will include chicken or fish. We will also provide a snack bag -- energy bars, salted nuts and raisins, and hard candies -- for each participant. Trip members take turns serving on cook crews and performing various camp chores. The leaders will operate the stoves and assist, as needed, in meal preparation.

Although the trip is rated L/M overall, backpacking is by nature a strenuous activity, and some days may be quite taxing. You will carry a pack with 40 to 45 pounds of gear at the start and you will be hiking rugged trails at high altitude over steep terrain, sometimes off trail. The overall distance is about 30 miles, and elevations range from 7,000 to 10,500 feet above sea level. Daily distances range from 3 to 6 miles with one layover day for relaxation or hiking and exploration. The maximum elevation gain in one day is about 1,200 feet.

The best way to get in condition for the trip is to hike regularly and to carry a backpack with increasingly heavy loads on non-flat terrain. Begin with 20 or 25 pounds of whatever you find that's relatively bulky, load it into your backpack, and walk up and down some good-sized hills (or even the stairs of some tall office building). Do this once or twice a week for a few months prior to the trip, working up to 35 or 40 pounds during the last month. And make sure to wear the boots you'll be wearing on the trip, so you won't get blisters. You owe it to yourself and the group to be in shape.

The Sierra Club will provide the group equipment, including bear-proof food canisters, pots, cooking utensils, stoves, fuel, first-aid kit, repair kit, trowels for burying waste, Ziploc-type bags for packing out toilet paper, and iodine for purifying water. Although we try to keep the commissary weight down, each participant's share of the group equipment and food will be about 12-15 pounds at the start of the trip.

As soon as you are approved for this trip, the leaders will send you a detailed list of personal equipment to bring. You will want to bring all the items on the list and nothing more (well, maybe one lightweight "luxury" item). It's critical to limit your personal gear to 25 pounds (with pack) to maximize your enjoyment of the trip and to assure that you can keep up with the group.

For starters, we'll mention the two most important items you will need -- boots and backpack. Make sure your boots are sturdy (the sturdiest are made of leather), have lug soles, cover your ankles, and are well broken-in but not worn out. Blisters are the most common problem experienced by backpackers. As for the backpack, make sure that it fits you well, spreads the load evenly between your shoulders and hips, and has enough capacity for all of your personal equipment plus a bear canister (a cylinder 12 inches long and eight inches in diameter) as well as a few pieces of group gear. We have found that the minimum pack size that will accommodate all the gear is at least 4200 cu. in.; a slightly larger size is advised.

The Sierra Club was instrumental in passing the Wilderness Act of 1964, which established the National Wilderness Preservation System and afforded the highest level of protection to lands designated as wilderness. This act defines wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor." Initially the National Wilderness Preservation System protected nine million acres of national forest lands. Today some 106 million acres are encompassed by the system, including the Ansel Adams Wilderness, where we will be visitors for most of our eight-day trip. As Sierra Club members, we have reason to be proud of the Club's role in establishing wilderness protection for this region.

The Club's work on conservation issues continues to this day. While most of our outings in the Sierra Nevada, including this trip, visit places that have already been protected, either as parks or as wilderness, the lands surrounding them face threats on several fronts, including logging and cattle grazing.

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.

Lynda Witzel has been an avid backpacker for over thirteen years. �A short list of areas explored includes the Yosemite high country, the Ansel Adams Wilderness, the Grand Canyon, the Marble Mountain Wilderness and Kings Canyon. Lynda is trained in CPR and wilderness first aid. �When not in the wilderness, she hikes the coastal hills, and enjoys snowshoeing and skiing.

E-mail: itswitz@earthlink.net

Alice Kulka has led and assisted on Sierra Club backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for more than 10 years. She has volunteered for the Natural Sciences Gallery of the Oakland Museum of California, and enjoys bringing new visitors to California's wild places.