OK..WHERE R ALL THE NO. CA. HIKER'S??

[halfassedjediknight]

i live in southern ca but i wish i lived north. its way prettier up there.

[yoda]

ill be hiking in northern cal in about a month(a little under).....any advice?

[Fengzi]

Hey Mamapuff, what do you consider Norther Cal? I'm in the SF Bay area and we always considered this to be Northern Cal, but that's mainly because we don't want to be considered Southern Cal I'm sure folks up in Humbolt would disagree with our viewpoint though.

Anyhow, I love to hike and be outdoors. Over the years I've done a shitload of hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, etc. I even worked my way through college teaching rockclimbing and working in a backpacking/mountaineering store. There were a number of years, when I was younger, where I literally spent more nights in my sleeping bag than in my bed.

Unfortunately, with my current job and family I don't get out as much as I used to. Certainly not for the extended trips But I do try to get out locally as much as possible. I'm in the very southernmost end of the Silicon Valley and have hundreds of miles of hiking trails within a mile or so east, west, and south of my house. The pic is of me (and my little sweetie) hiking about a mile away from home.

Anyhow, if your ever down this way give me a shout. I'd love to go hiking with you. Or anyone on from this site.

[yoda]

hey, im going to be camping in norther cal in a little under a month. dont remember which part, but its wilderness. i got new hiking boots which I've started to break in, and a steel frame backpack. i've been on the east coast for practically my entire life, so the higher elevation(11,000 ft high is what we'll be at). should i get a newer backpack or will i be fine with what i have.

[Fengzi]

11,000 ft?? Hmmm..Most likely you'll be somewhere in the Sierras so you're in for a treat. Simply incredible country. You'll definitely feel the elevation the first day or two but you'll soon adjust. Just plan accordingly and don't plan on accomplishing too much the first day or so. I always used to laugh at the folks who go up planning on hiking 10-15 miles, with a couple thousand feet of elevation gain, the first day and then only make it a few miles.

As for your backpack, it all depends on what you'll be doing. Are you just doing day hikes from a basecamp? Are you going to be sticking to the trails and not going off trail? If you're actually backpacking, moving to a different location every day, is your current pack large enough? Remember, it's going to be a lot colder at 11K feet than what you're used to. I've been snowed on in the Sierras in July. That means you'll need more space for warmer clothes, etc. In any case, as long as you can fit everything into your current pack, and you're not doing any extensive off-trail hiking or mountaineering, I would suspect it should be fine.

Try to find out exactly where you'll be going. I've been all over the Sierras and might be able to give you a tip or two.

[yoda]

trip has changed a bit, going to yosemeti

[ipodguy]

im probably gonna start hiking more next year
ill be in santa cruz and they have a lot more trails then san jose

[yoda]

im probably gonna start hiking more next year
ill be in santa cruz and they have a lot more trails then san jose

thats southern cal

hey fengzi, i was in the sierras, beautiful place