- Joined
- Aug 22, 2016
- Posts
- 90
Back in May we visited my wife's aunt and her family. Her youngest, Ben (25 years old), was in town and joined us for dinner. Ben was a high school football star, like his older brothers, but despite living in the Sierra foothills (Auburn, CA), has never really been outdoorsy. He's barely a snowboarder and has done some really moderate hikes with friends or dates.
We were talking about backpacking, backcountry skiing, and my father-in-law who, at 75, is still getting after 14'ers and continues to piece together sections of the Sierra High Route.
Ben said he would like to join me on a trip sometime. It felt conversational and usually I probably wouldn't act on it. When I mentioned it to my wife, she encouraged the idea. We both perceive Ben to be searching.
I didn't want to plan an overly simple trip. My goal was to find a route that challenged a strong athlete, had some adventure, wasn't too much to for him to handle, and was epic enough to cause him to go home and buy a backpack. Oh, and permits needed to be available.
I settled on a loop from Minaret Lake to Thousand Island Lake in Ansel Adams Wilderness near Mammoth. Ediza Lake to Thousand Island is popular with novice and experienced backpackers and adding the segment from Minaret Lake, past Cecile Lake, and descending down to Iceberg would add the challenge and adventure that would supercharge a first time out.
For my part, I've done the route a few times and carried my heavy D850 DSLR camera, multiple lenses, and tripod. This time, I went lightweight. All photos were shot on an Iphone. Some, with the standard camera app. Most were shot with the Lightroom photo app that allows me to shoot in RAW format on my smartphone.
Mostly in order, but not totally, here's Ben's first hiking trip...
Thanks for clicking...
We were talking about backpacking, backcountry skiing, and my father-in-law who, at 75, is still getting after 14'ers and continues to piece together sections of the Sierra High Route.
Ben said he would like to join me on a trip sometime. It felt conversational and usually I probably wouldn't act on it. When I mentioned it to my wife, she encouraged the idea. We both perceive Ben to be searching.
I didn't want to plan an overly simple trip. My goal was to find a route that challenged a strong athlete, had some adventure, wasn't too much to for him to handle, and was epic enough to cause him to go home and buy a backpack. Oh, and permits needed to be available.
I settled on a loop from Minaret Lake to Thousand Island Lake in Ansel Adams Wilderness near Mammoth. Ediza Lake to Thousand Island is popular with novice and experienced backpackers and adding the segment from Minaret Lake, past Cecile Lake, and descending down to Iceberg would add the challenge and adventure that would supercharge a first time out.
For my part, I've done the route a few times and carried my heavy D850 DSLR camera, multiple lenses, and tripod. This time, I went lightweight. All photos were shot on an Iphone. Some, with the standard camera app. Most were shot with the Lightroom photo app that allows me to shoot in RAW format on my smartphone.
Mostly in order, but not totally, here's Ben's first hiking trip...
Thanks for clicking...
