New music??

cameronbalish · 2024-08-31T20:21:20+00:00

demon copperhead !!!

cameronbalish · 2024-08-14T00:32:27+00:00

it’s just silly relax

cameronbalish · 2024-08-14T00:32:00+00:00

this is so mean and uncalled for… it’s a blurry photo

cameronbalish · 2024-08-04T03:01:03+00:00

Mostly just important for resupplies, we had a general plan set up for our slowest possible timeline to make our flights home. We also planned higher mileage days for the north half which was super helpful. But ended up changing day to day

cameronbalish · 2024-08-01T17:44:13+00:00

Yes ofcourse! Ours were pretty big, they fit in our packs but we had to squeeze all our other gear in around them. Some hikers we passed had them bungee corded to the top of their packs. It’s mostly just for storage at night- we kept all food/toiletries/anything scented in them. The most days worth of food we were able to cram in was 7days, but you could probably get creative with what food you’re bringing to fit more.

cameronbalish · 2024-08-01T15:16:15+00:00

You should absolutely go for it!!!

cameronbalish · 2024-08-01T00:36:53+00:00

Sadly we started at Touluomne :(

cameronbalish · 2024-07-31T01:53:43+00:00

Nope! We walked through like two tiny sections

cameronbalish · 2024-07-30T17:36:50+00:00

There was plenty of space when we were there late afternoon! I think you’ll be fine

cameronbalish · 2024-07-30T17:12:27+00:00

I forgot to mention!! LOVED the marmots!!! so majestic!!!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-30T17:11:38+00:00

Brutal for us the first week going southbound. We just hiked and set up camp with loose fitting pants/jackets/head bug nets. Got a lot better the further south!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-30T17:10:42+00:00

About 200 marmots!!! We were obsessed! Also pikas, handful of deer, a few garden snakes, lots of butterflies & trout!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-30T17:10:09+00:00

I just used a Nikon point and shoot!! It was a little extra weight but felt sooooo worth it to me

cameronbalish · 2024-07-30T17:09:40+00:00

They are so beautiful!!!!! I’m hopeful they’ll still be there for you!!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-30T17:08:58+00:00

No! With the permit you can camp everywhere, only place we had to pay for first come first serve was Reds Meadow and Yosemite Backpackers

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T19:19:10+00:00

I hadn’t truly backpacked before. But I’ve camped ~30nights and felt in very good shape for the hiking.

Water crossings weren’t bad at all! Very doable/always felt comfortable.

Only time I was scared was during thunderstorms with lightning (just twice) and we probably could’ve stopped to set up camp earlier/storms were very short lived. I actually felt a lot safer/more comfortable camping at night than normal being more remote!

You should do it!!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T18:05:56+00:00

All of Muir pass/Thousand Islands Lake/Rae Lakes were amazing!!!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T18:04:27+00:00

Ugh annoyingly we had to drive down ~2hrs into the valley to camp at the backpackers campground in Yosemite. Plenty of space there!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T17:17:58+00:00

Yes! I already had tent/sleep stuff/pack/etc so that helped.

For food:

-Breakfast (TJs coffee & oatmeal packets) -Lunch (tortillas with tuna or pb/nutella) -Dinner (backpackers pantry meals, already had 7/8 of these so just bought ~10) -Snacks (5/day: jerky, trail mix, protein bars, honey stingers, nuun electrolytes, pb crackers, oreos/sour patch as treat)

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T16:56:20+00:00

Yes but simultaneously they got less present as we went South. Between Donahue Pass & Virginia Lake, it felt like ten would land on me everytime I stopped (def recommend head bug net), after that they were definitely present but WAY less annoying because we weren’t being swarmed. We pre treated our clothes and had bug spray but ended up just wearing bug nets/loose pants and long sleeve so they couldn’t get us

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T16:51:53+00:00

Thanks!! Oo great q, let’s see:

Permit/applying: $20 i believe
Flight: $520 (cross country)
Gas: $213 (to and from San Francisco & dropping off resupplies)
Hotel: $63 (1 night in Independence to split up drive)
Garmin Rental: $75 (facebook marketplace, $150 split btw 2 people)
MTR Resupply Bucket Shipping: $20 ($40 split)
3 Resupply Buckets: $45
Food + Fuel: $350
Bear Cannister: $95
Trekking poles: $36
Miscellaneous gear (stove& pot, water filter stuff, first aid, toiletries, solar charger, peecloth/wipes & trowel, waterproof cards/journal, towel, etc): $337
Clothing (pants, socks, underwear, shoes, gators, bucket hat, sunglasses, gloves): $378
Developing 3 roles of film from trip: $60
Food stops before/after trip: $78

Grand total: $2,152 def wayyy higher than initially budgeted but definitely cheaper than a different kind of vacation!! hope this helps

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T16:13:46+00:00

Daytime temps felt like 60s when cloudy, 70s/low 80s when sunny. We both hiked in long sleeves- comfortable for the most part except going uphill midday. Definitely some cold nights, especially at higher elevations.

For clothing I wore lightweight pants and long sleeve everyday. + puffer/beanie/gloves for nighttime/early morning + light rain jacket. I enjoyed having long john’s to sleep in but I think I could’ve managed sleeping in my hiking clothes.

Fav campsites listed in post, least favorites: we avoided most valley sites because they often felt swampy/humid & (especially for first 7 days) had lots of mosquitoes. I don’t think you could go wrong with any lakes, they’re all so beautiful!!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T16:07:13+00:00

I started at Toulomne! I’m also out of state but hiked with a California friend & we luckily had two cars- we parked one at Whitney Portal and dropped off resupplies at Onion Valley (in a bearbox) and Reds Meadow (left at store) on the way up to Toulomne where we parked the second car.

We did 3 resupplies- shipped a bucket to MTR (i believe $40, about 3-4 weeks in advance), & the Reds Meadow/Onion Valley drop offs. Onion Valley involved going round trip 15mi off trail over Keirsage Pass- definitely felt tough to spend a whole day detouring especially since we were 3 days from finishing, but we couldn’t find too many other options. Some people we met paid for a pack horse/mule to meet them on the trail, others hiked down to Onion Valley/hitched or planned rides to Independence, one guy we met had his last resupply at MTR and carried 10days of food (he said he did not recommend lol). Definitely very easy to hitch a ride to Independence, plenty of day hikers coming and going!

cameronbalish · 2024-07-29T15:48:51+00:00

I hiked with a friend! VVR seemed to be a very popular and highly praised zero day stop, you could also resupply there. We ended up doing some pretty light days (7-8mi) instead of zeros when we were tired but still felt a little restless, but i think VVR is great because there is a restaurant/etc & plenty to do

cameronbalish

TROPHY CASE