All my life I’ve never stopped to worry ’bout a thing. Open up and shout it out and never try to sing. Wonderin’ if I’ve done it wrong. Will this depression last for long? Won’t you tell me. -Van Halen
Sitting in the dining room in early February, , looking out the window at rain and stormy weather means something entirely different to me. It means snow in the sierra’s. Yes, we need snow. I understand that, but there’s a part of me that worries that the start of the sierra backpacking gets pushed back farther with each late winter, early spring snow storm. The drive from my house to the eastern sierra’s in the winter is a long and arduous drive, down to Bakersfield, thru Tehachapi, to California City, and then back north again to Olancha, Lone Pine, etc… So I’m forced to long for the mountains, plan future trips, and make sure I’m getting stronger when the portal opens up, and I can put trail runners to the trail.
I love CalTopo. I’ve tried Gaia. I’ve tried Alltrails. In my opinion, nothing beats CalTopo. I do pay for the Pro version. It’s well worth the investment. Especially late spring, when I’m watching the daily satelite imagery to mark the progress of the receding snow line. CalTopo allows me the opportunity to study maps, plan routes, and inspire next seasons laundry list of trips. I usually will have 10-20 trips on there, ranging from a quick overnite to a week long trip. I also realize a lot of these trips won’t happen, because when I’m in the moment, they sound great, but when it comes time to pull a permit, another trip more fresh on my mind becomes the priority.
After college football season is over, I cancel my cable subscription and watch a lot of Youtube hiking videos. My list of subscribed channels is long, and I would be remiss if I did not mention Dan Stenziano, Norwegian Explorers Sierra trips, Harmen Hoek’s Yosemite and JMT trip, and Hurlgoat Hiker’s High Sierra Trail series, however, for my money, Joey Coconato’s MyOwnFrontier page and John Amorosano’s pages are the best motivation. Joey took all of his video’s off of youtube, but he’s starting to slowly put them back on. John’s video’s are second to none, and it’s clear his love for the sierra’s rivals mine. I recently came across BasinandRange’s page and fell in love with her video’s. She does some solo trips and explores some amazing locations, including the Ionian Basin, a place I’ve longed to explore. Her video’s are silent, and if you like Harmen Hoak, you will love BasinandRange. I know i’m hooked when I pull out one of my National Geographic maps and follow their progress on my map, making notes of area’s I want to explore.
During the offseason, I have retooled my conditioning to include an old love, weight lifting. The past few years I’ve been addicted to my Peloton, and between the 45-60 minute rides, coupled with my work schedule, I was only riding my bike. Weight lifting and strength training went by the wayside, and although I was in excellent cycling shape, my hiking suffered a bit. About 6 months ago I got back to lifting at Golds Gym and have been dedicated to it. When my lifting is done, I hit the treadmill and walk at speed and walk at an incline. Some times intervals, sometimes I’ll walk for an hour. My gains are steady, and I’m putting up weight on the bench press and squats that I haven’t done since college. In fact, I think I’m stronger now than I have ever been. I noticed the positive change during my December Joshua Tree trip. I put up big numbers and was on my feet for much longer than normal. Im tracking my lifts with a daily log and seeing how far I’ve come in such a short time has been additional motivation. I can’t wait to get to the mountains!
I retired from my job on December 27, 2024. Knowing I am young, and still wanting to be social, I was able to get a part time job at a store I’ve been frequenting since 1993. REI. Even more of a stroke of luck, on one of my first days I was in the back room sorting thru clothing when someone asked if anyone was familiar with how to fit someone for a backpack. No one responded except me. They gave me a green vest, and I went to the hardgoods section, answered some questions and fitted someone to a Gregory backpack. The customer was satisfied, and apparently so was my manager, because I’ve been working the camping/backpacking section ever since. So basically, I get to go to work, 12 – 15 hours a week, answer questions and talk to other people about backpacking. The other day I stood over the map section with a guy named “Redwood” where he shared some secret lakes he catches some giant trout at, just a few steps off of one of the most traveled passes in the eastern sierra (and ironically, I’ve hiked right by). Since I’ve been at REI, I’ve met people going on a trek to Everest Basecamp, hiking the Camino De Santiago, skiing in Japan, backpacking Torres Del Paine in Patagonia, thru hiking the CDT and numerous people infatuated with the Sierra’s. And even better, I get a pretty sweet discount on my own gear.
So far I’ve been lucky enough to pull permits for four trips so far, with three more anticipated ones coming up. As always, I’ll be spending time in Yosemite and the eastern sierra’s. As I reread this, I am reminded how lucky I am to have the passion for backpacking and the sierra’s that I do. It allows me to continue on my fitness journey, remain social, and continue to dream of going to epic places and doing even more epic things.
