Ryan Jordan

Posts Tagged ‘highsierra2015’

Day 4: Sabbath Layover in the Ritter Lakes Basin

I’ve been hiking with my friend Daniel, almost yearly, for a long time. Today (Friday) is always a special day on our treks. Since sunset marks the beginning of the Sabbath and a layover day with a two-night camp, it always comes with a great deal of anticipation to see where we end up. Today […]

Day 3: Island Time

I awoke again early (but no alarm this time) to sunrise alpenglow on the peaks surrounding our camp. I lazily shoved my camera out my tent and randomly snapped a few uncomposed photographs, and then went back to sleep. The sun’s warmth once again woke me up so I threw my quilt to the side, […]

Day 2: In the Shadow of the Minarets

I awoke to a light breeze whistling its tune across the peak of my little pyramid shelter sometime in the middle of the night. I peeked out the open roof created by having both doors rolled open and saw a zillion stars along with the creamy smudge of our galaxy in the sky. Content to […]

Day 1: Minaret Lake

Late this morning, my son Chase, my friend Daniel, and I left Devil’s Postpile packed with 10 days of provisions and started making our way towards the Sierra Crest. The temperatures were hot, winds were unrelentingly absent, the trail was dry and dusty. That is to say that the summer Sierra forest, replete with towering […]

Introduction: Navigating the High Sierra

In less than a week, I’ll be leaving for a 10-day trek through the High Sierra south of Yosemite. As we plan route options, we do so first by looking at the Sierra crest, then by looking at weaknesses across that crest. Our route will criss-cross through those weaknesses. We hope to stay off trail […]