Desolation Wilderness

1. 

When everything's wet all the time it's important to find time to dry things out 

And bathe in the Stream whenever possible

10 miles a day

I could not walk more than 10 miles a day in the Sierra .Even after I became confident with my navigation skills. When you're hiking on top of snow pack for many miles it becomes impossible to calculate elevation gains and losses because the drifts can be 40 ft deep.

The ice axe combined with mountaineering boots are essential for me at my age .I need to be able to cut steps into the snow banks with my boots  and if it's ice-covered I need to be able to cut steps using  the adze of my axe . Twice I needed my  ice axe to arrest my fall on icy slopes. Once on a 1200 ft descent .Aside from thermal gear  my ice axe is my most important piece of mountaineering gear 

Heatwave

During my time in the town of Bishop a heat wave caused flooding in the surrounding area.
I took a bus North to South Lake Tahoe. Then started walking North through Desolation Wilderness. This picture is Aloha Lake mostly covered with ice just a small opening to get water from. I found a patch of Earth to put my tent on.

I spent most of my time alone in Desolation Wilderness .  The trails were mostly covered with snow and I had no one but myself to rely on for navigation . The first couple of days were difficult . When the trail is covered with snow and Ice, it's not always the safest route. it's important to know your target destination and find the safest way there .  Traversing Mountainside switchbacks that are covered with ice and snow is dangerous