Sugarloaf

 Strapping on packs on the second morning was always a bit of a shock. The bruised shoulders and hips from the climb to Seville made themselves known. As would be my custom, I gathered all food and redistributed it evenly among the group, much to the chagrin of the kids who had carried the Monday…

SEVILLE LAKE

         Although the memories of the Avalanche trips seem to mostly evoke people, as I write, the stories seem most easily evoked by campsites and the stretches of trail between. Like the reminiscences of Dylan Thomas, the memories seem to have neither order nor end. But the trail itself, the walking and the camping,…

AVALANCHE PASS

This feels like part of a series…here is the first chapter….  Avalanche Pass is not one of the highest passes in the Sierras, nor even one of the most spectacular. Once attaining the top, one has to drop his pack and walk about 50 yards for the spectacle: a hundred mile view out over Kings…

Benches

The Pratt trailhead is about .5 miles from my house. A rocky moderate climb of another .5 mile or so used to bring a morning hiker to a picnic table which was tucked under a small tree, where one could sit and enjoy a view of the Ojai Valley. It was a great place to…