davesenesac
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Post by davesenesac on Dec 8, 2016 9:41:39 GMT -8
Couples planning a honeymoon ought to be very careful making whatever vacation plans for high chances of pleasantness lest their very important union start off with emotions down a miserable track. Unless you two are well fit experienced hikers, my advice would be to keep your daily mileage in the easy to moderate range. Beware that members of enthusiasts web sites like this are often strong very fit hikers that in their personal experienced enthusiasm may provide advice to others without wise consideration of physical limitations of average others.
You state July. Here in the Sierra after average winters for popular timberline backpacking destinations early July is still prime mosquito season while late July much less. Even in mid July mosquitoes can be really bad in higher forested areas above 10k. So mosquitoes can be a hugely negative issue especially for those without experience coping in our western backcountry areas. To cope you would need to wear protective clothing, embrace DEET, and try to stay away from predictably worst zones.
Additionally the Teton Crest Trail starts out near 8k and spends considerable time between 10k and 12k that in early July may mean considerable areas of still melting snows, wet landscapes, and still dormant greenery and wildflowers. One can search the web and find comments also stating there can be so much snow then that an ice axe is recommended. Likewise there are many popular trails in the Sierra that are also at those high elevations with similar conditions.
So more narrowly when in July?
Is your orientation to be on a trail hiking all day or rather just hike part of a day with additional reasonable time to leisurely spend at each day's destination areas?
How do you feel about privacy and remoteness especially since this will be your honeymoon? Or maybe you may in the spirit of current thru trail enthusiasts actually embrace meeting lots of others on trails? One may not find much privacy on well known popular trails while there are other less well known destinations where you two can guaranty being alone.
David www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_Chronicles/2016_Trip-Chronicles-0.html
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Post by Spartan on Dec 8, 2016 9:59:10 GMT -8
Well any time in July really. We haven't booked a flight yet so I guess if it would be even better to wait till August, we could do that.
A thru hike would be great as long as we get transportation at the beginning and end. We're not out there to kill ourselves to make 30 miles a day but we are capable of doing 10-15 comfortably. Well at least around here we can. We've never hiked elevation so I'm guessing that's gonna be a whole different ball game. We are in our mid 20s and in good shape.
Seeing other people on the trail won't really bother us as long as it's not big loud groups.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 8, 2016 11:26:16 GMT -8
I guess if it would be even better to wait till August, we could do that. August does have some advantages. On the other hand, July is peak wildflower season (as well as mosquitoes). The last two summers we have done trips into Sequoia NP in early July (like the first week of). Mosquitoes have been an issue, but not a deal-breaker. Altitude will be a factor but if you can give yourselves a few extra days to acclimatize a bit it will help a lot, and heading for 10,000' instead of 12 will also help. Actually, the trip the spouse and I did this past July (8-13) might be a pretty nice kind of thing. Mileages were low (heck, if we do it, you can pretty much guarantee the mileages will be low), and the flowers were surprising. Trip report here: bpbasecamp.freeforums.net/thread/3243/rebeccad-rebecca-visit-sequoia-np
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Post by hikerjer on Dec 8, 2016 12:05:21 GMT -8
If it's the second part of July you're looking at, I would suggest Glacier National Park, specifically the Gunsight Pass trail. Perfect for your time frame. It's good trail, with some good passes to cross, beautiful lakes, absolutely stunning scenery as well as a good chance of seeing wildlife. The bonus is that if your reserve it soon enough and now wouldn't be too soon, you could spend a night or two in the Sperry Glacier Chalet which is a wonderful experience if a bit pricey. Worth it for a one time experience though, especially on your honeymoon. Another option if you can't or don't' want to stay at the Chalet is t stay at the campground next door and arrange to have your meals at the Chalet. They're actually pretty good. www.sperrychalet.com/Have great experience.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Dec 8, 2016 13:37:37 GMT -8
Ooh, great idea, Jer!
These guys are going to have to take about 5 honeymoons to do all the good trips suggested here.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 8, 2016 13:59:39 GMT -8
July is nice in the Sawtooths, except for mosquitoes.
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Post by Spartan on Dec 8, 2016 14:11:25 GMT -8
You guys have gave me a lot to look into. Thank you!
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Post by atvtuner on Dec 8, 2016 15:10:03 GMT -8
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Post by Spartan on Dec 8, 2016 15:22:23 GMT -8
Wow! That looks awesome! I'm definitely going to look into that!! Thank you.
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davesenesac
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Our precious life is short within eternity, don't waste it!
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Post by davesenesac on Dec 8, 2016 15:45:57 GMT -8
The Glacier suggestion is excellent. For the suggested Teton Crest Trail, indeed early August would be wiser. Likewise here in the Sierra Nevada, would recommend same in order to open up our best hikes without mosquito issues. Hiking in mountains with a mix of up and down would recommend keeping mileage no more than 8 miles and vertical uphill less than 2500 feet.
A world class backpack in the Sierra early August would be:
trailhead Agnew Meadows day 1 Summit Lake via Pacific Crest Trail day 2 Thousand Island Lake day 3 Ediza Lake via John Muir Trail day 4/5 return to trailhead Agnew Meadows
mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.71378,-119.13046&z=13&t=T
A layover day at Ediza would have much to enjoy. If you actually do the trip, PM me next summer for an ideal camp spot near Summit with certain privacy despite being along the PCT.
David
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Post by Spartan on Dec 8, 2016 15:54:11 GMT -8
Thank you David! I'm really interested in that trail. The link you provided didnt work for some reason...
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davesenesac
Trail Wise!
Our precious life is short within eternity, don't waste it!
Posts: 1,710
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Post by davesenesac on Dec 8, 2016 15:57:51 GMT -8
Thank you David! I'm really interested in that trail. The link you provided didnt work for some reason... Yeah the forum software has a bug parsing some link characters. Copy the whole link from the post into an external text file like in Notepad. Then paste that Notepad text into your browser address bar. David
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Post by swimswithtrout on Dec 8, 2016 16:08:44 GMT -8
Well.........As nobody's even mentioned it yet, there is the Wind River Range. Five days is "just" enough time for you to get in a brief sampling of the best there is for a non-NP.
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Post by absarokanaut on Dec 8, 2016 17:21:43 GMT -8
SWTrout can definitely give you a great route in the Winds.
With all due respect to Dave I'm going to continue to plug for the Teton Crest Trail. July 10th is the unofficial "average" date that rangers cut steps in the top of Paint Brush Divide so you don't have to haul a pick for 4 or 5 days. In 2011 we had a really late snowpack, essentially no spring that year and you'd of wanted a pick much later. Same in '14. Drier otherwise.
I like July in the Tetons, I generally see considerably more wildlife than later in the season when I'm in the canyons. We have lots of moose, black bears, elk, deer, martens, etc. Bird life can be entertaining, world class on larger lakes and courses along the base of the range.
We do have the rare possibility of grizzlies on the crest but the only place I've seen them in the range was low in Paintbrush Canyon. The park will loan you a bear keg.
There is always a possibility of a local here in Jackson helping you out with a shuttle to/from HWY 22, the Village, or String/Leigh Lake Trailhead. I plan on being here but there's a chance I might be in Colorado a fair amount this summer. I'm not the outdoorsman I once was or others in the thread still are. I do however know the southern half of Greater Yellowstone quite well from a 45 year love affair after my first backapack. Part of going somewhere is having a plan b, and c, if something happens weather or other wise. SWT's Wind Rivers is yet another world class recommendation, but many trailheads of that iconic Range aren't terribly far from here either. Closer than my beloved Absaroka the southern approaches of the glorious Gros Ventre are awesome.
Jer's suggestion is of course another amazing one. We have Jenny Lake Lodge, like Jer's digs one of the absolute best of the National Park system. We also have a lot of other great lodging dining options.
!@#$. Gotta go watch some fooahbahl. I have a lot of pics I could direct you to of this area. If others post pics of some of their suggestions I'll add some of mine. These threads can be awesome cause like our good friend Daveb we want you to have an awesome time.
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Post by Spartan on Dec 8, 2016 17:49:34 GMT -8
Pictures of these places would be awesome! Thank you for the insight.
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