Jim's Hiking Home Page

most recent hike pages are now at www.granitic.net - click & go!

Please note the This is a sample of what I mean. that show up in many narratives; by pointing at the asterisk,
a virtual footnote pops up with more information.
I've noticed that Netscape doesn't use title= for footnotes.. shame on them!

Also - watch for the tripbar (below), which will zip you from trip to trip, send you back here, or shoot off an e-mail!


Last Update 10-10-02-01 - Second '02 TRIP?

Trip Summaries& charts!
the Next Trip?


Sierra Nevada

2002: Sequoia NP
2002: Kuna/Yosemite
2001: White Divide
2000: Evolution Valley
1999: Taboose/Lamarck
1997: Silver Divide
1996: Italy/Pine Creek
1993: not quite..
1989: Taboose/Whitney


Wind River Range

1998: Big Sandy/Scab Creek
1979: Big Sandy/Washakie


Cascade Range, Oregon/Washington

1980: Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon

1981 & 88: Three Sisters Wilderness, Oregon

1981 & 82: Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington


2001 Rocky Mt. NP

While I've been a day-hiker for as far back as I can remember, I didn't truly get into backpacking until college. I owned many of the essentials - $20 backpack from K-mart (with magnesium frame!), duck-down mummy bag, dehydrated hamburgers, even a home-made mountain tent! - but I had only read and dreamed of remote places to visit. When the Portland State University Outdoor Program announced some trips in the summer of 1979, I had two excellent choices: the Wind Rivers in Wyoming or the San Juans in Colorado. I chose the former and had a wonderful time, learning the basics with minimal suffering and upgrading my gear over the years in the quest for truly comfortable backpacking.

For the most part, the 1980s did not provide any extended trips, but I did reach some Northwest sites of note near Mt. Jefferson, Glacier Peak and the Three Sisters. The decade culminated with a 1989 dream tour of the High Sierra, where I accomplished more than I had dreamed possible (especially with one day trimmed off the schedule)! Now I was truly hooked!!

The 1990s found me in deep granite several times, and four (OK, five) consecutive trips closed out the decade. They were a tough '96 trip with my first dose of cross-country travelItaly Pass may have a trail, but we weren't on it!, a fun yet challenging '97 trip with my brother Larry, a flashback tour of the Wind Rivers after a nineteen-year absence and the shocking 1999 cross-country monster. While the y2k trip was no cakewalk, it was much less strenuous than 99 and the rest-day was spent fishing below the southwest wall of Mt. Darwin! I've made a special effort to select a Big Trip for years ending in 9, to commomorate that first Big Trip in the Wind Rivers; the '09 event should be a real doozie!!

If the new millenium started in '01, it started with a bang: a nine-day tour of the North Fork Kings! It was great fun with a new group of hikers culled from a few hiking websites, and we all proved compatible and had a great time. It was followed by both a bang AND a whimper, as the exhausting 2002 trip captured another North Fork - this time the San Joaquin - with plenty of Yosemite Park on either side.

This page links you to stories of these trips, more generalized memories and stories, and personal notes and hints of what I've learned along the way. Happy Trails.


'generic' hiking topics
Jim's Hiking Gear Jim Rates the passes! Jim's Longest Days
Greatest Memories Lessons Learned? Hiking with Jim
day-hikes near Portland Bear Canisters?!? Cal/Wyo snowpack charts
Digital Cameras & camcorders on the trail



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