Click here for 2024 ‘Routes and Meetings’ PDF
Trip departs from Twin Peaks Middle School @ 6:00 A.M. on Sun., July 28 & Returns @ 8:00 P.M. on Mon., August 5
Preliminary Meetings:
Meeting #1, Saturday, April 27 (9 – Noon) @ Chaparral School Multi-Purpose Room: Overview of program, equipment show, equipment checklist, equipment sale & rental, and a brief physical endurance test (You will be expected to jog 1.5 miles in less than 12 minutes. WEAR RUNNING SHOES!)
Meeting #2, Saturday, May 18 (9 – Noon) @ Chaparral School Multi-Purpose Room: The balance of the fee is due. Completed Medical Form due, and signed on both sides. Freeze-dried food demonstration, menu planning, group formation, leader assignments, and trail snack demonstration. (NOTE: Trail snacks are not included in fee.)
Meeting #3, Friday, July 26 OR Saturday, July 27 [time TBA depending on section] @ the Rinehart’s house (14250 Tierra Bonita Rd., Poway): This meeting is a day or two before the trip. We repackage food, try out stoves & tents, pack & weigh backpacks, and take care of last minute reminders & information. Bring your packed backpack to this meeting and please be on time, according to the schedule announced at 2nd meeting.
Other details & information about the trips
For all trips, the cooking/sleeping groups are formed on the basis of individual choice. Except for backpacks, sleeping bags, trail snacks, and food for drive, all other equipment, backpacking meals, and leadership provided by Poway Backpackers.
Backpacks and sleeping bags are available to rent. Please note: These trips are independent of the PUSD.
All questions should be directed to Scott Rinehart @ Cell: (858) 735-3434; [email protected]
NOTE: Sign-ups are first-come first-served via online registration at powaybackpackers.com. A *$300 registration deposit is required and is refundable until May 17. The balance of $490 (or more if renting) is due at the 2nd meeting, on May 18 (Call me if you need more time.) After May 17, refunds are only made if a suitable replacement backpacker can be enrolled. Attendance at the three preliminary meetings is very important and is therefore MANDATORY (except the 1st meeting for ‘returning’ backpackers). Meeting locations and times are listed above. Get a pen NOW and mark your calendar so you won’t miss any of the meetings.
SECTION A “Mammoth Loop” grades 6* (12 participants, 3 leaders per section)
This section is designed for beginning and intermediate backpackers. The total backpacking distance is only 35 miles, so there will be abundant opportunities to fish, swim, explore, and day hike along the famous John Muir Trail. Everyone spends the first night camping in the Mammoth area. At the May 18 meeting, participants are divided into cooking/sleeping groups of four, with an experienced leader for each middle school group, to provide leadership and coaching, on the backpack trip, and during the planning meetings.
SECTION B1 & B2 “Crossing the Sierra” grades 7-8* (12 participants, 3 leaders per section)
This section is designed for beginning and intermediate backpackers. Both sections will start in the Mammoth area and end in Yosemite Valley, after walking 60 miles. They will camp at some of the most beautiful locations in the Sierra and have a chance to climb Half Dome. Both groups will follow the John Muir Trail via Donahue Pass before joining the headwaters of the Merced River. At the May 18 meeting, participants are divided into cooking/sleeping groups of four, with an experienced leader for each middle school group, to provide leadership and coaching, on the backpack trip, and during the planning meetings.
SECTION C “Duck Pass to Pine Creek” grades 9 & up*(13 participants, 2 leaders)
Most C trip participants have been backpacking before. Experienced adults, in a ratio of 1:6, lead this group. This trip will start in the Mammoth Lakes area and head south on the John Muir Trail crossing the gorgeous Silver Pass, Bear Ridge, and the moonscape-like Seldon Pass before heading east up the amazing French Canyon and exiting over Pine Creek Pass. Total trip distance is approximately 70 miles.
SECTION D “Red Cones to Tuolumne Meadows” grades 9 & up*(13 participants, 2 leaders)
Most D trip participants have been backpacking before. Experienced adults, in a ratio of 1:6, lead this group. This section is designed for backpackers that want to take it easy, have extra time in camp to explore, fish, or bag a peak. This trip will start in the Mammoth Lakes area and head along the JMT north through the Ansel Adams Wilderness and into Yosemite before exiting in Tuolumne Meadows. Total trip distance is approximately 55 miles.
Please note, that no one is allowed to go on this trip without attending the three meetings listed at the top. Returning backpackers can skip Meeting #1, unless they wish to rent equipment.
*The recommended grades indicated are flexible. If you are interested in any section, call me.
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