Here in the Overland year-round office, we are excited about getting to know new people, eager to explore more of the world, and love to get outdoors and challenge ourselves as much as possible. As a new member of the year-round team this September, I am no different. So, when Katherine, who plans all of our California trips, asked me to scout some new backcountry routes in the Sierras this October, I was thrilled!
My colleague Lilly and I packed our bags, flew into San Francisco, made a quick stop at REI, before we hit the road! Lilly turned on her California playlist as we drove across the vast California landscape. We were shocked at how quickly the scenery changed from dessert, to forest, to mountainous, and back!
As we took to McGee creek trail early the next morning, we knew we had a lot of miles ahead of us, but we knew very little about what the terrain had in store. We were in awe at the scenery that we found. As we first began hiking, we found ourselves in a grove of trees just getting ready to drop their yellow and brown leaves. Turning the corner we found ourselves in an entirely different landscape. Dense pine trees shaded the trail as we climbed up past a creek and pond to find ourselves in an open valley and finally beside a vast alpine lake, where we stopped for lunch and watched as fish jumped to the surface. As we continued on, we found ourselves in yet another landscape that was wholly its own. We followed switchbacks up a steep, rocky pass. To an onlooker, the hiking appeared to be a scree field, but our feet were on solid ground as we pushed to the top of McGee pass.
At the top of this pass, we were met with our fourth and final landscape of the day: A huge basin surrounded on all sides by peaks, with a meandering river below. As we made our way down closer to the bottom of this basin, we reflected on our day of hiking, agreeing that we hadn’t expected to experience four entirely unique landscapes in just 15 miles! As we set up camp and prepared dinner, the sun began to set and we agreed that any Overland student would be lucky to see the scenery that we had just witnessed.
The weather proved challenging as we set out to begin our next backpacking section a few days later and we pushed our start date back a day to avoid dangerous wind chills. As we set out on our drive to the trailhead, we were met by another challenge: the road was close to a steep drop off, filled with potholes and took almost an hour longer than anticipated. As we drove, we determined that we would not feel comfortable sending our groups and our vans to this trailhead.
Sending a quick satellite phone message from the trailhead, we turned around and headed back into town, with the promise of a new itinerary by the time we had returned to service. Luckily for us, Katherine, our California Trip Planner, had backup options! When we returned to service, we gave her a call and she briefed us on another backcountry option that she wanted scouted.
Lilly and I stopped by the local public library to make our reservations and do some research on the Jennie Lakes Wilderness. Once we finished our research, we packed up and got ready to take to the trails, where we discovered two beautiful lakes and a few incredible ridgelines.
Overall, this scouting trip was a success! We found routes that our groups will get to explore on trips in 2025, routes that will serve as backcountry contingency plans in the case of wildfires, and routes that are not safe for our groups. This is the goal of scouting: to ensure that our trips are as safe and fun as possible!
How To Choose A Summer Adventure For Your Child
Get first-hand insights into what you should look for when choosing the next summer travel adventure for your child.
