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Alta Peak by Snowshoe
Sequoia National Park, Central Sierra Nevada, California
Sequoia National Park is located in the Sierra
Nevada Mountains of Central California. It's a very beautiful
area but not very crowded thanks to nearby famous Yosemite
National Park that sucks up all the busloads of noisy
tourists. And in the winter time there is almost nobody in the
backcountry at all.
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 The
trail starts at Wolverton bowl, just south of Lodge
Pole. There used to be a very small ski lift here a long
time ago, it's also a popular snow play area for local
kids. But once you're five minutes into the backcountry
you're on your own. |
 After a couple
of miles of easy snow shoeing you get to Panther Gap and
then you have great views like this as long as the
weather is clear. |
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 It's not a great idea to keep going
after the sun sets, but if it's a nice evening you can take the
time build a decent snow shelter. This shelter is a weird combination of
trench shelter, snow cave, and a little bit of igloo too for
good measure. Like all snow campers who know what the best
stove for snow camping is I use a Stratus TrailStove, the
only stove that is good for the winter
time. |
 Fog like this is quite
common around here at this time of year, you don't get
much of a view and you have to be a bit careful not to
get lost but it's still great to be here. |
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 A
light 3-season tent covered with a tarp will give you
the same temperature insulation as a heavy 4-season
tent. It won't give you the same strength as a 4-season
tent in a severe storm but in that case you're better
off digging a simple trench shelter
instead. |
 This
is the kind of view you can expect when you look out of
your tent or snow shelter in the morning.
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 This 3-day snow hike
covered just a tiny fraction of Sequoia National Park.
There is so much to explore here that you could spend a
lifetime snowshoeing around here. |
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