For each hike: pack carefully (see list below), pick up a bag lunch for all-day hikes, and.be on time (please.*)

Transcription

1 FOR ALL HIKERS: For each hike: pack carefully (see list below), pick up a bag lunch for all-day hikes, and.be on time (please.*) Our Summit hike leaders last fall and this year have scouted all of our hikes while also absorbing trail reports from numerous books and web sources. As always, we rejected more hikes than we accepted for our schedule. The hikes we ve scheduled are simply the best! Enjoy! You ll enjoy them even more while heeding the following.. Agility and conditioning: The greatest assets that you can bring into the backcountry are common sense and a grasp of your limitations. We make a great effort to assemble a variety of hikes to suit all levels of fitness, agility, and levels of adventure. These hikes are considered "destination" hikes, meaning interpretation is not the prime objective. We plan hikes with an expectation that hikers will be able to enjoy a pace of about two miles an hour, with additional time for lunch, breaks, and irresistible viewpoints. Please be honest with yourself about your own ability, interests and desire to push your limits. For hikes requiring particularly keen conditioning including the partly off-trail Azure Lake and Castle Peak Ridge hikes, hike leaders may contact you before the hike for a joint assessment. We want you and the group to be happy, and our concern is to eliminate potential discontent between the bulk of the group and a Summiteer who might select a hike not appropriate for their conditioning or agility level. After all, everyone has a desire to make it as far as the advertised hike destination. Alternatively, numerous other Summit programs include more interpretation (including our rambles, which are easier hikes focusing on interesting environmental topics.) Leaving on time: For considerations of safety and scheduling, it is extremely important that hikes depart on time. * Hikes are timed out to return in time for another Summit program, a meal, or child pickup. Van drivers must obey speed limits, and there will be plenty of traffic. Some of our parking lots routinely fill up by mid-morning. If we leave late, it may not be possible to complete the hike (or even find parking.) Hike responsibly: Every hiker is ultimately responsible for themselves, so keep reading below so you re prepared. As ambassadors for a nature and environment organization, we ll practice Leave No Trace. Any destruction or removal of plants or animals or historical or geological features will not be tolerated. Since we are often hiking in Wilderness Areas, we are as always strictly abiding by group size limitations. This means that you may be boxed out during registration for a hike that sounded great, but we believe you ll be just as delighted by your second or third or fourth choice. Personal medications, medical conditions:

2 Please let your hike leader or the Summit office know the day before the hike about any personal medications or medical conditions or injuries that could affect you on the trail during moderate to strenuous activity. What to bring: small backpack personal medications sun block, sunglasses, and a hat with a brim for sun protection (umbrellas in the wind can be more trouble than they re worth) your bag lunch (if an all day hike) and a zip lock or non-paper bag for trash & lunch residue bug repellent could be critical this year; see Snow section below if desired: snacks, camera, binoculars, nature field guides bring or wear something to get wet (no skinny dipping) for any of our many hikes where a swim is an option. Also bring a small towel so you don t delay the group or worse, get cold or get blisters from wet feet. Water: Bring water A minimum of 2 liters of water per person is required at this Summit for all-day hikes per person, as recommended in the National Park guides and hiking guidebooks for this area in summer. Yes, that s two of those liter-sized Nalgene water bottles or similar. You can t depend on your leaders carrying extra. Substituting Gatorade or a similar mix is not a bad idea at all or G2, its low calorie, low carbohydrate version, or similar mix packets (purchase ahead of time online.) Some folks will want to add a lot of ice in at least one of their water bottles using the lodging ice machines. Footwear: Hiking boots are recommended for all hikes, especially Strenuous and Moderate hikes. Don t bring new boots in which to hike use June and July to break them in! (For those determined to hike in other shoes such as running shoes, beware that we may have stream crossings, and will have quite rocky, uneven trails. Let your hike leader know right away if you feel blisters starting ( hot spots. )) and/or bring appropriate band aids or moleskin with you Wearing just a pair of cotton socks is discouraged. For many, a thin synthetic liner (inner sock) under a wool or synthetic sock will wick perspiration away and help reduce the friction that leads to blisters. For others, a single pair of wool or synthetic (not cotton) hiking socks will work. Stream crossings could involve water deeper than boot height.we ll try to give advance notice in case you want to bring sports sandals (Teva or Keen or other brand.) For crossing snowfields, gaiters or mini-gaiters can help you keep the snow on the outside of your boots. Rain gear: Bring durable rain gear. The rain gear should keep out water in a steady rain, though rain is not all that likely during mornings at this Summit. Since you will eventually get wet in any significant rainstorm, synthetic layers that still insulate when wet are highly recommended for wear under rain gear.lake Tahoe averages just 0.35 inch of rain for the entire month of August, but at our higher hiking elevations, more rain, mostly via afternoon thunderstorms, will occur.less often than the Rockies, but all it takes is one. Cotton? Yes but. A cotton shirt in this generally dry climate is ok only if you also bring a synthetic shirt in a zip lock in your pack to change into when it drops 15 degrees in an hour with rain, ice, and wind (especially at higher altitudes, even in August.) Cotton does not wick moisture quickly and when it s damp in wind, cotton draws heat from your body.if jeans get wet, they will not dry quickly and can restrict

3 movement when trying to climb over trail obstacles. However, for these August hikes, cotton shirts are generally ok and can even be dipped into streams (or a bandanna) for an evaporative cooling effect. If mosquitoes or other insects are bad (and they may be; see below), long pants (or better, those that zip off to become shorts) and a long sleeve, loose fitting (you also need to keep cool) shirt with a tight fabric weave sufficient to resist mosquito bites could be helpful. Those other objects often seen on hiking what to bring lists, from first aid kits to whistles to map/compass/gps, will be carried by your hike leaders. A note about cell phones, personal listening devices: Personal listening devices should not be brought to Summit programs. During Summit hikes, please turn cell phones off and/or set them to airplane mode (battery use accelerates if not, as your phone increases power in a futile attempt to find a signal) and ask your family and friends to call you only for emergencies. Your kids are in good hands. Hiking Safety Tips Altitude Our Lake Tahoe Summit site at 6,350 feet is over 1,600 feet lower than the 2012 Rocky Mtn. Nat l Park Summit site and 150 feet lower than last year. At 6,350 feet, very few if any individuals will experience altitude-related discomfort. However, altitude sickness strikes more than 60 percent of people who ascend to elevations of 8,000 to 10,000 feet or higher in too short a period of time. For that reason, we have no hikes over 8,400 ft. on Day 1 to allow for some acclimatization. Of our 14 different Summit hikes, just three (less than last year) are over 9,000 feet.) Another key to hiking at altitude is hydration. Even if you don t feel thirsty, make yourself drink water before starting a hike and periodically along the trail. If your leaders forget, demand periodic bathroom breaks on Summit hikes ( guys one direction, gals the other direction.) Caffeinated drinks are fine and hydrate almost as well as water, including at altitude, for those who have developed a tolerance to caffeine (most Americans!) according to ( and also the Mayo clinic website; we recommend against regular coffee or caffeine consumers cutting themselves off at altitude. Symptoms of altitude sickness include hangover-like symptoms such as dizziness, lack of energy, nausea, and headaches. Age or fitness level plays no role in whether or not you get altitude sickness. Heat / Storms: Hot sunny weather will likely impact this Summit s outdoor activities more than you might think. See the Water section above. Granlibakken (just above Lake Tahoe s 6, 228 ft. elevation) averages during our week a morning low of 50 (record 31) and afternoon high of 76 (record 96) during our week, with a 90% chance of a mostly or entirely sunny day. Some hikes (see our hiking table) reach as much as 4,000 feet in elevation above Lake Tahoe, meaning as much as about a dozen degrees cooler than Granlibakken. Be prepared to hike in thunderstorms. The accompanying lightning can kill (rare) or cause serious injury. On Summit hikes, we will get off ridges or peaks and will get out of open areas well ahead of time. A forest with a high density of trees is as safe as you will find in the outdoors during a thunderstorm; just DO NOT stand on roots. In the very unlikely case that we are caught in a large, inescapable open area, we will avoid lone objects such as a large rock or tree and, with lightning striking nearby, we will spread out (min. 15 ft.), crouch down, feet together, squatting low, in a low swale or dry ravine if possible, but not under an overhang nor next to a building s outside

4 wall. If available, we ll place feet on a backpack (no metal) or anything else that will insulate us from the ground, trying to become a human basketball. Tornadoes are extremely rare in our Summit area. Snow = water = mosquitoes: A record snow pack for much of the region (over 600 inches of snow this winter in the mountains where we ll be hiking, more snow water equivalent than the previous four winters combined, the wettest winter in northern California s history, and a record central Sierra May 1 snowpack of 202% of normal compared to 180% for 2011, 123% for 2010, and 2% for 2015.) This will impact us, one way or the other. In 2010 big late spring snow storms resulted in impassable snow fields blocking our early July hike at Granite Chief, and the same could happen in early August this year there or at a couple other high altitude hikes. Plan on being flexible and watching for updates Summit week. Meanwhile, as of this writing (early May), flooding has begun, including the Truckee River which exits a (now higher) Lake Tahoe less than a mile from Granlibakken. Some of our normally easy stream crossings, even in August, may be higher than usual. And the hiking blogs in the Tahoe region that we monitor are re-posting 2011 blogs where the level of snowpack in mid-july assures that the heaviest period of mosquitoes this year will be from the third week of July until the second week of August. From 2003 to 2010, the heaviest was late May through late June. I heard the sounds of muffled sobbing coming down the trail towards me as a hiker came stumbling-trotting down the trail, waving hands around her face, with a cloud of mosquitoes engulfing her. So bring deet, especially for cloudy days and shaded forests. Bees: During the recent dry years, it seems like every Tahoe hiking report (we looked at over 200) featured comments such as lots of late summer bees; got stung by several of the many yellow jackets; turned back due to hordes of bees. Regardless of species and weather, be prepared to stay calm, don t swat, and ignore the bees; your hike leaders will look for windy places for lunch (often the case anyway, on peaks or lakeshore peninsulas.) Giardia: Do not drink straight from streams. Giardia are microscopic organisms found in lakes and streams even in the backcountry, especially near livestock. In cyst form, Giardia enter surface water when animal or humans defecate in or near the water. Giardia can cause severe diarrhea, cramps, bloating, and weight loss a couple weeks after ingestion. To prevent Giardiasis, carry water, or bring water to a full boil, or use a water filter system that eliminates that organism. Ticks: This region has much less of a tick problem than most of our Summit areas, even less so at higher elevations (and virtually no poison ivy or poison oak.) During most years, peak tick season is over here by August. Black Bears: The chances are very remote of a problematic black bear encounter with groups of our size, though we had bears on the Granlibakken site and nearby at our 2010 Summit. We re even less likely to encounter mountain lions. Here is some general advice: If a black bear is observed nearby, pack up your food and trash immediately and vacate the area as soon as possible. If necessary, attempt to scare the animal away with loud shouts, by banging pans together, or throwing rocks and sticks at it. If a bear approaches, move away slowly; do not run. Never run away from a bear back away slowly and make lots of noise.

5 If you are attacked by a black bear, try to fight back using any object (rock, hiking pole) available. Act aggressively and intimidate the bear by yelling and waving your arms. Playing dead is not appropriate Rattlesnakes: Rare or absent at our altitude and location ( The chances are very remote that you will ever be bitten unless you make poor life decisions like deliberately approaching a rattlesnake. When climbing or descending steps or a rocky cliff, never place your hands where you can t see, and try not to do that with your feet either. A strike more than half of a body length (the snake s, not yours) from a snake is rare. An individual has a 1 in 10 million chance of dying of a snakebite in the U.S. only 10 to 20 persons a year. The most important thing is to stay calm. Move away from the snake. The snake will probably be rattling as you move, even if it wasn t earlier. It will be just as interested in getting away from you as you are from it. In 64% of 1,300 poisonous snake bites studied in the US, little or no venom was actually injected and no anti-venom or significant medical treatment was used. There are no coral snakes in our Summit hiking region. Smoking: Cigarette litter impacts park roadsides, trails and parking areas. Smoldering butts can also start wildfires and we are in wildfire country. If you must smoke, please completely extinguish smoking materials and dispose of them in containers in your pack. Our philosophy: Please remember the traditional Summit hiking philosophy: hiking in groups with an experienced hike leader and experienced hike assistant is safer, likely more fun and more interesting, but does not absolve individual hikers from individual responsibility (all the above items.) We ll stay together (nobody wanders off alone, please) and by your enrollment, you agree that the hike leader gets to call the shots for the good of the group. Help your Summit hike leaders by being observant. As a dividend, you ll see more along the trails in this beautiful and interesting hiking region!