Mid Sierra Musings: Hike To College Rock 2019

Dale Matson

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Hike Route (Kaiser Wilderness) Above Huntington Lake

Note: The trailhead is by the riding stables just past Lakeshore CA at the end of Deer Lane.

As the summer backpacking season in the Sierra Nevada approaches each year, I use several “warm up” hikes near Fresno CA to rebuild my trail legs and acclimate to higher elevations. Each hike is more strenuous than the previous hike and I try to get in one per week in addition to my balance of biking, swimming, walking and weight training. The timing is somewhat based on when the snow has melted in the higher elevations. This year the hikes have had to wait for a later snow melt.

I try and keep fit year-round with about 45 mile “equivalents” each week. For example, walking counts 1 mile per mile. Pool and open water swimming and biking counts 1 mile per 12 minutes. 12 working minutes of weight training equals one mile.

What I don’t get most of the year is hiking steep trails with a gain of 500-1000’ per mile at altitude. This also requires a day pack with essentials including food and water. It is also a prolonged exercise that builds stamina and leg strength. I also use trekking poles now and find them quite useful for propulsion, braking and balance.

The hike to College Rock, while strenuous with 2,000’ of elevation gain from 7,000’ to 9,000’ is only phase one. It is about 7 miles round trip with views along the way. It is also the first half of the final preparation hike to Kaiser Peak which is about 10,300’ and 12 miles round trip. When I can do this, I am ready to take on the daily grind of backpacking in the eastern Sierra Nevada. There are other hikes I do after the College Rock hike including, Twin Lakes, Nellie Lake, Mt. Givens, Mitchell Peak and Maybe a couple Yosemite hikes like the Panorama Trail to Illilouette Falls and the Muir Trail to the top of Nevada Falls.

I used to do these hikes (not Yosemite) with my late Airedale Susie. https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2014/05/susie-airedale-my-trail-companion-part.html

Now that I am nearly age 75, I like to hike with others. Wednesday, I hiked with a long-time trail, running and backpacking companion Sharon who is recently retired. She dropped me like a bad habit on the downhill return to my truck but as usual, Sharon could not resist the call of the “barn door”.