The Lanman Adventure Blog | Life is a Trail

Big SEKI Loop Trail Journal Day 12

April 21, 2020 by Jon Lanman 2 Comments

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Today will be our last day on the SEKI trail. Tomorrow we will meet my mom in Fresno. After that we’ll retell of our travels, and make plans for future trails. But for now we’re in the wild. So, we’ll enjoy every minute as it lasts.

The morning sun turns the tree tops to gold, and I hoist my weight onto trail stained legs. The Roaring River rambled all night long, inspired from the glaciers and snow pack miles away. It’s voice comforts me as I greet the day.

We clear our bear bin locker. Anticipation, excitement, and a touch of melancholy hangs in the morning mist. It’s a familiar feeling.

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A Guide to the Big SEKI Loop (Colby Pass Variation)

March 28, 2020 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

What: A 134 mile, 12 day loop hike
Where: Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park in California

In 2018, Rachel and I embarked on one of our favorite hiking adventures to date, the Big SEKI loop trail. In the few years prior we had hiked across the Olympics, around Mt. Rainier, and portions of the PCT in Washington State.

So, we were ready to head southbound to the Sierras. Originally, we set our sites on the JMT, but quickly realized how difficult it can be to get permits. Plus, we were afraid of being overrun in a swarm of hikers on the JMT.

Fortunately, Rachel stumbled upon an excellent JMT alternative – The Big SEKI Loop.

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Why Use Trekking Poles?

March 24, 2020 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

You can’t venture into the outdoors without noticing a plethora of hikers, armed with an arsenal of trekking poles. So, what’s the deal? Why do hikers use trekking poles, and are those cumbersome sticks worth the price to haul around? Are they worth it?

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Big SEKI Loop – Trail Journal Day 11

February 28, 2020 by Jon Lanman 2 Comments

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

We wake up in the dim light. We eat, sip tea, and fill our packs. It’s chilly, let’s move. We leave camp at 7:04 am.

We are machines, hiking machines. We’re fueled by nature’s beauty, with nuts and fruit as supplement.

The trail immediately starts climbing. We have about 2,000 ft to the top of Colby pass. I quickly overheat, and peel off my green homemade jacket. The air is brisk upon my skin, just a single layer to shield my torso. But as long as I keep moving, the friction within my body will continue to create heat.

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Big SEKI Loop – Trail Journal Day 10

February 28, 2020 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

Tuesday, August 7th, 2018

Last night we camped at a small camp next to Tyndall Frog Pond. It was a beautiful area that sat just a little ways away from the majority of campers near Tyndall Creek where we had enjoyed our dinner.

Although, our camp was perfect, with a fine stone chair, I didn’t sleep well at all. Like the stone chair, the ground was hard. It felt uneven. I even got cold.

So, when we awoke before 7 am, I was ready to roll. When my body is stiff and sore, I find it’s best to get it moving. We were on the trail by 7:15 am. No breakfast. We don’t have time for such luxuries. Or, maybe we were just excited to see what was around the next corner of our adventure.

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Big SEKI Loop – Trail Journal Day 9

February 27, 2020 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

Monday, August 6, 2018

Last night was rough. I woke up in the night with a night terror, yelling at a bear. There were none nearby. Yet, I sat awake with concern, and toiled in the thoughts I had packed along this trip – the ones I could not leave behind.

This year has been rough. This summer the worst of all. It’s hard for me to even acknowledge, to speak out loud of the pain, the goodbye to a friend that Rachel and I had to endure. Even now I don’t want to face it. Just recollecting my recollections, it’s still too painful to write.

Doggie, Black Licky, Loaf of Love, Log Dog, Brownie. Anisa. She was a dog of many names, and much love. She was a kind friend that I never deserved, a sweet soul in a world that too often fosters bitter fruit. I awake at night and think of her. I scratch at the surface of memories looking to uncover what I could have done to keep her with us longer. I kick myself and bite down hard, I don’t deserve to express the pain. But it tares through all my might, opening up the night. I scream.

I thought there was a bear. But more likely it was my memories, fragments of fear jarred loose, that normally lay nestled in my mind.

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Big SEKI Loop – Trail Journal: Day 8

February 26, 2020 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Today we march our legs back out onto the trail. We will start again from Road’s End, retracing our last 1.8 miles from yesterday until we reach the Woods Creek, Bubbs Creek junction. From there we will branch off onto the Bubbs Creek trail, heading toward Vidette Meadow.

It’s been less than 24 hours since we exited at Roads End, yet it feels like we’ve been off for weeks. We’ve only been off the trail for one night. We welcome the wilderness with eagerness and relax as the people on the trail become sparse.

It’s a Sunday afternoon, and most of the hikers are heading out today, after a weekend on the Rae Lakes loop. It’s a popular section of the trail we won’t be seeing. But we’ve been blessed with beauty, and more is yet to come.

It’s a hot day today. Although a canopy of trees keep us covered, sunlight bites at us through open gaps between the branches. We ascend a short series of switchbacks after cutting off onto Bubbs Creek Trail. In full sun now, the dust of the trail lifts in clouds around my feet, and stick to my sweating calves. I unbutton the front of my shirt. I had dampened it in the creek below, but it’s already beginning to dry. I envy the forest shade ahead.

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Big SEKI Loop – Trail Journal: Day 7

December 19, 2019 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

Saturday, August 4th 2018

It’s 6:15 am. I’m in my sleeping bag in Upper Paradise Valley. I can hear the stream that hooks around the campground, as it approaches from the north, water molecules traveling west.

In our campground are more people than we have seen our whole trip. As I peer from under our tarp I can see scatters of colored tents tucked under the fir tree canopy. The air is cool. A hammock hangs near the river, and I notice as other campers begin to stir.

As we arise from our camp and get together, Rachel looks aghast at me.

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Hiking Etiquette 101: A Beginners Guide to Trail Ethics

December 5, 2019 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

(Or… How Not to Be an Asshole in the Woods)

So, you’ve felt the call of nature, and you’re being beckoned into the woods. That’s great! The great outdoors never disappoint. But, before you hit the trail, it’s important to understand the basic rules of hiking etiquette. By doing so, you’ll help preserve the peace of the wilderness for yourself, and everyone who comes after you.

There are a lot of questions that arise for beginning hikers, some of which you don’t anticipate until you’re on the trail. For instance, “I’m on a trail 5 miles in the woods, I ate too much fiber, and now I need to poo. What do I DO?!?!?”

Don’t worry, we have the answer for this testing question, and others below. But first, let’s start out by setting a foundation for hiking etiquette 101.

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The Best Gifts for Hiking Enthusiasts – Winter 2019

December 5, 2019 by Jon Lanman Leave a Comment

Do you have an avid hiker in your life? Not sure what to get them? Finding the best gifts for hiking enthusiasts can be tricky, because they often have lots of gear. Here are a few things to think about when shopping for that hiking aficionado in your life.

How to Pick the Perfect Gift for Hikers

The great thing about hiking gifts is that most of them can be used on the trail as well, as off the trail. And, several of the gift ideas I provide below definitely fit that criteria. However, before I dive into the list of the hiking gifts, I want to say something about the process of picking gifts for hikers.

Hikers are a special breed, that consistently feel the call of nature. They experience joy by walking into the woods and leaving the material goods of traditional society behind. That’s unique. Therefore, it’s important to take that into account when buying a gift for your favorite hiker.

Hiking is an activity of minimalism. Therefore, careful thought should be put into gifts for this crowd. Unless a gift serves a certain purpose, and function, it’s excess weight on the trail.

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How to Pick the Perfect Gift for Hikers

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