BackCountry Navigator Forum

This is one of my favorite hiking/biking/camping areas, & the main reason I moved to S. CA (it's a 70-mi. drive from my home coming from the East side). This time I focused on the Troy Meadows area (check out http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/maps/quad_maps/quad_index.html (http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/maps/quad_maps/quad_index.html) & click the Crag Peak/Bonita Meadows maps near the bottom).

This area in early spring is great b/c the weather's fine, road's clear up to the Black Rock station, & OHV trails are still closed b/c of fallen rocks/trees from the winter - so it's fairly quiet & not crowded.  I found many campers in both Fish Camp & Troy Meadows overflow, but I pitched in Mahogany Camp (no facilities, but the price is right: free!) & was the only camper all weekend.  (I drove up a few wks earlier & hit the opening of trout season - ouch!)

BCN performed flawlessly.  I d/l a 40-mi square tile w/Troy Meadows near the center (36.05162N/118.23436W) before leaving home, & felt very comfortable leaving the marked trails to explore the surrounding forest.  I'd mark a waypoint at the trailhead where I parked, then just check my map periodically to reorient.  I did learn that having BCN doesn't (& shouldn't) eliminate pre-hike planning at home (I basically figured out what I wanted to explore & analyzed the topos online before leaving home).

The main purpose of my trip was to shoot 8x10 polaroids (http://www.alphastudio.us/places.html (http://www.alphastudio.us/places.html)) but I did get some shots on the trails using my cell phone (kinda cruddy snaps, but easy to carry - http://web1.home.mchsi.com (http://web1.home.mchsi.com)).  This is some of the prettiest & least-crowded forest in the Sierra Nevadas when the OHV trails are closed.  If you're in this area, don't miss the trail of 100 giants (Sequoias) just over Sherman Pass.

Happy hiking!