Dan's Outside

I go, I see, I do, I walk, I think, I like…

Sierra Hiker Missing Since 2003

ClaassenPhotoSmall: Small photo of missing hiker Fred Claassen.

Martha Claassen sent me an email last week concerning her husband, Fred Claassen, who disappeared in the Hoover Wilderness Area north of the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite during the summer of 2003.

Fred Claassen, 46, entered the Hoover Wilderness from Twin Lakes on Thursday, July 31, 2003. His itinerary was to hike by trail to Crown Lake, over Mule and Burro passes, returning to Twin Lakes cross-country via Matterhorn Pass and the Horse Creek drainage. He was due back Monday, August 4, 2003. Hikers reported seeing him on the afternoon of Friday, August 1, 2003 at Crown Lake. He has not been heard from since. The search area includes the Robinson Creek drainage (Barney, Peeler, Robinson, Crown, and Snow Lakes area), the Horse Creek Drainage, and the northern part of Yosemite National Park between Mule Pass, Burro Pass, and the Matterhorn.

Martha is looking for any clues from hikers who have been in the area. Read more here: Missing Hiker: Fred Claassen. The link includes additional information, a list of gear than Fred was carrying, and contact informaton in case you have any information to offer.
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June 29, 2005 Posted by | People | Comments Off on Sierra Hiker Missing Since 2003

ClaassenPhoto

ClaassenPhoto

Photo of missing hiker Fred Claassen.
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June 29, 2005 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on ClaassenPhoto

ClaassenPhotoSmall

ClaassenPhotoSmall

Small photo of missing hiker Fred Claassen.
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June 29, 2005 Posted by | Commentary | Comments Off on ClaassenPhotoSmall

A Long Pack Trip Coming Up

Later this summer I and a group of friends will do the longest pack trip I’ve done in a number of years – 14 days on the trail between Agnew Meadow and South Lake. I can’t wait!

I did three trips of approximately this duration a number of years ago. The first two were with my wife, who no longer backpacks. On the first we spent 13 days – if memory serves – travelling the route from near Morro Rock in Sequoia National Park, over Kaweah Gap, down to the Kern River, up Wallace Creek, to the top of Mt. Whitney, and then out at Whitney Portal.

Later we did another equally long trip together. This one started at Florence (or is it Edison? ;-) Lake and entered Kings Canyon National Park. We climbed up into Evolution Basin, crossed Muir Pass and dropped into Le Conte Canyon, then climbed the Golden Staircase to Palisade Lake, crossed Mather Pass, dropped down the other side and then climbed again to Pinchot Pass, descended to Woods Creek, and aborted our planned route past Rae Lakes and over Glen Pass, instead descending through Paradise Valley (?) to Kings Canyon. It rained. A lot.

The next long trip was also my first solo. Yes, my first solo trip was two weeks long… ;-) I started out in Sequoia and headed towards Kaweah Gap, but left the main route and climbed up and over Elizabeth Pass before eventually descending to Bubbs Creek. I had been unsure of whether I would continue as I dropped down into the canyon, but when I got there I turned right (left would have taken me to Kings Canyon in a few miles) and headed up over Glen Pass, descended past Rae Lakes, and finally exited (once again) via Paradise Valley.

Since those trips, my longest pack trip has been last year’s 9 day trip from South Lake to Onion Valley. (Lot’s of high passes!) I love the long trips. Even though I adapt to the trail and go into “mountain mode” quite quickly these days (it takes, oh, maybe 32 seconds…) things change after 5 or 6 days on the trail. There is a wonderful point at which you lose track of days and the outside world and you simply live from day to day and moment to moment, taking it all in as it comes.
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June 29, 2005 Posted by | Trips | Comments Off on A Long Pack Trip Coming Up

My Photography Site

Since I’m not always terribly selective about what photos I post on this web site – in may cases I post ’em as I take ’em – I have started another site where I will post my favorites: G Dan Mitchell Photography.

(Why the “G” you ask? I found a web site of a Canadian photographer named Dan Mitchell – who does some nice work – and thought that I would do this to avoid confusion. “Dan” is derived from my real middle name and my real first name starts with the letter “G.”)
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June 29, 2005 Posted by | Photography | Comments Off on My Photography Site