{"id":3326,"date":"2009-07-07T09:06:21","date_gmt":"2009-07-07T17:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/?p=3326"},"modified":"2009-07-07T09:06:21","modified_gmt":"2009-07-07T17:06:21","slug":"a-penny-pinching-hikers-guide-today-tripping-to-the-high-sierra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tommangan.net\/twoheeldrive\/index.php\/2009\/07\/07\/a-penny-pinching-hikers-guide-today-tripping-to-the-high-sierra\/","title":{"rendered":"A penny-pinching hiker’s guide to day-tripping to the High Sierra"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Round<\/a>
\nRound Top<\/small> <\/div>\n

For the past five years I’ve been paralyzed by a prejudice against driving more than I’m hiking. It just seems aesthetically wrong to spend more time on the road than on the trail, especially when Bay Area trails can easily yield a hiking-to-driving ratio of 4-to-1 (that is, four times more hiking than driving.) <\/p>\n

I’m also indignant about burning $3-a-gallon gas to convey me to a trailhead. In the woods I’m free of everybody — landlords, grocers, doctors, car dealers — with a claim to the contents of my checking account. After the whole communing-with-nature thing, the next greatest appeal to me about hiking is that I can’t spend any money while I’m doing it. (I suspect this frugality is widespread among our kind, given the cold-as-a-snowmelt response to all the gear deals I’ve been flogging.<\/a>) <\/p>\n

Yesterday’s hike to Lake Winnemucca,<\/a> however, illustrated the paradox of thrift: the urge to avoid eight hours of driving for three hours of hiking was costing me the experience of being up there among the tall peaks on a perfect day. I could rationalize that the trails around here are good enough, but it’s so much better up there. Today it feels like the best deal I’ve found all year. <\/p>\n


\n Getting into the mountains without breaking the bank<\/strong><\/p>\n

We can tell ourselves the experience is worth far more than the price, but you don’t buy groceries with experience. You also can’t fix the roof or mow the lawn while you’re burning an entire day on a hiking outing. Here’s how I think you can take the sticker shock out of an all-day excursion: <\/p>\n