Backpacking

Overnight wilderness trips — the combination of hiking, camping, and backcountry fishing. Gordon goes in deep with his wife, typically 2–3 nights, hiking 5–8 miles in to base camp.

Active Objective: Tinker Knob

A Sierra Nevada backpacking route — roughly 14–16 miles with 3,000+ feet of gain — planned for later in the summer 2026. Training hikes with his wife are ongoing.

Training

  • **Eagle Peak Loop via Mitchell Canyon** — best "pound-for-pound" training on Mount Diablo. ~8 miles, 2,100+ ft gain. Wildflowers in spring.
  • **Mount Diablo Grand Loop** — considered but set aside (too long)
  • Logistics: Mitchell Canyon gate opens 8:00 AM. Full-day outing. Post-hike food at Enye (Latin Table) in Clayton is a recurring favorite.
  • Also interested in: Murietta Falls for vertical training intensity

    • The Full Trip Package

    For Gordon, a good backpacking trip needs both:

    1. Good fishing — steep, remote creeks with plunge pools, wild trout, solitude

    2. Good campsite — flat ground near water, tree cover, genuine remoteness, ideally a view

    Good fishing alone is not enough.

    Key Reference: Sheep Crossing (Lost)

    Benchmark trip: Sheep Crossing on the North Fork San Joaquin. Steep granite canyon, big plunge pools, wild rainbows and browns, total solitude. A fire took out the trail several years ago — access is now too difficult. Has been searching for a comparable replacement ever since.

    What He's Done / Explored

    WaterNotes
    **Bubbs Creek** (Kings Canyon)Top replacement pick. Steep bouldery canyon, plunge pools, good camp. ~5–6 mi in.
    **Clark Fork**Trail starts near river, climbs high on canyon wall, drops back at ~5–6 mi for camping.
    **South Fork San Joaquin**Above Florence Lake — steep canyon, good pocket water
    **Mono Creek** (John Muir Wilderness)West of Lake Edison
    **East Fork Carson River** (Carson-Iceberg)Wild trout section

    Also explored: Wind River Range WY, Lost Sierra north of Truckee, Colorado, New Mexico. None matched the Sierra.

    Related

    Hiking — day hikes (separate from backpacking)

    Backcountry Fishing — fishing component of backpacking trips

    Related: Fitness — conditioning for Tinker Knob