Sierra Cascades - anyone done it yet?

[sanuk]

Would like to hear from anyone who has done any of the new Sierra Cascades route.  I have been planning to do the section north from Lake Tahoe as part of my return from going down the coast but have reservations about the overall altitude and climbs as well as amenities/camping etc.  For someone who hates hills and only has a summer rated sleeping bag it doesn't look like such a good idea.

[staehpj1]

Would like to hear from anyone who has done any of the new Sierra Cascades route.  I have been planning to do the section north from Lake Tahoe as part of my return from going down the coast but have reservations about the overall altitude and climbs as well as amenities/camping etc.  For someone who hates hills and only has a summer rated sleeping bag it doesn't look like such a good idea.

We did the southern part.  We started in San Diego and flew home from Reno.  So my knowledge of the northern part is mostly from the maps and a general knowledge of the area.  That said the Northern part looks like the substantially easier part from a climbing perspective.  There is still a lot of climbing though.

You can generally camp fairly low if you want.  You may summit fairly high some days but there is no need to camp extremely high.  So you can get by with a fairly moderate sleeping bag, depending on when you go.

[tsteven4]

We did part of Sierra Cascades section 2, from Hood River, OR to Prospect, OR on our way to Los Angeles via the California Coast.  On this section of the Sierra Cascades we didn't have issues with finding camping spots except on the 4th of July weekend.  Hiker biker sites are very rare but there are lots of forest service campgrounds.  Twice we had entire campgrounds to ourselves.  We did use our water filter.  There are some long sections with minimal services as mentioned on the map (but not nearly as devoid of services as the Western Express).  We love climbing and thought the climbing in this section was moderate.  On July 3 we camped off Hwy 138 in the "forest" north east of Crater Lake at about 4700 feet elevation, it was 26 degrees F when we woke up, our water bottles were partially frozen.  Typically it was much warmer.  Altitudes on this section topped out at Crater Lake at about 7700 feet, quite a bit above the level of the lake.  Crater Lake is spectacular.  Although other sources probably exist I wouldn't count on finding isobutane cartridges on this section except for Bend, OR.  You can see some pics here:  http://tsteven4.qwestoffice.net/gallery/index.html?albumid=5499862873170692689&si=1 and get a google earth file of any of the ACA routes here http://tsteven4.qwestoffice.net/index.html

[indyfabz]

I you "hate hills" I would steer clear of a route named for two major western mountain chains.

[sanuk]

Nice pix.  Everything looks great from the top, but I may have to respect my physical limitations - it's my legs that hate hills.  I'll see how it goes down the coast.  If I'm still standing by the time I get to SF I may give it a try.