At this time we have 9 people registered and 7 who are approved. And interestingly, of the 9, only 2 are from outside California! Which I believe is the opposite of last year, when only 2 participants were from out of state.

Some of you have a regular fitness routine that gives you a good start on conditioning for the trip, some of you should be getting serious about establishing a routine that will get you ready for the trip. And for those who are not used to hiking at 7,000-8,000 feet keep in mind that your level of fitness will greatly effect your cardiovascular ability and impact how challenging the hikes are for you.

I checked with the staff at the lodge on snow conditions this year and it shouldn't be a factor for us this summer. This means we will probably hike use the same trails and camp areas as last year:

• for the 1 night out, trail is 3.5 miles at 6,650-7,160 ft with 705 ft vertical
• for the 2 nights out, trail is 4.5 miles in at 7,200-7,800 ft, with 680 ft vertical. We camp in the same place for the 2 nights and do a 7 mile, out and back, day hike while there with an elevation gain of 240 ft each way.

I'll send another group update in 3-4 weeks with additional information: a suggested packing list, list of participants, more encouraging for conditioning . Don has a web site with a lot of information about the area, the lodge, travel information, trails etc and here's a link to it donsnotes.com/ctl/ . Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.

Susan 612.205.5978