As expected, yet still to my dismay, the rose-tinted goggles failed rapidly as I heated up on the hike. Within a half hour they were relegated to the pack for good. They work fairly well for bicycling, as the airflow is fast enough at those speeds - but walking just isn't fast enough. [I even trimmed the foam to get better circulation.. oh well.]

The new Wechsel 1-person tent did very well! Somehow I felt less claustrophobic than in the 2-person North Face Pebble I owned a few years back - no explaining that one. With rainfly attached, it seals so well that the side-vents are required to keep condensation from dripping onto the inner tent; on the actual hike I never used the fly, but did attach it at camp zero just for testing purposes.

My warm-weather gear was never fully tested, as the temps stayed quite warm despite season and elevation. The down boots kept my feet very warm but at the expense of any support - I sloshed around awkwardly when stepping on angled granite slabs. No surprise there!

Two major successes:

AUTUMN

This season is truly all the guidebooks say it is! The mountains are just as hospitable, fighting for trailhead permits nonexistent, water still available, and the colors are different but spectacular. The primary drawback is thirteen hours of darkness that cries out for a campfire. I was well above the fire-line, so no luck there. I suspect that mid-September would be just as rewarding but with one less hour of darkness, so maybe a bit earlier next time..

SOLO

As noted before, I was extremely pleased to discover that my outdoor expertise is not fraudulent. I am entirely capable of some routefinding over rough terrain with only myself for second opinions. In only one case was my choice distinctly wrong, and that only forced me into about ten minutes of extra work. I state without reservation that, had I not taken the amazing July trip, my comfort level would not have been as great. Several spots left me with no clear path, but remembering our day descending into the valley of the North Fork San Joaquin kept me confident that, by going a bit further by the clearest way, a good route would always be found. And it was! In different circumstances, though, with bad weather and no compass, this would not have been pretty - but I am also confident that, under those circumstances, I would be perfectly comfortable to turn around and drink my post-hike beer a day or two early.

And one surprising failure. In the past I had noticed that my photos were not evenly lit at times, but didn't think about it enough to spot any trends. While showing them to Wally (veteran of the 1989 and 98 trips), he pointed out the problem more clearly. Sure enough, at its widest setting my 35mm camera was clearly vignetting! It's hard to prove value in a 38mm lens if the pictures need cropping after they're printed.. so a different camera may again be in order.

Sequoia NP solo!	The Adventure Continues!