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GOING HIGH TO GET HIGH

By Thomas Winnett, Wilderness Press Founder

As I write this, it is nearly 40 years since we at Wilderness Press held a celebration to promote the first edition of Sierra North and the upcoming Sierra South, one-of-a-kind books Karl Schwenke and I wrote to recommend 100 of the best backpacking trips into the northern Sierra and 100 into the southern Sierra.

It was the summer of 1967, and we celebrated in the backcountry with a high-altitude cocktail party. We invited everyone we thought would help get the word out about the book—people from the Sierra Club, outdoor writers, and friends. We held it in August, in Dusy Basin, in the eastern Sierra, 8 miles from the nearest car. The hike went over a 12,000-foot pass, so we were delighted when 15 people showed up. It was a real party. We used snow to make our martinis, ate hors d’oeuvres, and spent the night. In a mention of the event, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wondered, “How high can you get to get high?”