Backpacking the High Sierra Trail takes months of planning and preparation, but it’s also a lot of fun. Reviewing the maps, planning your itinerary, plotting your campsites and filling out your gear helps build the anticipation. Here are a few essential resources that will help make your thru-hike on the High Sierra Trail a success. […]
Finishing the High Sierra Trail – Outpost Camp to Whitney Portal
We were in no hurry to get up and do this last 5 miles or so down to the portal – but when you’ve got Whitney hikers coming up all night long with headlamps blasting, you tend to not get the week’s best sleep. We finally got going at 8am and headed down. It’s quite a […]
Hiking the High Sierra Trail – Guitar Lake to Mt Whitney and Outpost Camp
DAY SEVEN on the High Sierra Trail –We decided to get up at 4:30 a.m. and begin hiking between 5:30 and 6 a.m. at sunrise. We had no interest in hiking in the dark and trying for the summit at sunrise – for our first time up, we wanted to see everything. We hit the […]
Hiking the High Sierra Trail – Crabtree Meadow to Guitar Lake
DAY SIX on the High Sierra Trail — This was a short, easy day to prepare for summiting Mt Whitney. The hike from Crabtree Meadow to Guitar Lake is a little over three miles and about 1000 vertical feet. The trail meanders up a canyon and then past a beautiful fish-filled lake called Timberline Lake. That morning the fish […]
Hiking the High Sierra Trail – Junction Meadow to Crabtree Meadow
DAY FIVE on the High Sierra Trail The 9+ mile climb from Junction Meadow to Crabtree is really gorgeous! All five of us hiked together, which was the first day my wife and I had company on our hiking day. It was fun to have one day to hike as a group. First, you climb out […]
Hiking the High Sierra Trail – Upper Funston Meadow to Junction Meadow
DAY FOUR on the High Sierra Trail we hiked straight north up the Kern River – a gorgeous 10 mile, 2,000 vertical foot, gentle-but-steady ascent from 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet. We got an early start so that we could hike in the shade of the canyon all morning, as it can get hot in the Kern River valley. […]
Hiking the High Sierra Trail – Big Arroyo to Upper Funston Meadow via Moraine Lake
Day Three on the High Sierra Trail. Yesterday, we hiked to Big Arroyo. Today, another big 13+ mile day awaited us, as we intended to hike down and out of the Big Arroyo, up the ridge, across high alpine meadows at the base of Mt. Kaweah, take a detour to remote Moraine Lake, and then drop down […]
Hiking the High Sierra Trail – Bearpaw Meadow to Big Arroyo Junction
Day Two on the High Sierra Trail is an epic adventure that includes some of the most legendary sights and sounds of Sequoia National Park. It’s a solid 12-13 mile journey, but worth every single step. We began at Bearpaw Meadow, heading north along the ridge with the deep Kaweah River canyon to the east. On […]