High Sierra Trail

[davidwiese]

Where: High Sierra Trail - Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park to Whitney Portal

When: September 2 - September 6, 2020

Distance: ~75.2 miles, ~19,100' gain

Conditions: Clear skies. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s. No bugs. Some smoke beginning of day one, end of day two, and end of day five. We got incredibly lucky.

Who: Wife and myself - https://www.instagram.com/david_wiese_/

Lighterpack: https://lighterpack.com/r/mtlf8y

Map: https://caltopo.com/m/HCK9

Logistics: The day before our hike, we drove two cars (our own + a one-way rental) to Whitney Portal and dropped off our car there. We then drove the rental to Visalia, dropped it off, and stayed the night. We went into Sequoia early the following morning to begin the hike.

Overview: We were incredibly fortunate with our timing and the fires burning in the surrounding areas. Day one started off pretty smoky, but as we climbed higher and neared the Great Western Divide, we left most of it behind and below us. Smoke settled around us at camp on night two, but when we woke up the next morning it had all cleared out. We wouldn't hike through any more smoke until descending to Whitney Portal on day five. The day after we finished the hike, all of the National Forests closed due to the fires.


Day 1: ~15.7 miles, ~5100' gain - Crescent Meadow to Hamilton Lake

The trail started with a bang, seeing a rattlesnake and four bears within the first two hours of hiking. Filled up our water and stopped for lunch at Mehrten Creek. We had to step off trail for a line of pack mules to pass as they headed back from where we came. With the High Sierra Camps closed, I'm not sure where they coming from. We crossed Buck Creek, and the first big climb of the day took us up to Bearpaw Meadow. We rested briefly before pressing on. The day was warm and smoky, but the skies began to clear up as the winds pushed the smoke and ash back down into the Central Valley below us. After crossing the bridge over Lone Pine Creek, we faced the toughest climb of the day up through the aptly named Valhalla. One of the toughest days of the trip with a lot of climbing, warm temps, and heavy packs, but we were rewarded with a pristine campsite at Hamilton Lake. There is a rudimentary pit toilet here as well as bear lockers. We set our alarm for an early start on day two - another big climb ahead of us.

Looking back West from near Mehrten Creek

Little Blue Dome with Sugarbowl Dome behind

Climbing through Valhalla

Valhalla looking West

Hanging meadow below Hamilton Lake

View from our camp at Hamilton Lake

[davidwiese]

Day 2: ~15.3 miles, ~4400' gain - Hamilton Lake to Morraine Lake (alternate)

We broke camp early to get the day's biggest climb out of the way in the cool morning hours, but it was still pretty strenuous. The smoke had blown down below us overnight, so we had great views west as we made the long and steep climb to Precipice Lake for our first break of the day. After soaking our feet and taking some pictures, we made the final short push up to Kaweah Gap as we crested the Great Western Divide. I had been looking forward to seeing this particular view down the Big Arroyo, and it did not disappoint. We followed the Arroyo down for a few miles before reaching the Old Big Arroyo Patrol Cabin and stopping for lunch. Now we faced our final climb of the day up to the Morraine Lake plateau. As we neared Morraine Lake, smoke began to settle around us. It was by far the smokiest part of the trip. We cooked our dinner as ash fell around us. Bear boxes are available. Thankfully we would wake up to clear skies the following morning, and they would stay with us until we neared our car a few days later.

Morning view over Hamilton Lake - Kaweah Gap above center-left

Looking down on Hamilton Lake - our camp was on the right side (south end)

Precipice Lake

View down the Big Arroyo from Kaweah Gap

Looking back NW toward Kaweah Gap

Looking back as we climb up to the Morraine Lake plateau

Looking NE over a meadow not far from Morraine Lake

Smoke settling in over Morraine Lake

[davidwiese]

Day 3: ~15.5 miles, ~1700' gain - Morraine Lake to Junction Meadow

Woke up to bluebird skies that we would enjoy for the rest of the trail. Greeted by the incredible Sky Parlor Meadow shortly after leaving camp with Mt. Kaweah looming in the distance. Began our descent into the Kern River Canyon after a few miles, and would follow it north for the rest of the day. It's humbling walking along the mighty Kern and seeing just how deep it has carved over millions of years. The towering granite on either side of us didn't stand a chance. Probably our easiest day on the trail, but oppressively hot in the canyon. Stopped by the natural hot springs, but the weather didn't call for a hoat soak. Opted for a dip in the icy Kern instead. I started experiencing pain in my right foot this day that would nag at me occasionally for the rest of the trip. Tried stretching it and soaking it in a few streams with mild success. Wish I had brought a ball or something to roll it out. Still made good time to camp and set an early alarm for a pre-dawn hike up and east out of the canyon the next day. Bear boxes are available at Junction Meadow.

What a difference a night makes. Clear skies over Morraine Lake in the morning.

Leaving camp

Sky Parlor Meadow - Mt. Kaweah, Point 4049, and Red Spur in the distance

Looking South down the Kern River Canyon - smoke in the distance, but we head North upon reaching the bottom

Looking North during an exposed section of the canyon

Junction Meadow Trail Camp

[davidwiese]

Day 4: ~13 miles, ~4,400' gain - Junction Meadow to tarn above Guitar Lake

Left camp at 5:40am to climb east and up out of the Kern River Canyon. The climb up along Wallace Creek is strenuous, but thankfully we were in shade with our early start. We were able to make it to the junction with the PCT/JMT as the sun rose above the mountains in front of us. We turned south for a few miles and took a rest at the saddle near 11,000'. Shortly after our break, we left the PCT and continued east on the JMT past Crabtree Meadow. The climb was steady but pretty exposed and warm. My foot still ached. We had only ran into one or two people each night at camp before this, but as we approached Guitar Lake it became more crowded. There were dozens of people setting up camp along the shoreline, so we passed by the lake and climbed up to a tarn sitting above it at 11,700' to make camp. Even the tarn was pretty crowded, but not as bad as the lake below. It was only 2pm when we arrived, so we managed to get a lot of rest and really soak in the high country. Marmots wandered around curiously, hoping to score an easy meal from careless backpackers. We set our alarm for 2am so that we could make the climb to Mt. Whitney for sunrise.

Looking SW back down into the Kern River Canyon

Looking North above the PCT/JMT

Sandy Meadow

First view of Mt. Whitney false summit

Timberline Lake

Final push up to Guitar Lake

Sunset over the tarn at 11,700'

[davidwiese]

Day 5: ~15.7 miles, ~3,500' gain - Tarn above Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal


Our alarm went off at 2am, and we quietly broke camp for the final time. We filled up our water bottles from a nearby spring, and made our way up the switchbacks to Trail Crest by the light of the moon and our headlamps. At the Crest, we dropped off our heavy bear cans and some other gear before pushing the final two miles to the summit. We arrived at sunrise, standing atop the highest peak in the lower 48 states. It's hard to describe the accomplishment we felt, with 5 days of miles, moments, aches, beauty, laughter, uncertainty, and memories behind us. We lingered there as long as we could, but knew we still had more than 11 miles and 6,600' of downhill to go. We hiked back to Trail Crest, this time able to fully see the steep trail we had come up in the darkness. It's more frightening when you can see what would happen if you made a bad maneuver hopping along the rocky trail. Things were smooth once we reached the 99 switchbacks down to Trail Camp. We stopped to fill up our water and wash some of the trail grime off our clothes a bit farther down. Smoke began to fill the air, coming up from the Inyo Valley ahead of us, but it didn't matter. Nothing could dampen our spirits. We had finished the trail, been extremely fortunate with weather and fire, and were about to devour some pizza as soon as we made it to Lone Pine.

Looking South as we approached the summit

Final push! I always feel a swell of emotions as I near the top of Whitney

Looking South from the summit - Mt. Langley just right of center

Obligatory

Looking down the 99 switchbacks

Looking down at Trail Camp

Smoke filling the air as we descend near Outpost Camp

[Sean]

Congrats, that's a great trip. Were the four bears all together in a family?

[davidwiese]

One mom and two cubs were together, and then about an hour later a single adult. Mama put herself between us and her cubs, but they didn't move very far off trail.

The single adult later would not budge no matter how much we yelled. We had to stay put for a good five minutes before he was a safe distance from the trail.

[Girl Hiker]

Beautiful pics! Thanks for the awesome report. Can't wait to summit Whitney this year. Last year my permit was because of the fires. You really lucked out!

[JeffH]

Great reading this. Wow, those are some big mileage days on that trail. Timberline Lake is one of the places I could just sit for hours.