High Sierra Trail, 74 Miles, 5 Days 18K' Gain

[Davis2001R6]

Sometime earlier in the year I was looking for a Summer backpacking trip in the Sierra's. I tossed around the idea of part of the John Muir Trail or something in Yosemite, but when it came down to it we only had 5 days of hiking to fit the trip in. We settled on the High Sierra Trail. It starts off in Sequoia National Park and heads east across the Sierra and the Great Western Divide to end up at Mt. Whitney, an area and mountain in which I love.

I sent in for the permits and everything was lining up right. Came across this great Site which I just copied down the itinerary as that was the same # of days we had for it. It also worked out great because each camp site had bear lockers so we didn't need to bring bulky and heavy bear canisters either. It was a buys month on the calendar leading up to the hike. 2 weeks before it I had the Rainier adventure which took a lot out of me as well as giving me some nice blisters. So I had a week to recover then had my annual Air Force softball tournament which was held in Tucson the weekend prior to my hike starting. Ended up playing 7 games in 2 days and we finished 5th out of 14 teams, so that went pretty well and I took care of myself pretty well there not leaving me any more injured than before. Drove home from Tucson Sunday night, got to bed around 11 and woke up at 4 to finish packing and be on the road at 5. We needed to get to Sequoia NP before 3pm to get p/u our permit. I made the mistake of call Tom when he actually needed to be on the road (they had a weekend in Vegas to "rest" for the hike), of course my call woke them up so we were an hour or so behind schedule. We were meeting in Bakersfield to drop off my car, they had already dropped a car off in Lone pine before heading to vegas. So the shuttle worked out pretty well for both of us. We got to Sequoia late and luckily there was a restaurant in the park or we would have been eating one of our meals for the trail. We had dinner at THE WUKSACHI LODGE, I would call it the El Tovar of Sequoia, much more than we were looking for, but a nice treat before the long hike. We head off to a campground to get everything packed up for the hike. I brought my tarptent contrail which I haven't even got to use on the trail yet, well the 3 of us couldn't even get it to stay standing at the campground so I brought the Hubba Hubba along instead .

Day 1. 17 miles 5300 feet elevation gain.
We head over and pickup our permit in the morning and take a few pictures underneath one of the big tress you can drive thru, those Sequoia's are impressive, just huge, dwarfs something like the San Fransisco Peaks. Pick up are permits, fill up on water and we are on the trail. We pass about a dozen creeks along the way and pick a spot about 1/2 way to stop and have lunch. Our camp for the day is set for Hamilton Lakes, we pass buy a group who was coming down from there and they point out where they are at. Just a huge climb in front of us and I was almost in disbelief thats where we were actually going. We passed by over a new bridge over a small slot canyon and below you could see the remains of the previous bridge all mangled pinned between the walls and some boulders. It was a very light snowfall year for the area so the creeks, rivers and waterfalls weren't that impressive, but that was a good thing as there were nearly zero misquitos. Finally after some grueling climbs we make it to Hamilton Lakes. It's a zoo there with about 15-20 people camped in the area, still we find a nice spot for ourselves with a bear locker on site. A quick swim to wash up and filling up our water and we were eating dinner. I(we) opted not to bring a water filter nor anything to treat the water on this hike. I had a done a good amount of research on the area and gathered from different reports, tests and papers that the water was safe. I did enjoy the looks we got from people when we dipped our nalgenes in the creek and started drinking straight from it. Off to bed for the night.

Day 2: 14 miles 3800 feel elevation gain
We awake nice and late and take our time getting moving. Right off the bat we have a big 2500 foot climb to start the day. Slow and steady was the name of the game for me this trip, Tom and Nate were animals and could actually attack the trail and the hills, not me but I still averaged a respectable 2mph every day. We had lunch a bit early in the day at a nice flowing creek. Lunches for all of us were Tuna everyday, the flavored kind (Zesty Lemon Pepper, Hickory Smoked or Sweet n' Spicy all with Tortilla's). We left out lunch spot and headed on our way to camp. Tom and Nate stuck together and I continued on my own pace. It sure seemed to be a long day, but I forget about a 3 mile stretch which I then figured out when I got to camp. Moraine Lake was a nice quiet place, we had it to ourselves for the most part. Just a couple from Minnesota that was doing our hike but as an out and back over 11 days. They were definitely going slow and steady. Every day they were beating us out of camp by 3 hours, then we would usually catch up around lunch and they would make it in an hour or so after I made it to camp. Nice people though, both physicians we chatted every day. We could also have a campfire at Moriane Lake which is a nice addition to camp IMO. What was a bit funny is that at our campground before we started the hike we were talking about things that would be bad to run into, I think Tom said a forest fire, I said we didn't need to worry about that out here. So on Day 1 we see a fire WAY off in the distance and we say, awe that no where near us or where were going. So when we get to camp at Moriane lake the fire is probably only a few miles from us just across the lake and up the ridge. Just a bit smoky and never saw any actual flames though so still nothing to worry about. We stay up a bit later this night as we have a fire.

Day 3. 15 Miles 1400 feet elevation gain (The "easy" day)
We get our usual 9:30-9:45 start and this should be our easiest day on the trail. Our lunch spot is at Kern Hot Springs where they have a concrete soak tub, it would have been great to plan a camp here but wouldn't work into our schedules. As usual today Tom and Nate take off full charge ahead. I was already have pretty good blister issues at this point, so any big step ups or long strides gave me some pain. So I just kept with small steps and my easy pace. About a third of the way into the hike a guy catches up with me and we start chatting. He said I hiked at the perfect pace for him and asked if he minded him tagging along with me. No problem for me, I don't mind the trail company. He had planned on an easy trip than us but liked the pace so he might just tag along for a while. Turns out his name was Tim as well. We make it to Kern hot springs and the MN couple are checking out the "hot tub". Tom and Nate had already checked it out as they beat me there by there usual hour to the lunch spot. I introduce them to Tim and he decides we might just hang with us for our leg of the trip. He was out for 15 days and had the 60lb pack to show it. There was a bucket next to the hot tub and you were supposed to only fill up the tub part way with the hot water and use the bucket to fill from the creek w/ cold water to your desired temp. Well Tom didn't figure that out and couldn't handle the "Heat". A quick lunch and we beat Tom, Nate and the MN couple to the trail. Of course they caught up in about 15 minutes though. We were just headed up the Kern River today, the trail had a few climbs but generally stayed within 30 yards of the river. We make it into camp at Junction Meadow to find it another very crowded place. There was a scout group with 8 boys and 3 leaders there as well as a few other groups. The 3 scout leaders let us join in there camp separated from kids (14-16 I think) who had there own thing going on. The guys were nice and found out they were on a similar trip to ours but taking 9 days. They cooked up a pretty good meal with dessert and all and commented on us not having a filter as well. Another campfire tonight as well and plenty of wood around too.

Day 4: 11 Miles 4300 feet elevation gain
This was the day I was dreading, the 2nd half of the day was similar to a day on our trip last year, I just remember being real beat up and tired when I finally made it to Guitar lake last year, so I mentally prepared myself for that. The starts with a 700 foot climb followed by a 1600 footer and 1000 footer, hitting the junctions with the JMT and the PCT as well on those stretches. We planned for lunch at turnoff for the Crabtree Ranger station. Tim and I came across the scouts again there, they were camping there for the night though. They said Tom and Nate passed them at the last junction and tried to go the wrong way, which would have added about 1.5 miles on. We joked that they should have let them go that way, but they were nice enough to correct them. Always nice when the guy in back has the map . After a good rest there we start the 2.5mile climb with 900 feet of gain to Guitar Lake. Were getting up there in altitude that day with Guitar Lake being about 11,500 feet. Just nice and slow and we make it there with no problems, I remembered from the terrain last year where we needed to go, so there was no surprises this year (hiking is all mental I swear). I set up camp right away wanting to rest once I do sit down. I was the only one that would swim there this year, I'll say it's mighty cold but not like last year when it was the snow level. There was a stiff breeze so that cooled me off more than the swim did, but I dried quickly enough. At dinner I ask Tim what his last name was and sure enough it was Davis too. We all couldn't believe it, what are the odds of meeting someone with the same name as you and hiking the same route? Over the course of the whole trip I was always a few hours slower than Tom and Nate and just not in as good of shape. I think on Day 2 I had already started thinking about the only "escape" route that there was and that was just skipping Mt. Whitney that would save me 5 miles on the last day. But it was bugging me that my last few hikes I threw in the towel and gave up(Cactus to Clouds, Rainier and now this). I told the guys if I were to go for it, I would need to do it on my own and wake up early and just go for it. I didn't sleep much that night, it was bit windy so there was some tent slap, I brought my MP3 player and listened to it for most the night sleeping on and off just waiting for it to get light out.

Day 5: MOUNT WHITNEY 17 Miles 3100 Feet Elevation Gain
It finally get light enough to see w/o a headlamp and get up quickly. I started packing up right away, I choose to skip the oatmeal and just have a bar and a gel. I try to keep quite so I can escape w/o waking up the others as I wanted that couple hour head start. Most of the other groups at Guitar lake were packing up as well, with a few already leaving and up on the trail. It was around 6-6:30 when I got on the trail just taking it slow on my own. I took a few pictures looking down on Guitar Lake as it is a beautiful place especially at dawn/dusk. I met a couple of JMT hikers that were just finishing up there trip as well. This being my longest backpack still seemed minuscule to me compared to the JMT hikers or Tommy who just had finished the AT that week as well. The trail up to the junction with the whitney trail is just a lot of switchbacks and actually has a pretty good grade for hiking. I wasn't feeling the effects altitude at all which made me happy and I actually ended up passing a few groups on the way up. Once at the junction I met another guy finishing the JMT (he has split it into 2 years and doing 1/2 at a time). From the junction it was just another 1k feet to climb to be on top of the lower 48 states again. I felt good and kept at it, oh I dropped my pack at that junction as well. I think everyone does that has a day pack to hike with, in my case that REI flash pack works great here. What a difference 30lbs makes. Finally I see the summit hut on top and know that I made it there, this was a tough trip for me and I was happy, eyes may have even watered up a bit right there too. I can't describe how good it felt right then, I hung out on top for about a 1/2 hour took some pictures and decided to head back down. As much as I would have like to see the rest of my group up there I knew they would beat me down by a long time. I caught up with them about 10 minutes from where they dropped there packs. Also saw the MN couple again as they were on there way up, I was surprised I beat them out of camp that day. Said goodbye to Tim as well as we still had a week left on his trip, but he was 2 days ahead of schedule thanks to us. Well it's 11 miles down from the top of whitney and sure does feel like it. The 97 switchbacks are sure "fun". It was a bit entertaining seeing some of the packs that people were bringing up the trail just for 1 or 2 nights. Huge, I had my Gregory Z Pack about 3500cu and they had 50-60 lbs expedition packs and didn't believe I was out for 5 days with it. Mine really isn't that small of a pack either. Well back in Lone Pine I got a beer at the Portal Store and talked to one of the JMT hikers who was waiting for his wife to pick him up. Tom and Nate showed up about 20 Minutes later, I was a bit shocked they hadn't caught up with me on the trail. We weighed our packs w/o water and Nate and I were at 25lbs and Tom at 20lbs. I planned the food almost perfectly, I had 2 oatmeal packets, 1 tortilla, 1 tuna, 1 bar, 1 gel and a full fuel canister. I had a pretty big first aid kit for blisters as well as the wounds I had on my leg from softball 2 weeks previously. I wish I would have set-up my tarptent and got used to that and it would have brought me down another 2-3 lbs. But I wasn't getting much lighter than that.

We headed into town and stayed at the wonderful Dow Villa Historic motel again for $45 and enjoyed some Pizza across the street, then spent a few hours in the jacuzzi. We got an early start the next morning to get my car in Bakersfield then they were headed back into Sequoia to pick up the other car. No problems on the way home and back to the real world.

Pictures are in the gallery
Here

-TIM-

[RedRoxx44]

Awesome, those mountains are in your blood. Now you have another home, one I think you will return to often.
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You can rest when you're dead

[pfredricks]

I think this is already a return trip to Whitney for Timmy!

Good job on the "going for it"
-P
_________________
"I am just going outside and may be some time."- Explorer Oates' last words before crawling out of his tent in -40 C temps. Sacrificed himself so as not to hold back his 1912 South Pole expedition teamates.

[Davis2001R6]

Pete nice avatar there, looks like lightning to me

Yeah that my 3rd trip up Whitney, each time from a different starting point. I do love that area and for being 8 hours away it's not that bad to get to.

I do need to give Colorado a shot though. Hopefully next summer if I'm not doing 1/2 the JMT.

[pfredricks]

Speaking of Avatars....I think it is time you change yours
You look like you are twelve years old!

Nice pics by the way

Any blisters?

lighting...hehe ya, that's it!
_________________
"I am just going outside and may be some time."- Explorer Oates' last words before crawling out of his tent in -40 C temps. Sacrificed himself so as not to hold back his 1912 South Pole expedition teamates.

[Davis2001R6]

Yeah more blisters, same exact spot. But this time I have PLENTY of stuff to cover them up. Spenco 2nd Skin saved the trip, it will always be in my pack now.
http://www.rei.com/product/121078

Yeah I guess it is time for a new avatar.

[Cynhikr]

Good job, Tim - nice report. I, too, love that area. I'd do some of the JMT again if you need company. Again, congratulations and welcome home!

PS - When you are in the area over there, check out 60 Lakes Basin, just off of the JMT.

kurt
_________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
---Benjamin Franklin

"I wonder what ole' Ben would've thought of the TSA and photo-radar?" -- cynhikr

[YH]

Sounds like a great time! I've looked out across the Great Western Divide, but never gotten into the midst of it. It sure is impressive to look into. Thanks for sharing the trip and pictures.

[Tommy]

Awesome write-up Tim! I can't wait to hike this area.

[beckett]

so Tommy...speaking of avatars...are you back to being clean shaven?
_________________
"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

-- Walter Winchell, American newspaper commentator

[desertgirl]

Great trip Tim!
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Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

[paintninaz]

[kurthzone]

Nice Report Tim,

I'd like to do that stretch before I get too freaking old. Great pics, you always seem to get a good batch of wildlife shots. You must attract them.
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;o)>

[desertgirl]

Tim,

How hard was it to permit this one ...Does it break up nicely to more than 5 days ? Also, what is water management you used - -how much were you carrying at any time and what was you refil model ?

This one is getting tempting for next year and I am craving some altitude ...been a while!
_________________
Photos: http://www.pbase.com/desertgirl/galleries
Life is but a dream ...there is no end to what you can dream!

[Davis2001R6]

Stan a lot of the people we saw were not a young crowd, they may not have been doing 15 miles a day, but saw plenty of "experienced" people on the trail.

The permit was actually easier to get out of Sequoia National Park than it was previous years coming from the Whitney Portal or Golden Trout Wilderness/Inyo National Forest.

This site and webpage in perticular was of great help for me planning the trip.

Whitney Portal Store Message Board

There is a lottery in February for the main trail, and I believe you can put in for backpacking permits 6 months early for certain areas. I know I had to do that last year, one day I tried 1 day late for a permit and couldn't get the dates I needed, so had to try again the next week.

Kurt I'm not sure what are plans are for next year, but will keep you in the loop, sure wouldn't mind a repeat hiker joining us. I really would to take a trip to Colorado though, so it will be a toss up between the two.

Water was simple compared to Arizona. I carried a 2 liter camelback bladder and a nalgene bottle for gatoraid or filling up from the creeks and lakes. Honestly most stretches you could probably get by with just 1 liter and many people did, one guy did the whole JMT that way if I recall. This was a dry winter as well so I'm guessing there would be a lot more water on other years.

Ambika it could easily be split up into some more days, checkout this Site for all the details you would need. It really broke the trip down nicely for us and you can also plan it so as to have beer boxes everywhere you would camp.

-TIM-