I returned to the Sierra Nevada this year for an adventure on the Sierra High Route. I’ve been fascinated by this route the hike with Michael on the John Muir Trail (JMT) 10 years ago.
In his 1996 book, Steve Roper formalized the Sierra Hight Route (SHR) which extends roughly 195 miles from Roads End in Sequoia National park to the twin lakes trail head in Yosemite. Along the way the route connects 33 major high mountain passes, most of which are not accessible by an established trail.
The route requires the hiker to ascend 60,000 vertical feet of gain and is about 50% off-trail. Most hikers take 10-15 days to complete the route traveling south to north. I would have only 8 days on trail so a section hike was in order.
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| Sunrise from top of Bloody Canyon near Mono Pass |
Day 0: Pittsburgh to Bloody Canyon
For logistical reasons I chose to start my hike in Lee Vining, a town easily accessed by public transportation. I flew into the Reno airport and took a 3 hour bus ride south. The bus was packed with hikers and I struck up a conversation with a duo embarking on a 3 week hike of the JMT and a solo young lady also taking on the JMT.
It’s normal to experience rain and generally bad weather after noon in the mountains. So I wasn’t surprised when it was drizzling as I exited the bus at LV. The storms usually wrap up by 4, so I was undeterred as I started my road walk to the Walker Lake trail head some 8 miles distant from the bus stop.
However, this day the rain intensified as I walked toward the trail head and it became obvious that I wasn’t going to pick up a hitch as cars whizzed by in the pouring rain.
A couple hours of walking later, soaked to the bone, I arrived at the trail head and started the first climb up Bloody Canyon that would take me up 2,400 vertical feet in 2.4 miles up to Mono pass. The canyon gets its name from the injuries sustained by 19th century pack stock who pulled cars up the path.
The rain abated as I hiked and I made it about half way up before darkness closed the curtain on my first day and I set up a hasty camp below tree line.
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| View south from top of Kuna Crest Pass |
Day 1: Mono pass > Kuna Crest pass > Russel pass
I had chosen the middle 140 miles of the route which meant I would have to intercept the trail along its length. Blue Lakes pass is first pass south of Tuolumne meadows on the SHR and so my goal on day 1 was to get near this first pass. Being forced to walk the entire distance from LV to Walker Lake on day 0 meant I was not as deep into the wilderness on day 1 as I had expected. So I broke camp early to get a jump on the day.
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| Looking West toward Yosemite from connector trail above the Merced Basin |
Crossing over Mono Pass I entered the backcountry of Yosemite NP and immediately turned off trail on a southern cross country trajectory to cross over Kuna Crest pass from the Parker Creek watershed into the Lyell Fork watershed. From Kuna Crest I would continue off trail to connect to the JMT which would follow north for less than a mile before again turning off trail and south to find Russel pass and enter the remote Hutchins Creek watershed.
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| View looking west from Foerster Creek Basin |
As I turned off trail, afternoon clouds rolled in a light rain began to fall and climbing toward the pass the rain changed into marble sized hail. It’s not uncommon for short period of such weather but this day its persisted for four long hours. Russel pass at 12,200 feet is a fairly rough talus slope and accumulation of grapple made for tough footing.
I made a quick decent off the pass and a hasty camp near a lake in the Hutchings Creek drainage as darkness fell on day 1.
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| Another view of the range west of the route |
Day 2: Blue Lake pass > Glacier Lake Pass
Waking on my second day to wet gear dampened my enthusiasm. There is nothing more likely to invite self pity and doubt than pulling on wet clothes in the predawn 40 degree darkness. I descended enormous granite slabs and made my way to the site of Doc Moyle’s camp, the historic and remote site where Doctor Chester Moyle hosted historic figures such as Ansel Adam’s and Georgia O'Keeffe in the 1930s. As I walked along the granite slabs that boarder the meadow and kicked out deer along the creek I imagined the ease with which these historic figures must have drawn inspiration in such a beautiful and sedate
Near Doc Moyel’s camp the route connects to an infrequently used trail deep in the Yosemite backcountry and climbs toward the forester peak drainage. Breaking out of tree-line the skyline opened up and by mid morning I was climbing over the pass and down to Blue Lake on the southeastern side of the pass. On my way to Twin Island Lakes I bumped into a pair of NOBO hikers on the SHR and we exchanged information on what was ahead of us.
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| Foerster Lake viewed from Blue Lake Pass (looking west) |
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| The lower lake of the two Twin Island Lakes |
As I wove my way out of the dips and dives below the lakes I spotted a beautiful waterfall exiting a canyon to my east and I could see a trail far below me. Comparing my map and then looking at the gps I realized, the route takes me UP that waterfall!
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| The route to Lake Catherine, up the waterfall |
Scrambling up the rocky slope with the roar of the waterfall in my ears was exhilarating. A while later I reached the edge of Lake Catherine where I bumped into a female duo also on the route who had set up camp and they gave me some info on the last section over Glacier pass and the descent to Thousand Island Lake. They warned me that the area near the lake was very windy.
The sun was getting low on the horizon as I picked my way through the half mile boulder field on the north side of the pass and as they predicted the wind picked up as I exited the protection basin and rounded the base of Banner Peak and onto the ismis at the north end of Thousand Island Lakes. I kept walking trying in vain to find a sheltered site to set up camp and try to dry my gear before the sun set.
Finally in desperation and with the sun set I found a lowish hollow behind a rock and set up a speedy cowboy camp for the night.
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| Lake Catherine and North Glacier Pass |
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| Alpenglow on the south-eastern face of Banner Peak (looking north-west from the saddle |
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| Garnett Lake in the pre-dawn light |
Day 3: garnet pass > whiteboard pass > iceberg pass > Nancy pass > Mammoth pass
Thankfully the wind completely subsided over night which made for a warm and restful sleep and I woke at 430 to a heavy dew that had frosted over slightly with the drop in temperature. As I broke camp, my breath visible in the cold morning air, I made a mental note that I really had to make time to dry my gear this afternoon.
Climbing the gentle slope to Garnet Pass in the dark, the rising sun played interestingly on the surface of Garnet lake and looking back behind me, the rising sun set the south side of Banner peak ablaze with alpenglow.
the outlet of Cecil lake flows north into iceberg lake and the southern end is contained by a giant stone edifice that roper describes as “the dam.” The feature is quite obvious looking at a topographical map but seeing the hulking mass while descending from the lake was shocking.
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| "The Dam" on the south end Cecil Lake |
Somewhere in this section I bumped into a pack of 4 who were hiking north on the SHR and they warned me that the route finding on the upcoming Nancy pass was quite challenging.
After descending from Nancy pass the route passes Superior lake and joins the superior lake trail that leads to Reds Meadow with its trail side general store and cafe. At reds I layed my gear out to dry on the sun and enjoyed a sandwich and a root beer float.
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| Devils Postpile National Monument |
Reds was the lowest elevation I’d encounter on my route at 7,500 feet. Just before the sun set I made my way up to the relatively low Mammoth pass saddle which is situated at 9,300 feet and is below tree line and found a spot overlooking the southern end of then Mammoth crest, my first big climb for the next day
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| View from the Mammoth Crest looking westward toward John Muir Wilderness |
Day 4: Deer Lakes Pass > Shout of Relief Pass > Big Horn Pass
I started the days hike by finishing the climb from the saddle at Mammoth pass up to to the Mammoth crest trail. I spend most of the morning on the spine of the Mammoth crest enjoying an endless skyline views.
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| View from the Mammoth Crest looking westward toward John Muir Wilderness |
Late in the morning I dropped down into the stunning deer lakes basin. On the descent to the basin I bumped into a duo who were NOBO on the SHR. They had started at Roads End and were on their way to a resupply at Red's Meadow. I downloaded what I had experienced north of them and they gave me some info on what lie ahead for me. Notably, their experience on Snow Tongue pass was not great.
Snow Tongue is arguably one of the toughest passes on the route and in Ropers book he offers two alternates to the east of Snow Tongue: The Keyhole and the Alpine Col. This gave me so more information to consider as I debated my options. I would have to make a decision on my route selection in a couple of days.
Deer Lakes basin is a gorgeous little drainage and I'd like come back and spend some time exploring this area but alas I needed to continue over Deer Pass and down to Duck Lake.
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| View from the Mammoth Crest looking South - Deer Lakes basin on the left side |
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| Looking north from Deer Pass overlooking the Deer Lake Basin |
Deer Lakes basin is a gorgeous little drainage and I'd like come back and spend some time exploring this area but alas I needed to continue over Deer Pass and down to Duck Lake.
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| Duck Lake looking east from near the outlet |
After crossing over Deer Pass, the trail intersects the Duck Pass trail and follows the northern end of the lake to the outlet where the trail descends to connect to the JMT. If I were to hike the JMT again, I would definitely chose to skip the section between the Duck Lake trail and Red's Meadow in favor of the Mammoth Crest trail. This section of the JMT was a bit underwhelming and crosses a large burn scar.
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| Purple Lake |
The SHR now follows the JMT for a few miles passing by Purple Lake and Lake Virginia. I passed a horde of NOBO JMTers in this section and it was nice to chat with folks about their hike. Most of these hikers had started their hike at Cottonwood Pass. This is a great way to avoid the headache getting a Happy Isles or Whitney Portal permit for the JMT.
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| Lake Virginia |
Just south of Lake Virginia the JMT drops steeply to a spot known as Tully Hole. At this point the SHR departs from the JMT and follows the McGee pass trail up fish creek to the basin above.
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| Fish Creek Canyon climbing toward Tully Lake |
The McGee Pass trail was splendid and paralleled a deep canyon on it's way to Tully lake. This is another spot that I'd like to return to for some extended exploration. But I had two more passes to deal with and the weather was cooperative so I continued up the gentle slopes above Tully lake toward Shout of Relief Pass.
Shout of Relief Pass and Bighorn Pass are separated by about a mile. In fact each is clearly visible one from the other. However, between the two is a deep depression that leads down to Rosey Finch Lake.
Here, the tactic, according to Roper, is to contour around the basin trying to maintain your elevation and taking the long way around. This is easier said then done. Its a natural human instinct to travel downhill but by consciously resisting this tendency, the hiker can avoid the excess vertical climbing and make a way through the boulder field on the eastern slope of the drainage.
As I descended from Bighorn Pass in the fading evening light, I came upon another duo on the SHR who had set up camp at Laurel Lake. We exchanged pleasantries and I got some good beta on the next obstacle which I would face the next day: Gabbot Pass.
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| Gabbot Pass from the slopes below Laurel Lake basin |
As I descended from Bighorn Pass in the fading evening light, I came upon another duo on the SHR who had set up camp at Laurel Lake. We exchanged pleasantries and I got some good beta on the next obstacle which I would face the next day: Gabbot Pass.
According to this hiker, the lower sections of the approach to Gabbot Pass, called The Second Recess, were on a good trail that was easily navigated but the trail disappeared around tree line. Fortunately the area above the tree line featured large granite slabs and ramps which would be easy to navigate.
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| Brown Bear Lake |
Day 5: Gabbot pass > White Bear Pass > Feather Pass
The info from the hiker at Laurel Lake was critical information for me. The Laurel lake trail would drop steeply to Mono Creek trail. The route would follow Mono Creek for about a half and then turn south up the First Recess. From the first recess the route would climb over 4,000 vertical feet in about 5 miles.
Knowing this would be a tough day with the 4,000 foot climb first thing, I set up camp at the base of the climb and set my watch for a 4:15am wakeup. I wanted to get the on trail hiking in the Second Recess done before dawn so as to minimize my time in the sun climbing to Gabbot Pass.
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| La Salle Lake |
I got over Gabbot pass by 10am and descended to Lake Italy. In his book, Roper says of Lake Italy, "Its is not a particularly interesting lake; Indeed, it can be argued that it is fundamentally ugly." He goes on to compare Lake Italy to White Bear Lake.
I continued down the drainage toward the French Canyon where I eventually connected to the French Canyon trail and followed the trail to the intersection that leads to Lake Elba and Lake L and made a hasty camp in valley. From my campsite I was treated to some great evening light on the Four Gables mountains east of the drainage.
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| Setting sun on Four Gables Mountain from French Canyon |
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| Elba Lake reflecting the sunrise |
I awoke early and was on trail just before sunrise climbing to Puppet Pass, the first pass of the day. In the early pre-dawn light I was treated to perfect lighting of Elba lake and as the sun broke the horizon, Merriam Peak caught the first rays.
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| View of Merriam Peak reflected in Puppet Lake from Puppet Pass |
Later, I crossed the isthmus that separates Puppet Lake from Paris Lake and climbed to Puppet Pass. On the way up the timing was perfect to capture Merriam Peak reflected in Puppet Lake with the shadow of Puppet Peak in the foreground.
Here I needed to make a decision as to what approach to take to get to reconnect to the JMT just north of Evolution Valley. Snow Tongue Pass did not have high reviews and I was very keen to see the Darwin Bench above McClure Meadow. Taking either the Keyhole or Alpine Col would spit me out at the top of the bench. This route would also take me further up to Piute pass so I struck out on good trail to find the Alpine Col.
On my way up to Goethe Lake, I caught up to some hikers who were base camped in Piute Canyon and they gave me some advice on the Col as I picked my way through the massive boulder field on the north side.
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| Puppet Lake, Alsace Lake and Star Lake from the climb to Puppet Pass |
From Puppet pass I descended into the Piute Canyon. The air was dead calm and as I sat at Desolation lake enjoying my breakfast I caught some more terrific photos of the neighboring mountain ranges
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| Looking toward the Alpine Col from Piute basin |
Here I needed to make a decision as to what approach to take to get to reconnect to the JMT just north of Evolution Valley. Snow Tongue Pass did not have high reviews and I was very keen to see the Darwin Bench above McClure Meadow. Taking either the Keyhole or Alpine Col would spit me out at the top of the bench. This route would also take me further up to Piute pass so I struck out on good trail to find the Alpine Col.
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| Lake 11910 just south of Alpine Col |
On my way up to Goethe Lake, I caught up to some hikers who were base camped in Piute Canyon and they gave me some advice on the Col as I picked my way through the massive boulder field on the north side.
One of the challenges of off-trail route hiking is finding a good line while climbing. Often you can only see a few hundred feet ahead and I relied on the descriptions to avoid hazards. But finding the best specific line is a trial and error process and is time consuming and sometimes frustrating.
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| Lake 11910 just south of Alpine Col - field of giant boulders in the foreground |
The Alpine Col might have been the most difficult pass from an overall perspective. The Col is well guarded on both the north and south by long boulder fields. The risk of injury goes up the faster you attempt to travel so its best to just take it slow and steady.
Reaching the pass and peering over the precipice to the lake below was shocking. Unnamed lake 11,910 was the most brilliant blue I had seen since Duck Lake. Slope from the pass to the lake was covered in car sized boulders and the lake seemed to be extremely deep. I spent two hours picking my down from the pass to the outlet at the south end of the lake.
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| Darwin Bench |
Below the lake the terrain eased up substantially as I dropped onto the Darwin Bench passing unnamed lakes and creeks on my way down. It was a warm and windless afternoon and I took some time here for my daily swim in the frigid waters.
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| Waterfalls in Darwin Bench |
Below the outlet of the lakes, the creek gave way to waterfall after waterfall as the tumbling water made its own path to Evolution Creek in McClure Meadow below. It was here that I made my only real navigation error of the hike.
The trail from Darwin Bench intersects the JMT and I felt confident that I would see a trail sign at the intersection. Wanting to conserve my dwindling cell phone battery charge, I eschewed consulting the device on the path down and soon I crossed a "NO FIRES" sign which I knew meant I had descended past 10,000 feet.
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| Looking down on McClure Meadow from Darwin Bench |
Just as I crossed the 10,000 elevation I noticed a two hikers setting up camp, so I stopped to talk to the father/son duo. They were completing the JMT in sections. The father, "Sage," seemed to be living a parallel life to mine. His 23 year old son, "Grizzly" had just graduated college. Sage got his trail name because of the wisdom he liked to hand out on trail to the younger folks in their hiking parties.
Sage told me all about his family and his very worried wife at home. He told me about how on the drive down she was busy giving him advice as he interjected, "I'm about to lose you. Do you want to wish us well..." Her advice continued until, silence, the call dropped.
I told him about my own family that worried about me and we laughed about the relative probably of incidents in the wilderness versus on the drive to work. "No distracted drivers out here," I quibbled.
It was at this point that I asked where he thought we were and I realized I had descended to McClure meadow and had gone a couple of miles off route. But I chalk it up so happy accident or a divine appointment as I got to connect with the happy father/son duo.
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| Evolution Lake as the sun sets |
I turned around the climbed back up toward the bench, and then, when I got to the unmarked intersection I continued on the JMT up into Evolution canyon and found a spot to setup camp on the eastern size of Evolution Lake just before sunset.
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| Mule train passing through Evolution Basin at sunset |
As the sun set, I enjoyed my dinner as a mule train leaving Muir Trail Ranch and heading for Bishop pass passed along the JMT. The setting sun set up a sweet light show on the canyon walls. As the sun set the temperatures dropped and I got cozy in my bag and thought about the fact that this was my penultima sunset and tomorrow was my last full day on trail.
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| Mt Darwin & Mt Mandel reflecting setting sun |
Day 7: Muir Pass
The next morning I continued my climb in Evolution Valley. The air was completely still and the sun was still below the horizon when I passes a nameless lake at 11,293 and captured probably the greatest photo I've ever taken. The image of Mount Warlow almost appears to be a black and white photo due to the low light level.
As I looked at the image on my iPhone screen, for I minute I though, "Ansel Adams would be proud of this one!" I wondered for a minute if the 1900's photographer, famous for his black and white photos of the "Range of Light" might have stood right here and taken a similar picture.
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| Mt Warlow reflected in lake 11293 in Evolution Basin |
All this got me to thinking about a phrase that often contemplate at such a time, "we will never be here at this time again." The saying captures both the temporal nature (this moment only exists now) of the human experience and the ageless nature (the mountains will be there long after I'm gone) of our experience. It also touches on the individual-ness of our experience and the common-ness.
Later I would search the internet, but according to Google, Adams never photographed Warlow. I guess he never stood at the spot at the time of day because surely he would have set up his equipment if he has seen what I saw.
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| Wanda Lake at sunrise |
As I continued up the valley the sun came over the horizon and wind picked up and I thought, that lake looks entirely different with ripples on the water than it did a few minutes ago. "We will never be here at this time again..."
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| Wanda Lake from Muir Pass |
The climb up Evolution Valley culminates with Muir Pass and the John Muir Memorial, affectionately known as the Muir Hut. I stopped here to take my breakfast and as some hikers came upon the spot, I took the opportunity to pose from some photos.
Though I often meet and talk to hikers, I very rarely have them photograph me because the spot we meet is usually not very visually interesting. This was an exception and took full advantage.
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| The John Muir Memorial (aka John Muir Hut) at Muir pass |
Descending off the pass I made my way down the LeConte Canyon along the Middle Fork of the Kings River. No trip down the valley would be complete without some hijinx at the Rock Monster.
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| Unnamed lake along the decent to Le Conte Canyon |
Near the LeConte ranger station, I turned off the JMT and onto the Bishop Pass trail. Climbing the trail I passed the giant granite slabs and the cascading Dusy Branch. I got to Dusy Basin in the late afternoon. Tomorrow I would hike up and over Bishop Pass and back to civilization.
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| Fool'n around at Rock Monster |
I hiked as far up the basin as possible, at the foot of the slope to Knapsack pass. I stopped early for the day and took a swim in the lake before taking a nap on a granite slab in the sun before my last night in the back country.
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| Waterfalls and granite slabs on the climb to Dusy Basin and Bishop Pass |
Day 8: Knapsack pass > Bishop Pass
I had a few hours to kill on my last morning. I was about 11 miles to the trail head and getting there too early in the day would make hitchhiking more challenging. Most people out for a day hike wouldn't be heading to their cars until after lunch.
So I took the time to climb up to Knapsack Pass, which is where the SHR would take me if I was to continue on. I took a long leisurely breakfast, the last of the food in my bear canister, I looked longingly at the route ahead but alas it was time to make my way out of the backcountry.
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| View of Dusy Basin from Knapsack Pass |
Climbing over Bishop pass I ran into eager hikers just starting their adventures. They peppered me with anxious questions, "How much snow did you encounter?" "Did you see any bears?" "Where did you camp?" "Was there water on the other side of the pass?"
I felt a bit of envy and a bit of relief at the same time. I was down to breath mints for food after all and in a few hours I'd have a hot meal and a soft bed. Long distance hiking is full of so many sensations.
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| Reflection off an unnamed lake in Dusy Basin |
I often say that hiking is "the real world" and civilization is the "virtual world" or "fantasy world."
What I mean by that is that everything on a hike is visceral. The basic human needs (water, food, shelter, companionship) are all you really feel. Small errors and bad fortune (a fall in a creek, a slip on an exposed scramble, loosing a critical piece of gear) have real and immediate affect on your well-being. What could be more "real world" than that.
We loose a sense of appreciation for how readily available the essentials of existence are. We don't comprehend the good fortune of comfort before us on a daily basis (hot water, hot food, warm soft bed)
Deprivation has a way of making a person grateful. Grateful on a very deep level. Grateful for protection and safety. Grateful for good conversation with a loved one. Grateful for provision for needs and access to wants.
That's a big reason why I feel called to these adventures. The depravation allows the soul to access a connection to the creator by time spent, without, in His creation. For me, it takes two or three days such depravation to gain the access. And then, on an 8 day trip, I get three to five glorious days of revival and reconnection.
Sometimes people ask me, "well, did you get that out of your system?" as if to say, maybe this time was the last time and you are over it. But I think for me, these walk abouts are the system. They are the process by which I shed my calloused and brittle self, like cicada shedding a husk, and emerge, from the wild, as a revived human, ready to re-enter society with a better appreciation of all that I have been blessed.
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| Exiting the wilderness at Bishop Pass |
