high sierra trail Archives

Whitney Hut

High Sierra Trail Day 7: Guitar Lake to Whitney

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 24, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:6 Comments

It’s Whitney Day! My watch alarm woke me at 4 am and remembering last night’s cold temperatures, I maneuvered myself to the door while staying inside my sleeping bag. I wanted to heat my breakfast and coffee water inside my vestibule and get as much packing done as possible while staying all warm and cozy inside my down cocoon. As I started moving around I realized it was warmer than the previous night – a check of the thermometer on my GPS revealed a temperature of 47, warmer than most mornings in the Sierra. I ridiculed myself for being a baby and finally got out of my bag.

(more…)

Mt Whitney Alpenglow

High Sierra Trail Day 6: Kern Canyon to Guitar Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 24, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

Today started with a 6 am wake up call. Technically it looked like we had a big day in front of us - 10+ miles with almost 4000 feet of…

Kern Canyon

High Sierra Trail Day 5: Kern Canyon

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 23, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:1 Comment

Day 5 was a quick and enjoyable day of hiking up the Kern Canyon. The canyon can be really hot and dry during the day, but in the morning it…

Moraine Lake Morning View

High Sierra Trail Day 4: Moraine Lake to Kern Hot Spring

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 23, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:5 Comments

Today was a planned half-day of hiking, about seven miles down down down into Kern Canyon towards the Kern Hot Spring. The Kern river is a nice place to relax and fish, so we were looking forward to our afternoon off and started off the morning at a leisurely pace. I think we were the last ones to leave Moraine Lake. The one big concern about the day was rattlesnakes. It’s not common to find rattlers up high, but the trail would take us down to about 6500 feet while passing through a rattlesnake’s paradise. Several years ago the area burned, and now the trail is lined and overgrown with shady ferns that a rattlesnake would just love to nap under.
(more…)

Descending into Big Arroyo

High Sierra Trail Day 3: Precipice Lake to Moraine Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 22, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:3 Comments

We took our time packing up and getting moving this morning, wanting to hang around to see the colors in Precipice pop with the mid-morning sun. There was another group…

Precipice Lake

High Sierra Trail Day 2: 9-Mile Creek to Precipice Lake

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 22, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:6 Comments

Ah, the big day. I woke up both excited and anxious about the hike in front of me today since it was both one of the most scenic and hardest…

Great Western Divide from Panther Gap

High Sierra Trail Day 1: Wolverton to 9-Mile Creek

Post Author:Rebecca
Post published:August 21, 2009
Post Category:Trip Reports
Post Comments:4 Comments

One of the biggest headaches when planning a longer hike is figuring out the car/parking/shuttle arrangements. Generally, these kind of hikes start and end hundreds of miles apart and it can be a nightmare arranging transportation. The High Sierra Trail is no exception. With the beginning and ending trailheads on opposite sides of a mountain range with no through roads, shuttling between the two is 10x the distance of the hike itself. We were prepared for this and had scheduled shuttle days, and although we weren’t looking forward to that part, we accepted it as a necessary evil in order to have the best trail experience possible.

(more…)