Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board High Sierra Trail from Whitney to Sequoia

I'm planning to hike the JMT from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney, and then the High Sierra trail (HST)from Whitney to Sequoia this August.

Does anyone have any experience with the HST? The scenery sounds similar to the JMT, but haven't seen as much written on it. Is it a busy trail as well? Thanks.

It's a great trip with lots of variety.
Google
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22high+sierra+trail%22&safe=on

I love the HST, lotsa variety. If you've done JMT then this should be no problem, depending on what time of year. Here's a few links to give you an idea of what's up. I've included my flickr page, pictures only. I like the last link best. I'm planning on getting out there the last week of July, beginning of August.

http://www.ultralightbackpacker.com/HighSierraTrail2005.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tacocancun/sets/72157603668794320/

http://www.2dogdog.com/highsierratrail2005.html

I hit the HST from the Portal to just east of Bearpaw Meadow last summer as part of my loop trek. It was a breathtaking experience, and I do hope to do it again someday. (So many mountains, so little time!) The link to my TR is here:

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=1&Number=40565&Searchpage=6&Main=5426&Words=Moose%27s+Grand+Adventure&topic=0&Search=true#Post40565

Unfortunately, my camera walked away at Hamilton Lake, so there aren't many pics, but there are some wonderful pics here:

http://theschenks.net/index.php?area=hike&trip=20&menu=0

It was reading Kurt's TR and seeing his pics that motivated me to head this direction.

Hope this helps, and have a great time! Are you heading out solo?? Good luck!

-Laura

> ...but haven't seen as much written on it.

If you search this board, you will find a lot of hits.

Put this, including the quotes in the search field: "high sierra trail"

Click the "in subject and body" button.

Set the date range to Newer than 1 year.

You will find lots of hits. Most are in this thread, but there are quite a few others.

Thanks for the pics and account of your trip! Very descriptive and helpful for my planning - I'm really looking forward to it. Yes, I'll likely be going alone.

The HST is a really great trail. I've done both the JMT and High Sierra and both are "life list" experiences. This year expect some high river crossings if you do any travel in the Sierra early season because of the high snow pack. The HST drops from 14,400 feet at Mt. Whitney to 6,800 at the Kern River so be prepared for some tired feet after that stretch. Luckily, the Kern River Hot springs are ready and waiting. After that, you'll climb up out of the canyon and, depending upon your mood, find a camp at Moraine Lake or perhaps at the top of the pass above the Chagoopa Plateau. You'll find water at both places. Moraine lake is in the trees, but offers a great view to the east to the Great Western Divide. From that point on, the trail is much easier with lots of alpine wandering, incredible scenery, and lonesome scenery until you arrive at Hamilton Lakes. From that point on, you can expect much more human contact, but we found it less busy than the JMT, PCT, Whitney portion of the trip. Enjoy.

Here is a link to our trip last summer. We travelled west to east:
High Sierra Trip Report 2007

I did the opposite of this trip last year in late August, starting at the General Sherman Tree and ending at Happy Isles. It is a great trip. The HST has much less traffic than the JMT. On the second day of my trip from the Big Arroyo bear box to the Wallace Creek bear box I saw only one person (an NPS ranger) the entire day. If you resupply at the Muir Trail Ranch, you can use the electrical outlet there to recharge your camera battery. You definitely will want to take lots of photos along the HST.

I decided to start from the Giant Forest rather than Happy Isles for the following 3 reasons:

1. Getting a permit for the HST starting from Crescent Meadow is easier than getting a permit for the JMT starting from Yosemite Valley.

2. By hiking mostly south to north, the sun was behind me most of the time and I had better light to take photos than if I were heading in the opposite direction. (This obviously did not apply in the mornings of my first two days when I was hiking west to east.)

3. I was able to take advantage of bear boxes (at Big Arroyo, Wallace Creek and Tyndall Creek) the first 3 nights of my trip. After that, my food supply was sufficiently diminished to permit me to stuff all of my remaining food in my bear canister and make it to the Muir Trail Ranch at the end of day 6.

Thanks for the great pics! They gave me a very good idea of what to expect, although I think when I go in late August the stream levels will be a little lower than during your trip in late June/ early July.

Thanks again!

Thanks! Luckily I got my permit to start at Happy Isles in Yosemite, but it wasn't easy - the spots fill each day as it become available.

Looks like I'll be heading into the sun the whole way

Will spend a couple days in Sequoia afterward.