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Hey,
Does anyone have any experience hiking the High Sierra Trail? I got some inspiration from the recent Patagonia magazine and wanted to see if anyone had experience with it.
Looking for advice/information on permits and all so give me some stories!
Thanks.
the roper route is typically called the sierra high route. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_High_Route
Two different things. The HST is an actual trail that goes from Wolverton to Whitney Portal.Quote:
Originally Posted by bodywhomper
OP, I haven't done it. There's a very active Facebook group for it if you're on that shithole of a website.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LightRanger
Yeah luckily ive kept that website out of my life. Ill have to dig into some more research online. Im curious how long it takes the average human being but I guess you really just do it at the pace you want/can afford to.
Yes. The Gucci catalog piece is about the roper route and not the east/west route. Maybe I made an incorrect assumption about the OP.Quote:
Originally Posted by LightRanger
Ahh. Yeah, I haven't seen the catalog.
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I've done some sections of the High Route. If you're truly talking about the Sierra High Route it does involve some fairly serious scrambling, nothing technical, but places where a fall would have consequences. Good map/terrain reading skills required. It's been a few years since I got a Wilderness Permit for the high Sierra but I believe the system is still the same--a permit to enter and you can keep hiking for as long and as far as you want, as long as you don't enter the Whitney Zone, which requires it's own permit which is hard to get. Trailheads have quotas, usually half available ahead of time and half available day of--but check on the website for the National Forest or Park that contains the Wilderness where you plan to start. As far as how long the whole trail takes, I'd say take the time it would take you to do a good trail of the same length and add about 50--70%.
If you're unfamiliar with hiking the high Sierra, in general east side trailheads are considerably higher and closer to the crest, but some of the less popular eatern trailheads in the southern end of the range are not and can be long, dry hikes with a lot of elevation gain. Once you reach the High Route of course it doesn't matter where you started.
Been a long time but I hiked the High Sierra trail to Mt. Whitney. We started in Giant Forest in Sequoia & just started hiking. Back then things were a little simpler I guess. We applied for a permit by mail. Had to note our approx. route, campsites, etc.
Best thing we did was opt for a couple "relax" days. If we found a spot we wanted to stay, we had the option. Example being Big Hamilton Lake.
Find the Kern Hot Tub next to the river if still there. That was pretty cool.
I need to revisit a map to re-spark some memories...
We had arranged a pick up from Walt @ Whitney Portal. All I knew. Walt's Inyo Shuttle or something like that. We arrive a couple hours early & are enjoying the day when an old Surburban comes smoking up the hill. Beat to shit, loud as hell, etc. Old timer behind the wheel.
Next thing I hear from my buddy is,..."That's our guy" Low & behold it's Walt! We load all our gear into the hotbox & we're off through the desert to the nearest rental place. Rented a car & drove North to Tuolumne meadows.
Great trail. Easy hiking. Switchback after switchback.
I'm assuming you're asking about the High Sierra Trail
Awesome backpacking trip, would recommend. Lot of blogs like back-country-cow with all the details for permits + transportation, which is the most painful part.
See if you can get a second group and do a car swap, would literally save you a day.