Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion All Named Mountain Passes / Hike Planning

I'm in the planning stage of my next mega hike and as a piece of it I am planning on doing the High Sierra Route. What I am wondering if anyone has a source of maps that has the names for all these cross country passes. I know the High Sierra Route crosses over 30 passes and most of them have names but do not appear on any maps I can find. I'd like to become more familiar with the names so I can do more proper research on it.

This year I am having a bit more trouble figuring out where I want to go. Here is what I have planned so far and if you have any suggestions they can help.

I plan to start at Lewis Camp in Golden Trout Wilderness. The Starting date is arbitrary and will be subject to the snow pack. Also the gaps in listing is resupply.



SJune 26 - 1 - Grasshopper Flat
MJune 27 - 2 - Rifle Creek
TJune 28 - 3 - Aspine Flat

I plan to leave the High Sierra Trail and travel up Buck Creek to Moose Lake.

WJune 29 - 4 - Monarch Creek
TJune 30 - 5 - Kaweah River
FJuly 1 - 6 - Moose Lake
SJuly 2 - 7 - Emerald Lake
SJuly 3 - 8 - Lodgepole

I plan for a couple easy days here. Also I plan to leave the trail on top of Elizabeth Pass and go over Copper Mine Pass and down Cloud Canyon to the trail. From Lake South America over Harrison Pass.

MJuly 4 - 9 - Mehrten Creek
TJuly 5 - 10 - Lonely Lake Creek
WJuly 6 - 11 - Cloud Canyon Trail
TJuly 7 - 12 - Junction Meadow
FJuly 8 - 13 - Lake South America
SJuly 9 - 14 - Lake Reflection
SJuly 10 - 15 - Roads End

Here I plan to go over Gardiner Pass. Climb Mt. Cotter and then follow North through Sixty Lakes Basin and drop down to the trail. From Bench Lake I will follow the South Fork of the Kings back to the Woods Creek Trail.

MJuly 11 - 16 - Junction Meadow
TJuly 12 - 17 - Lake 9530
WJuly 13 - 18 - Gardiner Lakes
TJuly 14 - 19 - Woods Creek
FJuly 15 - 20 - Bench Lake
SJuly 16 - 21 - Arrow Creek
SJuly 17 - 22 - Roads End

Here it's up over Granite Pass. Also from Lake 9702 I am going to go through the Volcanic Lakes and up over a small pass above East Kennedy Lake.

MJuly 18 - 23 - Middle Fork Dougherty
TJuly 19 - 24 - Middle Fork Kings River
WJuly 20 - 25 - Tehipite Valley
TJuly 21 - 26 - Layover
FJuly 22 - 27 - Simpson Meadow
SJuly 23 - 28 - Lake 9702
SJuly 24 - 29 - Camp Where Ever
MJuly 25 - 30 - Cedar Grove

This is where I would begin the High Sierra Route.

TJuly 26 - 31 - Granite Creek
WJuly 27 - 32 - Small Lakes 11160
TJuly 28 - 33 - Palisade Lakes
FJuly 29 - 34 - Below Potluck Pass - Climb Mt. Sill
SJuly 30 - 35 - Bishop Lake
SJuly 31 - 36 - Parchers Rainbow Village

MAugust 1 - 37 - Leconte Canyon
TAugust 2 - 38 - Muir Hut
WAugust 3 - 39 - Lake 11910
TAugust 4 - 40 - Merriam Lake
FAugust 5 - 41 - Lake Italy
SAugust 6 - 42 - Mono Creek
SAugust 7 - 43 - VVR

From VVR I am going to detour a bit from the HSR since I have done the Grinnell Lake Trail. Instead I will take the Mott Lake Trail and cross the pass above Big Horn Lake. From here I will detour from the HSR again. I plan to go by Izaak Walton Lake then by Hortense Lake and follow it's outlet to the trail. I also them am going to leave the HSR and take Cascade Valley and then the route up Minnow Creek to Iva Bell.

MAugust 8 - 44 - Cotton Lake
TAugust 9 - 45 - Minnow Creek
WAugust 10 - 46 - Iva Bell Hotsprings
TAugust 11 - 47 - Reds Meadow

Here when I reach the high trail above the Merced I will leave the HSR to go over Red Peak Pass and to Glacier Point and down to the Valley.

FAugust 12 - 48 - Cecille Lake
SAugust 13 - 49 - Lake Catherine
SAugust 14 - 50 - Foerster Creek
MAugust 15 - 51 - Red Devil Lake
TAugust 16 - 52 - Lower Ottoway Lake
WAugust 17 - 53 - Illilouette Creek
TAugust 18 - 54 - Yosemite Valley

Here I plan to take the trail out past Mirror Lake then up to near Tenaya Lake then up past May Lake where I will bail off down to the trail on Murphy Creek then cross country past Polly Dome Lakes to the trail along 120.

FAugust 19 - 55 - Near Tenaya Lake
SAugust 20 - 56 - Tuolumne Meadows

Back onto HSR.

SAugust 21 - 57 - North of Green Treble Lakes
MAugust 22 - 58 - Small Lakes above Return Lake
TAugust 23 - 59 - Twin Lakes

WAugust 24 - 60 - Kerrick Canyon
TAugust 25 - 61 - Benson Lake
FAugust 26 - 62 - Return Creek
SAugust 27 - 63 - Tuolumne Meadows

SAugust 28 - 64 - Echo Lake
MAugust 29 - 65 - Clouds Rest
TAugust 30 - 66 - Babcock Lake
WAugust 31 - 67 - Tuolumne Meadows

All that is about 650 miles.

Here is where I am like ok now what? I am considering maybe then going to Tahoe on the PCT but the further I go North the more trouble it becomes with getting home so I may just head back South on the JMT and do detours off it. Resupply seems like it becomes a problem beyond the John Muir Ranch though.

Like I said it's all in planning phase and any suggestions are welcome.

Andrew Skurka has a map set he makes available on CD as well as recommendations on putting maps together. I'm pretty sure the CD has the route available in TOPO! format and with waypoints with xy coordinates and descriptions. A pretty good effort and worth the investment.

http://www.andrewskurka.com/SHR08/maps.php

I'm fairly sure he names all the otherwise unnamed passes. I assume you can use the CD to print out the whole thing in sections.

George

Thanks for the link. I watched his youtube video already and didn't know he had a site.

I am just reintroducing myself to this region and would love to understand what you are up to. Sounds like a great trip. Could you sort out the following terms for me?

High Sierra Route= ?
Sierra High Route=?
High Sierra Trail= ?

Thanks

I typed it wrong if I put High Sierra Route as the only proper term is "Sierra High Route". I'd correct it in the first post but I can't edit anymore.

The Sierra High Route is a mostly cross country hike that begins at Roads end on Highway 180 in Kings Canyon National Park.

You can download a map with it's outline here:

http://www.onthetrail.org/shr.html

The High Sierra Trail is a West to East trail beginning at Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park and ending at Wallace Creek.

I think adding onto what I put up top would be this:

TSeptember 1 - 68 - Below Donohue Pass
FSeptember 2 - 69 - Reds Meadow
SSeptember 3 - 70 - Purple Lake
SSeptember 4 - 71 - VVR

MSeptember 5 - 72 - Sallie Keyes Lakes
TSeptember 6 - 73 - Muir Ranch

WSeptember 7 - 74 - Davis Lake
TSeptember 8 - 75 - Middle Fork Kings River
FSeptember 9 - 76 - Middle Fork Dougherty
SSeptember 10 - 77 - Frypan Meadow
SSeptember 11 - 78 - Cedar Grove

MSeptember 12 - 79 - Roaring River
TSeptember 13 - 80 - Tamarack Lake
WSeptember 14 - 81 - Soda Creek
TSeptember 15 - 82 - Columbine Lake
FSeptember 16 - 83 - Mineral King

That whole plan is 880 miles with 16 resupply points. Throw in a bunch of layover days and it's probably 90 days or more. It still leaves room for more with the season not being over yet but resorts will start to shut down and resupply would become more difficult.

The whole thing is one hell of a plan I think. Almost makes me think it's a bit crazy but if I can pull it off it would be extremely epic!

Why don't you head south on the Theodore Solomons Trail, or the Sierra Crest Route?

I'm not familiar with those routes. Do you have a map with their outlines?

After doing a bit of research I think the Theodore Solomons Trail would be interesting but not worth doing over the return trip I have planned. I think you would spend most of your time in the forest which is beautiful and pleasant itself but lacks the general grandeur that is the high Sierra.

As for the Sierra Crest Route I think that is a bit beyond anything I would want to attempt at this time and especially as part of a major hike anyway. It would demand an ultra light sense that I would be lacking. I think it would need to be timed right also if your never going to stray more then a mile from the crest as you will be relying almost completely on snow melt for your water.

As for my route I considered after crossing Muir Pass to enter Ionian Basin and go down the Enchanted Gorge to Simpson Meadow but the difficulty of the route does not seem to be worth the rewards.

This year I am going to try and leave the Canon 5D2 behind to go lighter. I think if I brought it though I would be the first person to ever hike the Sierra High Route with such a camera lol.

There is also no guarantee of me doing this hike or any of it this year at all because I have applied for a 6 month trail work job that would take the whole season but if I am not hired this is my "backup" hike.

!!!!!!!!!!!

Something to consider is the ability on a route to do two things: fish, which for a trip of this length, may be very helpful with nutrition.
Campfire, which may be very helpful with mental fitness, warmth, drying clothing out from the inevitable showers. Higher routes may be in fire restricted zones.

Also to consider, High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew will have 5 week-long pack supported deep sierra trips, free, all food included. Not yet up on their website, but should be good stuff.

Lol is the Enchanted Gorge really that hard? Most of the stuff I read on it and pictures posted it didn't look that bad but still more trouble then I would like. I think it was said that it was more difficult getting down to Simpson Meadow then the Gorge is.

There are a few cross country bits I have planned that I know nothing about and I could find myself in an irksome situation. Some of those are "crossing from Volcanic Lakes to East Kennedy Lake" I know nothing at all about that saddle or what awaits on the other side. I will stay as high as I can and not drop to East Kennedy Lake if possible. Another section is following the outlet of Hortense Lake to the JMT. And from Goddard Canyon following the outlet of Davis Lake up.

Fishing is something I have been debating on. I have thought on and off about fishing or not fishing at all because of the extra weight of a pole and allot of that plays into the locations I will be at. But yes in the end it's a good idea not only for some good nutrition and straight good food but in case I have no food like I had a couple days last year were I was short a day or two and just ate fish. I have to admit that cooking them when you can't have a fire really sucks! My hiking stove burns the crap out of the fish and burns the titanium badly and then of course when I use oil it is a mess to clean up. This year I would bring some foil to help cook and I was considering the idea if I put some water into my pot then had the fish in the foil like a bowl and set it in the boiling water. Anyone ever try this?



I never have much trouble with mental fitness while on the trail. Other then some good food everything I enjoy in the world is out there in the mountains. Being in society is just miserable so I have nothing to look forward to with leaving the mountains. The way my life is right now I could get up from this computer and walk out the door with nothing but the clothes on my back and never return or see anyone again and I wouldn't feel like I left anything behind.

As for showers that certainly is all a guessing game. 71 days out last year and rain on only 4 days. The two worst being it lightly sprinkling on and off for an hour later in the evening when my camp is already set. Or it could rain on me every single day for weeks lol. I typically have brought both a rain jacket and pants on these long hikes but I always end up sending my rain pants back home.

I do need to get out some time with the High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew. I already am registered with them but the only project I have signed up for got rained out. I'll try to remember to check their site now and again to see what they have put up.

I am trying to get out with the PCTA this weekend but I may not be able to get to the project.

On a hike planning note has anyone ever been to the Silver City Resort at Mineral King? I'd like to be able to resupply there and am wondering what they have in their store and if I can "buy as you go".

http://www.silvercityresort.com/map.html

Rogue,
you have put a lot of thought into your journey, so here are a some mountain literature quotes to assist you. Harvey


Work and job
it takes more endurance to work in a city than it does to climb a mountain.Peter Boardman, The Shining Mountain page 12

Suburban trains were disgorging their morning shoals of business men...Six months hence...they would still be following the same routine while we, freed for a season from this narrow horizon, would recapture the art of real living, which is adventure. Unwillingly would I have exchanged my lot with any, even the most prosperous of them.
Scott Russell, Mountain Prospect, page 156

This last week we've transcended the strange, infuriating tyranny of our so-called civilized lives. Here we've found true life again, rediscovered what makes us whole. We knew it the moment we started walking. Felt it grow stronger each day. Felt the world pour into us until now we're as big as it is. This is real. This is where we belong.
John Harlin, "Sea to Summit" in Ascent, page 127

Pleasure vs pain on the trail and off
The largest part of so-called discomfort is not discomfort at all except when measured against a different standard and a different environment. Frank Smythe, The Valley of Flowers, page 698

Route
Neither the crow nor the ruler laid upon a map is likely to tell you the least toilsome way of getting from one point to another in proper mountain country.
RLG Irving, Ten Great Mountains, page 5

Introspective
I had yet to understand the truth that it is better to travel than to arrive. John Hunt, Life is Meeting, page 46

DO NOT GIVE UP
Expeditions are born in the minds of men and more of them die there than are defeated by avalanches, bad weather, and misfortune combined. Nicholas Clinch, A Walk in the Sky page 15.

I did a lot of research on that one and remember that it has a lot to do with snow and water levels. I abandoned the idea. Don't know if if I still have the links, but the reports with photos were enough for me to look for more rewarding locations. Not much enchanted about the place other than its name.

here's one of the more detailed reports I bookmarked - "this route is not for the novice or the feint of heart"

http://www.lancesimms.com/Hikes/EnchantedGorgeHikeGPS2.html

Good quotes Harvey. I tend to forget that there are other people out there that love the mountains as much as I do.

As for the Enchanted Gorge it would be September if I went through it so water levels would be low.

I'll read that story also.

you probably already know

http://sierrabackpacker.com/sierrapasses-new.htm

I have decided on the return trip to instead of going up past Davis Lake and down the Middle Fork of the Kings I will continue up Goddard Canyon and go down Goddard Creek to Simpson Meadow. As I understand this route is easier and more scenic then the Enchanted Gorge.

I also plan when I return to Mineral King to go Franklin Pass - Big Five Lakes - Black Rock Pass - Mineral King.

I added in all layover days also and I think I can rubber stamp this thing. So final layout is 95 days and around 900 miles.

SJune 26 - 1 - Grasshopper Flat
MJune 27 - 2 - Rifle Creek
TJune 28 - 3 - Aspine Flat
WJune 29 - 4 - Monarch Creek
TJune 30 - 5 - Kaweah River
FJuly 1 - 6 - Moose Lake
SJuly 2 - 7 - Emerald Lake
SJuly 3 - 8 - Lodgepole
MJuly 4 - 9 - Bear Paw
TJuly 5 - 10 - Lonely Lake
WJuly 6 - 11 - Layover
TJuly 7 - 12 - Colby Lake
FJuly 8 - 13 - Junction Meadow
SJuly 9 - 14 - Lake South America
SJuly 10 - 15 - Lake Reflection
MJuly 11 - 16 - Roads End
TJuly 12 - 17 - Junction Meadow
WJuly 13 - 18 - Lake 9530
TJuly 14 - 19 - Gardiner Lakes
FJuly 15 - 20 - Layover
SJuly 16 - 21 - Woods Creek
SJuly 17 - 22 - Bench Lake
MJuly 18 - 23 - Arrow Creek
TJuly 19 - 24 - Roads End
WJuly 20 - 25 - Middle Fork
TJuly 21 - 26 - Middle Fork Kings River
FJuly 22 - 27 - Tehipite Valley
SJuly 23 - 28 - Layover
SJuly 24 - 29 - Simpson Meadow
MJuly 25 - 30 - Lake 9702
TJuly 26 - 31 - East Kennedy Lake
WJuly 27 - 32 - Cedar Grove
TJuly 28 - 33 - Granite Creek
FJuly 29 - 34 - Small Lakes 11160
SJuly 30 - 35 - Marion Lake
SJuly 31 - 36 - Palisade Lakes
MAugust 1 - 37 - Below Potluck Pass - Climb Mt. Sill
TAugust 2 - 38 - Bishop Lake
WAugust 3 - 39 - Parchers Rainbow Village
TAugust 4 - 40 - Leconte Canyon
FAugust 5 - 41 - Muir Hut
SAugust 6 - 42 - Lake 11910
SAugust 7 - 43 - Layover
MAugust 8 - 44 - Merriam Lake
TAugust 9 - 45 - Lake Italy
WAugust 10 - 46 - Mono Creek
TAugust 11 - 47 - VVR
FAugust 12 - 48 - Cotton Lake
SAugust 13 - 49 - Minnow Creek
SAugust 13 - 50 - Iva Bell Hotsprings
MAugust 14 - 51 - Layover
TAugust 15 - 52 - Reds Meadow
WAugust 16 - 53 - Cecille Lake
TAugust 17 - 54 - Lake Catherine
FAugust 18 - 55 - Foerster Creek
SAugust 19 - 56 - Red Devil Lake
SAugust 20 - 57 - Lower Ottoway Lake
MAugust 21 - 58 - Illilouette Creek
TAugust 22 - 59 - Yosemite Valley
WAugust 23 - 60 - Layover
TAugust 24 - 61 - Near Tenaya Lake
FAugust 25 - 62 - Tuolumne Meadows
SAugust 26 - 63 - North of Green Treble Lakes
SAugust 27 - 64 - Small Lakes above Return Lake
MAugust 28 - 65 - Twin Lakes
TAugust 29 - 66 - Kerrick Meadow
WAugust 30 - 67 - Benson Lake
TAugust 31 - 68 - Layover
FSeptember 1 - 69 - Return Creek
SSeptember 2 - 70 - Tuolumne Meadows
SSeptember 3 - 71 - Echo Lake
MSeptember 4 - 72 - Clouds Rest
TSeptember 5 - 73 - Babcock Lake
WSeptember 6 - 74 - Tuolumne Meadows
TSeptember 7 - 75 - Below Donohue Pass
FSeptember 8 - 76 - Reds Meadow
SSeptember 9 - 77 - Layover
SSeptember 10 - 78 - Purple Lake
MSeptember 11 - 79 - VVR
TSeptember 12 - 80 - Sallie Keyes Lakes
WSeptember 13 - 81 - Muir Ranch
TSeptember 14 - 82 - Martha Lake
FSeptember 15 - 83 - Simpson Meadow
SSeptember 16 - 84 - Lake 9760
SSeptember 17 - 85 - Layover
MSeptember 18 - 86 - Frypan Meadow
TSeptember 19 - 87 - Cedar Grove
WSeptember 20 - 88 - Roaring River
TSeptember 21 - 89 - Tamarack Lake
FSeptember 22 - 90 - Soda Creek
SSeptember 23 - 91 - Columbine Lake
SSeptember 24 - 92 - Mineral King
MSeptember 25 - 93 - Forester Lake
TSeptember 26 - 94 - Little Five Lakes
WSeptember 27 - 95 - Mineral King

I just hope if it comes down to doing this hike this summer that I will be able to get the money together for it. 95 days of hiking isn't cheap!

Also it never occurred to me before but I am always open to anyone joining me at any point so if a section catches your eye and you want to meet up and come along let me know!

Actually one thing I have forgotten that I am really debating on is I wanted to go from Bench Lake down the South Fork of the Kings through Muro Blanco. Some of you are familiar with "Sierra Trails" and when that guy used to write stories. He has a detailed account of doing this hike and it does not really sound fun and that is before he broke his leg:

Hiking Muro Blanco