Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports HST - High Sierra Trail

Here's a PRE-trip report.

On Monday morning I plan on starting out the HST ( High Sierra Trail ) from Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park. I have gear and rations for a 5-night trip, and am sure hoping everything holds together (the body is giving me some reservations, so we'll see.)

My cannister holds ~12 lbs of food. I'm also carrying 1.25 lbs of fishing gear, with hopes of catching a few. Even have a tiny frying pan.   If all works ok, I might even bag a peak in the middle. But if the joints get too sore, you will see me make a U turn and head out.

Y'all are welcome to follow along:   SPOT map   Note: If you see any "Help" signals, it is ONLY because I use them to record locations more frequently than Track signals. Do NOT sound any alarms.

Spotwalla page

Gmap4 map centered at the Crescent Meadow start.

Google Maps view of my intended/ideal route.

I still need to get a walk-in permit in Sequoia on Sunday. I am counting on a low demand for a Monday start after most people's vacations are over.

I plan on leaving the HST at Kaweah Gap (Great Western Divide), and heading cross-country over Pants Pass. Then on to Wallace Lake, with a Mt Whitney summit at the end. We'll have to see how well the plan goes....

Steve:

So exciting to hear this, especially the Pants Pass XC. I will definitely be spotting you. Especially envious of the fishing. The outlet of upper Hamilton is a real hotspot. There is also a deep pool below the first fall, about 200' below the outlet, that holds big fish. Need a flashy stimulator there.

Outlets in Nine Lakes Basin are supposed to be hot, too.

Really looking forward to this TR

Good luck Steve. The HST is on my to-do list. Sounds like a heavy pack. Are you going by yourself or with someone else?

Weather looks like it's going to be on your side.

I appreciate the good wishes.   This is a solo trip, but with Spot along, I'll not really be alone with friends and family watching.

I'm not a very patient fisherman, and don't have much experience. I have a neighbor (Giant Brookie on the H.S.Topix forum) who has steered me to some different (flashy) lures to try. They're bigger than any I've ever tried, but he targets the biggest fish. I hope to camp by the upper lake (10725) in Nine Lakes Basin -- if I can't catch any there, I'm hopeless.

2600, the pack weighs about 26#. Some ultralight gear: stove and fuel: 8 oz. Pack: 8 oz. (cuben Zpack). Parka-tent for the rain. 1 Gatorade bottle for water, and several freezer quart ziplocks for when I need to carry more than the 1 liter. No filter. 2# bag, Neo-aire shorty mattress. I use a silk liner inside the bag.

Weather forecast calls for dry, partly cloudy.

26 pounds, huh? Positively gargantuan for your UL sensibilities! I'm guessing the glorified grocery sack is staying home?

Have a blast and be safe!

Holy sh*t. All that food for a 5 day trip and you're under 30 lbs. We need to talk someday because I need packing advice from you.

I was just on a 5 day trip in the Palisades and my pack was at least 40 lbs. Glad you're bringing some rain gear. We had a sunny forecast when I checked last week and it rained 2 of the 5 days. Made the trip...interesting. :grin:

> All that food for a 5 day trip and you're under 30 lbs. We need to talk someday.

I'm trying to get as close as possible to Bob R's "Ultralight Pack" list, or his not-so ultralight.

Here's the post with links:
http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/605#Post605]

If rain were more of a possibility, I'd probably throw in more dependable rain gear.

Steve C has left the trailhead & started leaving breadcrumbs.

Seems to be leaving quite a few at a leisurely lunch at Mehrten Creek.

better leave some of those real breadcrumbs behind !

I cannot imagine 12 lbs of food for only 5 nights. What are you Steve, still growing?

I bet he brings food back.

He's camped at a fishing hotspot, too, with plenty of daylight left.

Wow, that was an impressive first day. By my calculations, 14.3 miles, 6511 gain, 4961 loss, net 1550 gain.

That's a serious hike.

12# does seem like a lot of food. I'm thinking that included the bear cannister?

He camped at a fishing hotspot, but if you read the fine print on the permit (I did when passing through a few weeks ago), it's a catch and release lake!! BOO!!

Oops.

I missed that last year.

Funny thing about that section of trail. The written guides (including Secor) all put that distance around 16+ mi, but the signposts along the way do add up to about 14 and change.

On the other hand, it does not seem like there is nearly the amount of up and down you calculate: I'd be interested to know how you calculate that. There are really only a couple of significant downhills in that direction, approaching Buck, Lone Pine and Hamilton Creeks, and I would be surprised if they add up to 1000. But it is a serious hike, in more ways than one

I just used TOPO, and traced the trail, it created the profile with the up and down.

That surprised me, too.

Interesting. It seems up and down is one of those stats you have to be careful of out of context, like time of possession or runners left on base. By that I mean, taken by itself, 6000+/4500- describes both the mostly long shallow ascent that Steve did on Monday and something more than going from the Portal to Crabtree over Trail Crest

Looks like he's not trying Pants Pass, but is headed south on the HST.

Hard to tell. He said he was staying 2 days in Nine Lakes, and his present position is on one of the side trips he indicates on his route map. He was camped right below PP, and its hard to believe he would not have looked closer before backing off. He really wanted to do that route. He could be off to bag Eagle Scout or maybe a Kaweah or two, any of which have class 2 and 3 approaches from upper Big Arroyo. See what happens between present position and Arroyo Junction.

My money is on Black Kaweah.