Your Quick and Dirty Guide to Hiking the High Sierra Trail

by meghikes
Comments 11

During the first week of August 2021, two of my besties and I hiked the High Sierra Trail: 72.2 miles of raw, untouched Sierra goodness spanning from the Western Sierra to the Eastern Sierra. We hiked the trail in seven days, six nights, and absolutely loved (almost) every second of it. We experienced the unique and drastically varied environments of the Sierra; we met so many kind humans and trail-mates; and we made a little magic for ourselves in one of the most magical places in the world.

In this post, you’ll find your quick and dirty guide to hiking the High Sierra Trail. You’ll find quick tips, links to longer High Sierra Trail blog posts, and some of my favorite photos from the trip. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or email me at meghikes1@gmail.com.

I’ve put together all of the information that I thought might be helpful or that I wished I had, but in all honesty, the best way to experience the trail is to just get out there. Believe us – the trail always provides.

With love, River Things, Temperpedic, and Thunder

The Trail

The High Sierra Trail is a 72.2 mile trail that spans across the Sierra west to east. It starts at the Crescent Meadow trailhead in Sequoia National Park, travels up and over Kaweah Gap, down through the Kern River Canyon, and up and over Mount Whitney before ending at Whitney Portal. There are no roads that intersect the High Sierra Trail – once you are on trail, you do not encounter civilization until you are done.

Because it spans west to east, the trail travels through the many different environments of the Sierra: coniferous forests, alpine lakes, craggy peaks, and even high desert. Every day feels brand new, and around every corner is a completely different viewpoint from the one you’ve just left.

I personally feel like the High Sierra Trail is the perfect thruhike. It is both long and short – completing 72 miles is a high accomplishment, but since you can do it in a week, you don’t need to take a ton of time off of work and your “real life.” You hike past some of the most famous spots in the Sierra – the Sequoias, Precipice Lake, Kern Hot Spring, and the Whitney zone. The High Sierra Trail is popular enough so that you get to really experience the social aspects of a thruhike. Your finish line is the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. What more could you need?

Transportation

Since the High Sierra Trail starts and ends on two different sides of the Sierra, the two trailheads are about five hours away from eachother by car. The most ideal way to get to and from the High Sierra Trail is to have someone drop you off and then pick you up again, but that may not be the most feasible. Other options include having a car at each trailhead, utilizing a private shuttle, maneuvering public transportation, or turning the High Sierra Trail into a 144-mile out-and-back trail.

For a more detailed guide to transportation to and from the High Sierra Trail, check out this post.

Route Planning

The High Sierra Trail can be done in as short as five days and in as long as ten (well really, however long you want, but the most I’ve seen is a ten-day trip). We decided to have a seven-day, six-night trip, and found it was the perfect length! We had some long days, we had some short days, and we even had a near-zero day before Mt. Whitney. You can find our exact itinerary in my daily trail reports.

Super handy chart courtesy of the National Park Service:

SiteDistance from Previous PointDistance from Crescent MeadowDistance from Whitney Portal
Crescent Meadow72.2 mi./115.5 km
Nine Mile Creek8.8 mi./14.1 km8.8 mi./14.1 km63.4 mi./101.4 km ***
Bearpaw Meadow2.6 mi/4.2 km11.4 mi/18.2 km63.4 mi/101.4 km ***
Lone Pine Creek1.7 mi/2.7 km13.1 mi/21.0 km59.1 I/94.6 km ***
Big Hamilton Lake3.5 mi/5.6 km16.6 mi/26.6 km55.6 mi/89.0 km ***
Big Arroyo Junction5.9 mi/9.4 km22.5 mi/36.0 km49.7 mi/79.5 km ***
Moraine Lake *8.0 mi/12.8 km30.5 mi/48.8 km41.7 mi/66.7 km ***)
Upper Funston Meadow12.0 mi/19.2 km **34.5 mi/55.2 km37.7 mi/60.3 km ***
Kern Hot Spring2.3 mi/3.7 km36.8 mi/58.9 km35.4 mi/56.6 km ***
Junction Meadow7.4 mi/11.8 km44.2 mi/70.7 km28.0 mi/44.8 km ***
Wallace Creek Junction4.7 mi/7.5 km48.9 mi/78.2 km23.3 mi/37.3 km ***
Crabtree Ranger Station4.2 mi/6.7 km53.1 mi/85.0 km19.1 mi/30.6 km ***
Guitar Lake3.5 mi/5.6 km56.6 mi/90.6 km15.6 mi/25.0 km ***
Mt. Whitney Summit4.9 mi/7.8 km61.5 mi/98.4 km10.7 mi/17.1 km
Trail Camp4.2 mi/6.7 km65.7 mi/105.1 km ***8.3 mi/13.3 km
Outpost Camp3.0 mi/4.8 km68.7 mi/109.9 km ***6.5 mi/10.4 km
Whitney Portal3.5 mi/5.6 km72.2 mi/115.5 km ***3.5 mi/5.6 km
* If you take the side trip to Moraine Lake, add .8 miles (1.3 km) to all subsequent distances.

High Sierra Trail Awards:

Favorite Day – Day 3: Precipice Lake to Moraine Lake
Best Lake – Moraine Lake
Most Creative with the Buff – Temperpedic (Erin)
Best Backpacking Meal – Chicken Pad Thai
Worst Backpacking Meal – Sweet and Sour Pork
Best Swimming Hole – Hamilton Lake
Most Magical Waters – Kern River Hot Springs

Some of My Favorite High Sierra Trail Blogs from Other Bloggers:

Thoughtfully Awesome’s 2016 HST Thruhike
Backcountry Cow’s 2018 (Late Season!) HST Thruhike

Day-by-day Journal:
Day 1: Crescent Meadow to Bearpaw Meadow
Day 2: Bearpaw Meadow to Precipice Lake
Day 3: Precipice Lake to Moraine Lake
Day 4: Moraine Lake to Junction Meadow
Day 5: Junction Meadow to Crabtree Ranger Station
Day 6: Crabtree Ranger Station to Guitar Lake
Day 7: Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal

Planning:
My Complete Packing List for the High Sierra Trail (coming soon!)
Getting To and From the High Sierra Trail
Tips and Tricks for the High Sierra Trail
The High Sierra Trail on Film