We completed quite a few backpacking trips and decided we were ready for the big leagues. Big leagues in the lower 48 can only mean one place: The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. The Sierra’s are home to the highest peak in the lower 48 (Mount Whitney) and 3 national Parks (Yosemite, Kings Canyon & Sequoia). The Sierra’s were made famous by the naturalist John Muir who produced one of my favorite quotes:
“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
We picked the Sierra’s and then had to decide where to hike, there are lots of choices. After obsessing over maps and trails guides I got the idea that we should do a trip from the lowest to the highest point in the lower 48. My wife and friends thought this was a great idea. Turns out the best way to do this was fly into Vegas, rent a car and head west. First stop was Death Valley
The high peak in the middle is Mount Whitney, we planned to be on the summit the last day of our backpack trip. Looking at the mountain I actually got nervous and thought how the hell are we ever going to get there?The day before the backpacking began we headed up to Whitney portal to spend some time at elevation and at least try to acclimate. This is also the place day hikers start when doing the short way to Whitney.Day 1: we started at Onion Valley trailhead, past Heart Lake, climbed to Kearsarge Pass, down past Bullfrog Lake and then made camp at Charlotte LakeThe trail starts climbing right away and you have a long slog to the pass. The nice thing about hiking out west: the trails are well graded and switchbacks are built in steep sections. Back east you go straight up and straight back down.Heart LakeThe pass is in the upper left, look closely and you can see the trail to the pass above the trees.Looking back, almost thereAt the pass, all downhill from hereBullfrog LakeBeautiful campsite on Charlotte LakeDay 2: We backtracked a little to start our day, then descended to Bubbs Creek. We then followed Bubbs Creek uphill (mountain) to our campsite below Center PeakLast view of Charlotte Lake before we descend to Bubbs CreekThe rest of the day was one great mountain view after anotherWe didn’t know at the time but at some point we crossed into Kings Canyon National Park. The higher you go the more granite you seeBubbs Creek not to far from campOur second night was high in the mountains with 360 degree viewsDay 3: steep climb to Forrester Pass, enter Sequoia National Park, descend to Tyndall Creek and set up camp near an unnamed Lake The was an epic day in the mountains.Small Lake part way up the climbYou feel pretty insignificant in the middle of this The pass is in siteView of the trail we used to the pass.Leann on the last sectionAs you get to a pass you always wonder if the view is going to worth the effort, this wasForrester Pass: Kings Canyon NP behind us, Sequoia NP straight ahead. The trail work is amazingAt the bottom, rest of the day is mostly flat.Another awesome camp site, outside of the first day we have not seen many peopleDay 4: easy day today, we followed Tyndall Creek down to Junction Meadow and set up camp. The next 2 days would be pay back for this “easy” dayI did not want to see this first thing in the morning, fortunately it did not come any closer but it did rain at camp that nightLeann on the trail againNice meadow on the wayWe only saw this lake because we missed the a turn, that was good miss but we did have to backtrack.Tree huggers in Junction MeadowJunction Meadow had bear boxes to store your food, I love these things they make for a great tableDay 5: Pay back from the easy day yesterday started right away with a 3000 foot climb along Wallace Creek, we were headed to the Crabtree Ranger station Big trees and big mountainsGetting closer to the end of the climb, you can see back down the valley and we have come a long wayBoots off after the climb and nice lunch spot by this meadowThe storm apparently dropped snow on Whitney, we were worried about getting over Crest Pass. We talked to a ranger and she said it should not be a problem.Camp with a view of WhitneySunset on Whitney, we plan to be on the top in 2 daysDay 6: I asked the ranger for suggestion on where to camp our last night of the trip. She suggest a small tarn after Guitar Lake. This would put us close to where we would start the last climb to Whitney. This was a short and easy dayGuitar Lake but there are better views comingLast climb before we set up campGuitar LakeAfter setting up camp we did a day hikeLooking back at where we are campedHeading back to camp, another group came in and set up nearby. We were talking to them when we noticed something very interesting about one person in the groupThis was so funny, our friend is on the left and his new brother was dressed exactly the same and did look like a long lost brother. You never know what you are going to see or who you are going to meet on the trail.Red sky at night, sailor delightLast day was going to be a hard one: 14.3 miles and 9594 feet of elevation change (equal to 9600 flights of stairs).We got on the trail early since there were going to be a lot of day hikers coming from the other side and we wanted to limit company on the top.We climbed for a few miles and then turned left on the crest trail and followed the ridge line to the topLots of rocks on the Crest Trail but it was going to be a beautiful dayThe best view of Guitar Lake, you can see the small tarn where we camped just below itMade it!The gang at the top, we have a long way to go to get back to our car.Leann is almost to the main trail where we will start a very long descentYou can see our destination, look past the lake and where the valley forms a V and you can see the flat land beyond
We made it back to town, took a long hot shower and went to our typical celebration dinner. The restaurant had outdoor seating so we ate under the stars but this time we had tables and chairs. They also had lights strung around the patio, great food and atmosphere. John Muir was right:
