Sierra High Route – The Trip of a Lifetime

Andrew, yes it was solo, I imagine that going with a well matched partner would be a plus, possibly a big plus, with an incompatible partner not so much. I will be putting a TR in some form out there at some point soon hopefully, I have about 800 pictures I've just started sorting out and a lot of other stuff going on. But here's one for now…

Upper Mills Creek Lake after descending Gabbot Pass.

Beautiful photo… Seeing pictures makes me want to do it again.

Andrew,

Thanks for sharing the photo. Like Andrew F. It makes me want to go out again. Looking forward to your TR.

Manfred

Manfred, we should probably just do it again next September… :)

Would you do anything differently if you did it again? At the time, I thought it would be nice to go a little slower so that we could hang out in the beautiful places for longer. But everywhere was beautiful, and looking back now I enjoyed that we got to see so much in such a short time.

In terms of gear, I don't think I would change anything. I would bring a Tenkara rod though :) I would definitely bring less food, 1.5 ppppd instead of 1.7. And I would bring about half as much TP, sunscreen, etc. Those two things would probably have saved me 3 lbs coming out of Road's End.

These are the first photos I've ever seen of the Sierra High Route and they are beautiful. More, they are inspiring.

Europe's Haute Route in the Alps can't hold a candle to the SHR in terms of sheer beauty.

Thanks again for this trip report. It is threads like this that make BPL so worth it.

Eric,

I’m glad you enjoyed the trip report and the photos of our SHR trek. I recently uploaded a 3 minute slideshow with photos of the SHR. You might enjoy that too.

Best Regards,

Manfred

"it is threads like this that BPL worth it."

absolutely!

This photo journal moved me to finally crack open the Sierra Club Totebook by Roper. It has been on the shelf for many years. I have the 15' quads as well but the guidebook takes some focus and real concentration. Although the study is fun and becomes a virtual trip in itself, I wonder if the later edition offers any advantage to planning the hike??

John,

I bought the newest edition of Roper's book and haven't seen older editions. Thus, I can't answer your question directly. But may be it helps to look at the parts of the new edition that Amazon makes available online. By looking at the the preview you might be able to see how much of a difference there is.

I hope that helps,

Manfred

Edited because link didn't work. Here it is:

I really enjoyed this. Plus, did not know some of that high country was so nice. I know a guy from Reno who has done the SHR solo in 10 days, I don't think I could do it in 15 with all the passes to go up and over.
Duane
PS: I was going thru my gear closet and organizing a little and I have an old Roper's book my neighbor gave me 15 years ago or more. I'll have to look it over some now. He and his son did numerous bp trips to Yosemite in the 80's or so.

Manfred,

Thank you for the link. I downloaded it to my Kindle and fell asleep reading the introduction/preface. It appears substantial changes have been made to this later edition. I haven't compared the route description yet to the old. Am enjoying the history and development and the input by the numerous folks that have hiked and input their description to the route. Your thread plus the book is giving me a good case of cabin fever. Thanks again,

John

Manfred, just stumbled across this in a google search. Great trip and I really enjoyed your pics. I'm looking forward to several planned trips starting in June.

Are you still going to Scotland?

Awesome pics Manfred. I asked you about the route at the last GGG and I enjoyed hearing about it. It's something I will definitely do when I get some more experience in the high sierras. It looks like the ultimate sierra adventure.

Just think how exciting it must have been to travel along the Sierra Nevada Range over a hundred years ago, before the John Muir Trail. Think about Solomons, who was pioneering the way. Lots of those guys traveled with a pack mule, though. I'm guessing they didn't go ultralightweight, or at least the mule didn't.

–B.G.–

It must have been treacherous taking a pack mule over some of those unexplored passes and scree fields.

A hundred or so years ago there wasn't much in the way of advanced automobile technology, so travelers spent their time figuring out the best way to get miles out of a pound of oats at the mule. They had all sorts of leather guards to protect the lower legs of the animals. People could tell if their animal was hurting. They knew what kind of vegetation a mule should eat, and what kind was bad.

–B.G.–

Manfred and Andrew, A friend and I just finished a thru-hike of the Sierra High Route at the beginning of this August. We had the same timeframe as you guys, so we modeled our itinerary off of yours. Thanks so much for the incredible and inspiring trip report! Here are is the link to the photos and trip report: https://austinlillywhite.wordpress.com And YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S44ImnInamg

Austin, Thanks for posting your trip report! It brought back so many fond memories. Your photos and your masterful description of the trip allow readers to be out there with you. Seeing the photos of Elijah and you in all these wonderful settings makes me want to pack my backpack right away. I'm glad our trip report was helpful to you and inspired you to go on the same adventure.

dangit. another awesome SHR trip report with amazing photos. this has got me wanting to hike it again, this time with much less snow, and with a fishing pole. great trip!