Estimated time for Sierra High Route

[Ryan]

I’m a few weeks away from a NB attempt of the Sierra High Route and with all of the XC travel I’m really struggling to estimate the number of days it’ll take me. I’ve done the JMT twice and it took me 10 days on both trips. I was thinking the SHR may take me 14, but thought I’d ask others who have hiked both.

I’m planning to enter from Kearsarge and resupply in Mammoth so I’m planning to carry 7.5 days worth of food to go from Onion Valley to Mammoth. I don’t want to run out but also don’t want to carry any unnecessary weight.

[Link .]

. ANDREW SKURKA’S INFO FOR Sierra High Route . has a great site and can answer questions also

[jscott]

From  Skurka’s site: “We comfortably did the entire route in 8 days and 4 hours, an average about 23 miles a day.”

Wow. For everybody else, that would be a monster accomplishment. Skurka also mentions ‘numerous class 3 moments and endless scree and boulder hopping’. Route finding also slows one down. So does altitude, at least for the first many days.

14 days seems far more realistic. It’s a hard go. I bet you’ll love it. Galen Rowell travelled the world and once said that the Sierra remained his favorite place.

Even 11 miles a day, with a heavy pack at the start, will require a lot of patience and taking it slow to go far.

[Ryan]

Thanks. Yes, I’m familiar with Skurka’s info on SHR and I also realize he hikes fast so his 8 days could mean 12 or 14 for me. I just thought if someone had hiked both and could provide perspective on how much longer SHR takes compared to JMT that would provide some guidance.

I’ll try to get feedback on his website also.

[Manfred]

Hi Ryan,

Andrew and I have hiked the SHR in 12 days. You should be fine doing it in the same timeframe (or faster) as you have done the JMT twice in 10 days. I have hiked the JMT many times with different people in different time frames between one and three weeks. Actually my daughter Hannah will backpack the JMT this summer for the fourth time. She did it the first time when she was 9 and had so much fun that she wanted to go again the next summer when she was 10. At 15 she asked me again and this Spring at 20 she called me from college and asked whether we can backpack the JMT together once again. Who would say ‘no’ to that?

Andrew and I backpacked the JMT (from Lyell not from Happy Isles) at a speed comparable with yours.

Have fun out there!

Manfred

[Ryan]

Thanks for the info Manfred and for sharing your trip report. That was extremely helpful and exactly what I was looking for.

Congrats on having a daughter who loves backpacking! I burned my kids out on backpacking unfortunately, but they have both said they would be willing to do the JMT if they could bring friends. I need to make that happen.

I’m also bringing a tenkara rod and plan to fish at least 1-2 times a day. I’ve always done catch and release, but I may message you about how you prepare your trout. Having some fresh protein would be nice.

[W I S N E R !]

Some friends and I are hiking the SHR southbound in late July. Initial estimate is ~11-14 days.

[Murali C]

My first big hike was the JMT and it took me 17.5 days. I did the SHR with two other folks in mid-July and we started at Road’s end and ended the hike at TM – it took us 14 hiking days and reckon the last bit would have taken 2 more days or 16 total days.  So you could say – similar number of days for both.

Doing the JMT in 10 days is awesome! So your estimate of 14 days is probably on the conservative side for SHR – but better as if you are doing it in June – there may be snow to deal with.

I felt the first 5 days from Road’s end to Bishop was harder compared to the rest of the trip to TM.

The best camp spot I felt was Cecile lake – see if you can camp there. Sunset and sunrise were spectacular.

You will love the SHR. Enjoy! Have fun!

 

[Ryan]

Wisner, I’ll try to post a trip report here on BL when I get back. Have a great time!

Thanks Murali. Cecile looks beautiful!

Yes, I’m leaving much earlier than I normally would, but I had a narrow window of opportunity this summer due to family and work obligations. It’s an extreme drought year, but still early so I’m sure I’ll enjoy some snow and ice as well as the company of countless mosquitoes.

[W I S N E R !]

I look forward to hearing about it, thank you.

[Jerry Adams]

Isn’t there a lot of snow up there now?  Would make it take longer?

[Ryan]

There is snow which is part of my calculation, but I’m leaving in 2.5 weeks and there has been historically low snow levels this year – bad news for us Californians.

[Paul S]

Hey Ryan,

I’m doing some of the SHR in a couple of weeks myself, with a couple of peaks thrown in. I doubt I will take crampons, ice axe or even microspikes, as I tend to think the snow is going fast. We’ll see as it gets closer.

I think you’re estimate seems reasonable. There will be lots of daylight if want to hike all day. The weather can slow you down a little more so than on the JMT, should a monsoon cycle begin. I’ve waited a couple of times for T-storms to calm down before heading over passes. Some sections are slower than they look on paper, e.g., the transverse between Evolution Lake and the approach to Snow Tongue Pass, or bits of the 2nd recess or anywhere there are bits “Unmaintained” trails aka bushwacking.

My 2 cents.

[Ryan]

Paul, have a great time! I’m watching snow too and plan to go sans ice ax and micro spikes. Yes, I like to walk and typically hike all day unless I stop at a creek with great fishing. Thanks for the heads up on budgeting time for areas that look fast on the topo. After months of training and planning I’m just ready to start!

[Mike M]

glad to have someone going before we are :)

have fun and look forward to the trip report!

[Steve Thompson]

Snow, if hard can speed the traverse of many passes as it can eliminate the long talus slogs. But I strongly recommend some kind of traction device.

Frozen Lake pass this early, even in this low snow year can be a knarly slip and slide.  If it looks too iffy to go down the chute it can be bypassed by crossing the divide 50-100ft north of the chute.  That location is more exposed to the sun so possibly snow free.

[Miner]

There isn’t a lot of snow out there as of this past week.  I hiked the High Sierra Trail (not route) last week. Had some solid snow going up Kaweah Gap near Precipice Lake for a few hundred feet of elevation, and then patchy above that. The infamous snow shoot on the way up was completely dry. Had some solid snow coming down for a short ways with some patchy stuff below that.  I doubt any of it was more than a few feet deep.  Otherwise, the only snow I saw was 1 snow bank near the top of Whitney, maybe 50ft long and 3ft deep (though well packed down on the actual trail). Nothing going south on the PCT afterwards. I put on my microspikes only once for a few minutes and I question if they were even needed once I realized where the trail was actually going (vs what I feared) coming down of Kaweah Gap.  I suspect the only snow holding on are places that get limited sun during the day so the melt off is talking longer (some north facing slopes up high and where other mountains are shading it).

[Mike M]

anyone else recently?

sounds like snow should be of no concern now; curious if anyone has any beta on overnight lows? trying to decide on sleep system- thanks

t-minus 21 days for Craig and I :)

[jscott]

these days it’s a question of threading the needle between having a relatively snow free trip, and getting in ahead of fires and smoke. This year, that eye of the needle seems to be right about now…

[W I S N E R !]

 

Thanks for the info Miner.

t-minus 21 days for Craig and I :)

Training is going great and I’m pretty excited for this trip.

these days it’s a question of threading the needle between having a relatively snow free trip, and getting in ahead of fires and smoke. This year, that eye of the needle seems to be right about now…

All too aware that fire could shut this whole thing down any day now….

Add in COVID exposures…we just had a friend of my kid stay with us for two days, leave, and test positive this morning….Here’s to threading that needle!

 

[Ryan]

I just got back home and wanted to share an update. I hiked from Onion Valley to Road’s End, then started up the SHR. I ran into 2 guys going NB on the SHR and ended up hiking with one of them (trailname Santa) off and on for 2 days. At first I was bummed to run into someone on the SHR but it was great hiking with him and was actually the highlight of the trip.

I also saw two others camped along the SHR, but I didn’t speak with them. Aside from them we saw very few footprints or evidence of anyone hiking this season.

There was definitely snow along the passes, but we managed without using spikes or ice axes. Snow at higher elevations appeared to increase as we hiked further north. Muir Pass had a lot of snow and it actually snowed on me for 4.5 hours coming up and over Muir on June 22 (2nd day of summer).

There were very few mosquitoes until we reached Marion Lake. That must have marked the start of the hatch as most areas were swarming with mosquitoes after that, and it was difficult to find any spot without mosquitoes – even dry areas away from water had a moderate amount.

Unfortunately I bailed on the SHR when I joined the JMT south of Mather and I followed the JMT north. I was carrying 8 days of food to get me from Kearsarge to Mammoth, and I was not covering the distance I needed to get to Mammoth. I managed to get to Mammoth at the end of day 7, but realistically I think it would have taken me 12 days to complete the SHR from Kearsarge to Mammoth, and likely 3 weeks rather than 12-14 days to complete the SHR.

This was the first time I’ve ever failed to complete a backpacking trip I had planned, but I wasn’t nearly as fast as I had expected on the cross country travel. I guess I have a better idea now how many miles I can cover in XC travel. I think those leaving in just under 3 weeks have selected the perfect time and will experience fewer bugs and less snow.

[Murali C]

Sorry to hear you had to bail. You will nail it next time. Maybe you will take revenge on the talus like Dan Stenziano did with his Super Sierra High Route adventure after he bailed on off trail hike once  (after having hiked CDT and PCT).

[W I S N E R !]

Thanks for the info Ryan!

So you did make Mammoth in under 8 days…but you’re saying 12 would have been more comfortable?

[Manfred]

Bummer! I’m sorry to hear that you had to bail. You still got a week in the beautiful Sierra out of it – and re-hiking almost half of the JMT is not the worst that can happen :)

Andrew and I took 8 days from Roads End to Reds Meadow (Mammoth) and it sounds like you planned to do it in 7 days after hiking on your first day from Onion Valley to Roads End.

Did you consider a compromise route between SHR and JMT? For example rejoin the SHR after Evolution Lake instead of continuing on the JMT that you hike from south of Mather Pass? Or take the Lake Italy Trail from the Hilgard Branch along the JMT to Lake Italy and rejoin the SHR there? Or after Purple Lake take the trail up to Duck Lake and continue on the SHR to Reds Meadow instead of crossing the Duck Lake outlet and staying on the JMT to Reds Meadow? That way you could have used the extra day of food in your bear canister and seen more of the SHR. Or was that never a consideration after going over Frozen Lake Pass and realizing that those cross country passes with their big talus take more time?

[Ryan]

Thanks guys.

Wisner, the only reason I made it to Mammoth in 7 days is because once the SHR connected with the JMT south of Mather Pass I remained on the JMT. I completed the JMT a couple years ago, so it was frustrating to re-hike a large portion of it, but I still felt fortunate to hike through such beautiful backcountry.

Manfred, I thought about rejoining the SHR and probably should have. I just wasn’t sure what my pace would be and whether I would have enough food. In retrospect I wish I had done what you suggested.

Things I would do differently next time:

• Start later
  • I’m a native San Diegan with little experience traveling across snow. I’ve backpacked for 30 years in the High Sierra, but I have always avoided snow so I would stick with what I know.
  • Mosquitoes were no joke and definitely put a damper on the fun and cost at least some time
• Download Roper’s ebook to my phone – I left the physical book at home and just had Skurka’s GPS waypoints. If I had the book it would have helped with navigation and budgeting time by giving me an idea whether I was approaching a technically easy or difficult pass.
• Go with a friend – it would be more fun to share this with a friend and I believe routefinding would improve with more than one perspective

[Author]

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