The Solomons Trail (named after the guy who thought up the JMT) is not really a trail. This is true on a couple of levels: there are no signs designating it, no guidebooks describing it(none less than 40 years old), and no maintained trail for much of the route.

But if you are looking for a different sort of Sierra long-distance hike, you might want to consider the Solomons Trail as you make your hiking plans this winter.

The TST parallels the JMT 5-10 miles to the west, going from Horseshoe Meadows west of Lone Pine some 250 miles to Glacier Point in Yosemite. It takes you through the “Middle Sierra”. It’s a land of big trees, big rivers — and big climbs out of those river canyons.

It’s not for everyone, and certainly not a good choice for a first long-distance hike. But if you’ve done the JMT, or the PCT, or the various high routes, the TST will be a rewarding change and challenge. And since its endpoints are so close to those of the JMT, making a 500-mile loop hike of the two trails is very feasible.

This TR is a bit dated. 2019 was a record high snow year, and I had to bail on fording the Middle Fork of the Kings, so that section is missing. As with so much of the Sierra, there have been major fires, especially in the San Joaquin drainage. However, the fires may have made this portion of the route more passable, not less — it was thoroughly choked with deadfalls and underbrush and was a very difficult passage indeed.

Whether you are considering hiking it or not, I think the TST offers an aspect of the Sierra that most of us are unfamiliar with. I hope you enjoy reading about it, my first journal entry (of 13) is here.