The High Sierra Trail (HST) is a hiking trail in Sequoia National Park, California. The trail crosses the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

from west to east. According to the Yosemite Decimal System, the HST is a Class 1/Class 2 trail, which means simple scrambling, with the possibility of occasional use of the hands for balance.

Route

From the plateau of the Giant Forest at

Crescent Meadow Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief of ...

(elevation ) the trail travels high on the northern wall of the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River to

Bearpaw Meadow Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp is a full-service tent campground in Sequoia National Park. It was established in 1934. The camp was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. Weather permitting, it is open mid June to mid Septem ...

. This first of the trail is a popular though strenuous two-day round trip hike. The Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp (a simple tent hotel) located here dates back to 1934. Leaving the meadow, the trail climbs through the Hamilton Lakes Basin to

Kaweah Gap The Kaweah Gap () is the lowest east–west pass through the Great Western Divide, in Sequoia National Park, California, United States. The High Sierra Trail is routed through this pass. The Kaweah Gap is flanked by Mount Stewart Mount S ...

which, at , is one of the lowest passes over the

Great Western Divide The Great Western Divide is a Sierra Nevada mountain range that forms part of the border between the Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Some of the summits of the Great Western Divide reach well over . The High Sierra Trail crosses the ra ...

within the park. From this pass, the route descends into Big Arroyo and then climbs to the Chagoopa Plateau, only to drop again to in the Kern River Canyon. After following along the Kern River, it turns east and climbs parallel to Wallace Creek to the junction with the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail from Crescent Meadow. This is the end of the High Sierra Trail. Hikers may continue on the John Muir Trail to the summit of

Mount Whitney Mount Whitney (Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tu ...

. The Mount Whitney Trail branches to the east from the John Muir Trail south of Mount Whitney's summit, and descends to Whitney Portal located at the end of the road from Lone Pine, California. From Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal, the trail is long and often takes 6 days or more for the average hiker to complete. The fastest claimed time to traverse is 15 hours 46 minutes, by Leor Pantilat. Work began on the High Sierra Trail in 1928, and it was the first Sierra trail built solely for recreational use. Hikers should check with park rangers before planning a trip with riding or pack stock. At least one section of the trail is closed to stock, and grazing is limited in many areas.

References

* * * USGS 7.5 minute maps through which the trail passes: Lodgepole, Triple Divide Peak, Mt. Kaweah, Chagoopa Falls, Mount Whitney, Mount Langley {{Sierra Nevada, state=collapsed Hiking trails in California Long-distance trails in the United States Sequoia National Park Protected areas of Tulare County, California 1928 establishments in California