Sierra High Route

The Sierra High Route is a 195 mile route through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, first developed by Steve Roper in the late 1970’s this route parallels the John Muir Trail and even shares 33 miles of it.  The route however stays more in the high country than the JMT and crosses 33 passes over 9,000’. The route is often off trail and requires one to be comfortable spending their day doing class 3 & 4 scrambles over large talus, scree, slabs and bushwhacks.  The route is a stunner and rarely when not on trail will you encounter anyone other hikers while out there.  Due to its challenging terrain and required navigation this route should only be attempted by people who are experienced in backcountry travel, are comfortable with using a map and compass to find their way and do not have fear of exposure and scrambling.

In 2015 I had the pleasure of hiking this trail with some of the best hikers I know and also some of the funniest.  I started with “Bobcat”, “Tomato”, “Snorkel”, and “POD (princess of darkness)”. Later we were joined by or good friend “SoFar” at Red’s Meadow outside Mammoth, CA.  This was by far one of the hardest hikes I have ever done, and each day on this trip felt like 3 or 4 days on a regular hike.  I was amazed out how slow our pace was, one day after hiking for over 7 hours we had traveled less than 5 miles. The route had its challenges with monsoon storms and snow, navigational obstacles and alternates we had to make on the fly due to conditions.  I could write so much more but if you want to hear the real stories from the trip  go one over to The Trail Show Podcast and listen to the crew relive our summer in the Sierras together.