Popular Trips in Sequoia National Park
drove up to Sequoia National Park. To find the trail head, look for Wolverton Skie and Recreation Area. The trail starts right there from the parking lot.There many trails that branch off, but there are signs at every fork, so don't worry about finding your way. The first 4 miles are mid-difficulty, very nice views, mostly between trees.The last 2 miles are the most difficult part, 29% grade, you go up 2000...
Almost every trail from Mineral King is a work out, and this one doesn't disappoint. The Monarch Lakes trail starts at, you guessed it, the Monarch Lakes trailhead parking lot. The trail heads up pretty steeply through a series of long switches until it reaches Monarch Creek in a pretty little grove. The views of Mineral King valley along this stretch are spectacular. The switches after the stream crossing are graded better (in fact...
Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the lower 48 states, at 14450 feet high, is a big challenge for most people. I got the chance to take this challenge, and finished this total trail in 12 hours. This is also my first high mountain hike in my life. The view from the top of Mt. Whitney and on the trail is amazing, plus the fact that you are on top of everything...
After finishing Mt. Whitney hike in 12 hours, I challenge this one after only one day rest. This hike, on the way up, is more difficult than Mr. Whitney. Towards the summit, there is no visible hiking trail. It's Class 2 difficult climing, using hands sometime. But you do not need any equipment. On the summit, I can see the Mt. Whitney that I were there two days ago, a very proud...
An overnight trip into Cottonwood Basin.This area has tons of lakes, great scenery, and fishing for goldens. It's a popular area but it is easy to find solitude if you are willing to go off-trail and explore. Mt Langley, one of California's short list of fourteeners, towers above the basin. This trip took us to Muir Lake where we set up our camp, then we wandered throughout the basin, eventually making our way...
This is a classic backpacking loop out of Mineral King. Although it is under 30 miles long, this loop is typically done in four days or so since the elevation gain is so extreme (nearly 10k of vertical up and down). No matter which way you do this loop you will have a lot of climbing, but I strongly recommend going counter-clockwise as we did. Otherwise, you'll be climbing Sawtooth Pass on Day...
On Oct 4th, 2009, my friend Manish and I turned around a mile short of the summit of Mt Whitney on a very cold day.11 months later, I got the opportunity to try again when a cancellation made a permit available for a day hike on Sept 5th.This time, thanks to excellent weather and a very early start (12:30
am), I was able to summit Mt Whitney at 10:15 am. I felt...
This 5 day trip started in the car accessible alpine valley of Mineral King. The beginning and end of the trip were on good trails, but the majority of the time was spent off-trail, some of which was pretty rugged, especially with a full pack. Like all hikes out of Mineral King it began with a several thousand foot vertical climb to get out of the valley. Immediately after that the route...
