The High Sierra Trail: Segment 2 of 7

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Difficulty: Difficult
Length: 9.8 miles / 15.8 km
Duration: Full day

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Overview: This is the second of a series of Guides to the High Sierra Trail, an approximately 70 mile trail that runs from Crescent Meadow on the western side of the Sierra Nevada to Whitney Portal on the eastern slope. Each segment roughly corresponds to a day on the trail. This Guide describes Segment 2 of 7: 9-Mile Creek to Precipice Lake.

This stretch takes you from the relatively protected and shaded forest of 9-Mile Creek to the exposed alpine terrain typical to the High Sierra. After leaving 9-Mile, it is a short and somewhat flat mile to Buck Creek Canyon. This terrain is a bit more open than what can be found at 9-Mile and offers some campsites and a bear box.

From Buck, the trail climbs about 600 feet in a little over a mile to Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp. Here you will find a backpacker's camp with all of the amenities (non-potable water pump, outhouses, bear boxes). You'll also find the High Sierra Camp, where you can stay in a tent cabin and eat chef-prepared food if you feel like spending $300+ a night.

For the next two miles, the trail descends gently from Bearpaw to Lone Pine Creek. At the creek crossing you will find a bridge crossing a violent gorge with no direct water access - it's another mile and ~500 ft of gain until easy water. There are some campsites throughout here and water access with a bit of exploration.

At this point you find yourself surrounded by stoic granite formations like Valhalla and Angel Wings. They will stay with you for the rest of the climb to the point where many of them are below you.

Eventually you reach the stunningly perfect Hamilton Lake. If it doesn't entice you to stay at one of the many comfortable campsites, you'll continue up to Precipice and pass through the famous High Sierra Trail tunnel at Hamilton Gorge.

Finally, this stretch ends at boulder-strewn Precipice Lake, one of the most pristine and beautiful on-trail lakes in all of the Sierra.

Tips: Campsites

There are many campsite opportunities on this stretch of trail: Buck Creek, Bearpaw Meadow Backpacker's Camp, Lone Pine Creek, and Hamilton Lake. It is possible to camp at Precipice but it will be an exposed bivy - hard to pitch a tent there.

Bears
There are bear boxes at Buck Creek, Bearpaw, and Hamilton Lake.

Photography
Precipice Lake was made famous by Ansel Adams and presents amazing photography opportunities - the lake has a different look and color every hour of the day.

Fishing
Brook and rainbow are caught in Hamilton, and I've even heard rumors of golden trout in this lake.

Other
This is undoubtedly my favorite stretch of the High Sierra Trail, but with this stretch comes some pain. If you camp at 9-Mile Creek and expect to make it to Precipice Lake or beyond, expect a minimum of a 4000 ft climb in about ten miles.

Some may say this is easy, some may say this is beyond their capability, but regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, keep the following in mind: This stretch can be difficult since it involves a significant amount of elevation gain at elevation relatively early on in the trail. While you'll acclimate and gain strength as you hike the trail, at this point you won't be fully adjusted.

Many people choose to break up the climb by camping at Hamilton Lake. Don't expect this stretch to be easy, but you can expect the tremendous scenery to dull the pain.

Points of Interest

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Buck Creek

Buck creek is the second campsite opportunity along the High Sierra Trail. Here, the terrain is a bit more open than what is found at 9-mile creek. There are a few places to pitch a tent and a bear box to help protect food. Bears and marmots are active in this area. There is a bridge across the creek - no need to worry about a crossing here.

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Bearpaw Meadow High Sierra Camp

Bearpaw High Sierra Camp is the last outpost of civilization along the High Sierra Trail. Here, people who want to pay a lot of money can live the life of backcountry luxury with tent cabins, a camp chef providing fresh and hot meals, and running water. But although these things aren't for us rugged backpackers, there are some opportunities here. A backpacker's camp offers plenty of space to camp and several bear boxes. There are pit toilets for backpackers (flush toilets are for paying guests) and a water pump for easy water access (as of 2009, the water from this pump still needed to be treated).

When approaching Bearpaw Meadow the signs can be a bit confusing. Once you gain the saddle after the climb out of Buck Creek, the first junction leads to the backpacker camp to the right, and the High Sierra Camp straight ahead. If you are not camping here and just passing through on the HST, stay straight. As you approach the High Sierra Camp a backpacker's pit toilet is the first
'building' on the right. The water pump is straight ahead.

At the High Sierra Camp, the main building has a wonderful front porch from which you can view the Great Western Divide. It is also the first time you realize the reality of the huge climb you have in front of you! If you're lucky, you may hear some music coming from the ranger's cabin or take in the smell of fresh brownies from the kitchen.

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Lone Pine Creek Fallen Bridge

After leaving the High Sierra Camp the trail winds gradually downwards, passing through a colorful assortment of wildflowers. It's a bit discouraging to lose this elevation while staring at the big climb ahead, but the scenery has now opened up and towering rocks and deep canyons are a nice distraction from those thoughts.

At this waypoint the trail crosses a bridge across Lone Pine Creek. The bridge sits high above the water which is rushing through a rocky gorge. There is NO easy water access from this crossing!

When on the bridge, stop and look below the bridge on the downstream side. Below you lies the mangled remains of a previous bridge - luckily the new one is much more solid! This crossing also marks the end of any descending trail for a while - and the start of the climb.

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Hamilton Creek Foot Soak (water access)

After about a mile of dry hiking from the bridge, this water crossing of Hamilton Creek provides a perfect opportunity for a water refill and a foot soak. The trail crosses this creek at the top of a waterfall and the view is spectacular.

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Hamilton Lake

This is a backpacker's dream destination. Campsites abound at this lake, complete with bear boxes, and even an open-air pit toilet. It is often used as a basecamp for the trail crews working on the rugged trail above, so make sure to stop and say thanks if you see them.

Hamilton Lake is a perfect place for a swim and fish, with a beach-like area to lull you into a long rest if only passing through. Across the lake you can watch the cascade of water falling from the higher lakes, surrounded by the giant mountains like Valhalla.

If you started off the day at 9-Mile Creek or Buck Creek, you've climbed about 2000 feet already. Although it isn't a long distance, many people choose to camp at Hamilton since the next campsite opportunity requires a long ascent. From here, it is approximately a 2500 foot climb to Kaweah Gap so if you are continuing on, this is a great place for a long rest to recharge the batteries.

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Hamilton Gorge Tunnel

Here is the famous High Sierra Trail tunnel. Blasted out of solid granite, this tunnel was built after attempts to build a bridge across the gorge failed (pesky avalanches). You will still see the cables and concrete footings for the attempted bridges, but now the trail is cut out of the solid granite.

The trail is wide and spacious along here, but people with a fear of heights may feel their heart rate increase a bit (if it's not already pounding from the climb). This can be a tricky section in the early season - snow and ice lingers in this shadowy canyon and you may have to negotiate some of it. See the 'tunnelandgorge' photo below to see the chute, trail, and tunnel clear of snow.

You'll probably see trail crews along this stretch - the trail is under constant maintenance due to the regular rockfall damage that occurs throughout here.

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Precipice Lake

While this entire segment scores high on the 'wow' charts, the best view is found here. Made famous by Ansel Adams' "Frozen Lake and Cliffs", Precipice Lake is one of the jewels of the Sierra. You'll love to fill your water bottles in its pristene, cold water. Snow lingers here well into August and you may hear the 'whump' of pieces falling off the snow field and into the lake. On the far side of the lake, a sheer granite wall is painted in patterns of green, black, and grey provided by the glacier melt, plants, and rock. As the sun moves across the sky throughout the day, the colors in the lake change from greens and turquoises to blues and greys, golds and coppers at sunset, finally fading to a midnight blue and solid black.

Surrounded by a boulder field, Precipice is not an easy or particularly hospitable place to camp, but it has been done. There are few to none places to pitch a tent, but bivying is possible.