Sierra High Route Southern Section

The goal this summer was to do a backpacking trip that was off trail and a bit on the longer side. A friend mentioned the Sierra High Route, and the southern section seemed like an appropriate level of difficulty and could be made into a nice loop. This all added up to a 5 day trip in Kings Canyon touching some great off trail areas as well as the John Muir Trail.  

 

 

 

Trip Logistics

We started at Roads End in Kings Canyon, headed up Copper Creek Trail, and took the Sierra High Route to the JMT. From there we followed the JMT and Woods Creek Trail back to Roads End. A little less than 20 miles of the trip is off trail, so certainly prepare to navigate. We used Caltopo as well as a backup of a National Geographic map of the area. I was able to route us fairly well without issue using a map and compass, but the GPS was super handy to validate and make our path more efficient towards the end of the day.  

Trip Statistics
5 days
55 miles
15,000 ft of elevation gain

Map

Conditions and Closures

Permits

Trip Report

We arrived in Kings Canyon the day prior and picked up our permits. We camped at Sheeps Creek Campground. It was nearly empty, with maybe a few sites occupied.

Day 1

We woke up at Sheep Campground at 5:30 am. By 6:30 our gear was packed and we were on the road. At 7:00 the four of us had set off up Copper Creek Trail aiming for Grouse Lake. 

 

All smiles to start!

Roper describes the first climb as "a disheartening prospect enjoyable only to masochists." Most of our group agreed with this characterization except for me. I would consider myself a masochist and did not have a good time. It was a long slow slog up. The incline was manageable, but the switchbacks were unrelenting. We took hourly water and snack breaks which broke up the monotonous grind up the hill. A few miles into the trail we walked by a bear, only spotting it once we passed. It did not see us, so we scurried away quickly as we were no more than 30 yards away. 

 

Looking east deeper into the canyon.

On the way up we encountered Jim, a volunteer with the park. We had a nice chat, albeit I was confused whether he was confused that I have a "common" name or my friends have "nonstandard" ones. We also ran into a gentlemen riding a horse with 2 other pack animals in tow. 

 

 

Exposed sections of trail. 

The horse!

 

Eventually we turned right onto a use trail to Grouse Lake, freeing ourselves from the shackles of the sandy switchbacks. A little boulder hopping and traversing around a meadow lead us to it, the final destination for the day. 

Leaving trail

The meadow below Grouse Lake

We arrived early, around 2:00pm. Naps were taken and water was filtered. At some point Jade spotted a bear, deemed mama bear (true gender unknown), wandering on the opposite shore. She took a swim, meandered a bit, and disappeared into the trees vaguely headed towards Grouse Pass. Eventually camp was pitched, dinner was had, and we all headed to bed. Only one bloodcurdling scream was heard that evening, animal source unknown. 

 

Grouse Lake

Day 2

To get the jump on the day we were up by 6am and on trail around 7. Grouse Pass was the first objective which we finished in good time. From there we headed to Goats Crest Saddle. It was fairly easy work getting there as well. 

 

Heading up to Grouse Pass

Looking back at Grouse Lake from the pass. 

Working our way towards Goats Crest Saddle.

From there we descended to Glacier Lakes. The class 3 sections were easily avoidable, and we found the description of going left for class 2 to be incorrect. While the easiest way certainly was not right, trying to stay far left only led us to sandy slopes that would have required butt sliding down. Ever so slightly left yielded the best results, and one could argue it was straight down from the pass.  

Glacier Lake below. 

Heading down towards the lake.

Enjoying some descending on rock!

We moved down the rest of the slopes fairly easily, heading left around upper Glacier Lake. We followed the general direction of the outlet stream while staying on the right side. Arriving at lower Glacier Lake we moved along he right side, taking a nice break at the outlet.  

A view of lower Glacier Lake.

From here we headed down the outlet until a massive drop off. There we followed the wooded ledges on the left down to the meadow. The ledges varied in how wooded they were, and some sections proved to be quite steep. Tread cautiously here as pine needles were an often source of slippage. Nevertheless we made it to the meadow which we followed downwards to the established trail.

The slabs. They are steeper than they look. Not pictured is me almost eating it. 

The trail to Horseshoe Lakes was well established and easy to spot. We took it right passing a few other lakes on the way. We took a few water and snack stops, and eventually left the trail once at the first of the Horseshoe Lakes. This was certainly the heat of the day, and it slowed us down tremendously. Ropers descriptions of how to get to the lake and towards Grey Pass were quite accurate. We headed to the upper lakes, and eventually started to climb straight north towards Grey Pass. We did not realize how steep the terrain was here, so we were quite disappointed to see how much we had to climb and descend to and from the pass. 

 

Looking northwest on the way towards Grey Pass. 

Once on Greys Pass we headed down into the basin below. We were hoping to get to Marion Lakes this day, but looking at the steep climbs ahead we knew that was out of the picture. We reached the first set of three lakes and we setup camp for the night there. 

Looking east off of Grey Pass. White Pass is on the other side of the wooded peak on the left. 

Day 3

Determined to keep our final days easier, we were up at 5am and were on trail by 6am. The sun had yet to rise, but there was ample light to allow for navigation. In practice, following Roper's recommendations, the slopes up to White Pass were fairly straightforward. Nothing too steep or technical. 

 

Looking north from camp.

 

Making our way up to White Pass

After the long haul in the cool morning air we made it to the pass. We said hello to another couple who had arrived prior to us and took a nice water break. From here we continued upwards slightly on the ridgeline, finding the easy class 2 terrain to contour on towards Red Pass. The solid rock eventually gave way to looser rock and eventually a mix of talus and shale (small talus, large shale?). We eventually descended and bee-lined it to the pass, arriving slightly ahead of the couple who had decided on a full descent instead. 

Looking down on Red Pass. 

The shaley talus. A weird in-between. 

Photograph of the photographer taking a picture of the photographer taking a picture of the photographer taking a picture of the photographer ... you get the gist. 

From there we headed down to Marion Lake. We lost a lot of elevation and wandered through some beautiful meadows, eventually greeted with the most blue lake I had ever seen. We took the obvious left most gully, leading us to the shoreline. 

Heading down to Marion Lake. 

More beautiful downs. 

I could not do the blueness justice. 

After another water break we continued on, tackling our next ascent of the day. We followed the creek just north of Marion, bearing east northeast. We found a small use trail, leading us to a lake surrounded by steep walls and massive talus. We opted for a short scramble with one class 3 move instead of the steep grassy slopes. 

We continued mostly east, weaving our way up the granite slabs and bushy meadows. Eventually we arrived in the basin just below Cartridge Pass, our next destination. 

 

Just prior to reaching the basin.

 

Circling the lakes in the basin. Frozen Lake Pass is somewhere in front of us. 

Cartridge Pass is on the right. 

The only thing we knew about this pass came from a comment from 2018 on some backpacking forum. It is doable, the trail is intermittent, and the south side is much more gentle. All of these are still true. We eventually picked up the trail on the east end of the closest lake, it was faint but certainly there. The closer to the base of the pass you get, the more defined it became. It is not to be understated how steep this pass was. We all had concerns as we got closer. It was damn steep and looked very loose. I worried each step would result in slippage or sending rocks careening below. Once we got on it though our concerns mostly went away. Yes it was steep and a bit slippery at moments, but honestly surprisingly solid.  

Eventually we made it to the top of the pass. We took a well deserved celebratory break and headed down the south side. The descent was gorgeous, giving great views of an unnamed lake below as well as Bench Lake across the valley. We took a nice break at the said lake to cool down. Scout quickly found the perfectly shaped rock to lay on and dunk out heads in the water. It was joyous.

 

Coming down off of Cartridge Pass. 

 

A beautiful unnamed lake!

As we left the lake, we all thought our day was pretty much over. This was far from the case. We dropped 1,000ft in probably a mile on this trail. It was quite slippery at sections, and dumped us into the valley with no trail in sight. We spent the next hour either talus hoping, bushwhacking, or following, in retrospect, deer trails in the general direction of the JMT. We got overly familiar with some aspen and also some thorny bushes. This off trail travel broke our spirits, we were hollow husks of humans once we actually reached the JMT. With the goal of setting us up well for the next day, we headed up the next 800ft climb. We stopped at the lake at the end of the steep section and set up camp. The others enjoyed a swim, only to find out he lake was silty, cold, and only 6 inches deep for much of the side we were on. 

 

The sun setting from nearby the campground. 

Day 4

Yesterdays longer day put us in a good position for the rest of the trip. Out final climb would be Pinchot Pass, with the remaining part of the day dedicated to descending as far as we could. Any miles done on this day would reduce the miles on day 5. 

We were packed up and going by 7am. Our efforts from the previous day cut down the climb to Pinchot Pass, only 1200 feet of elevation gain left. We headed up slowly, eventually reaching out highest point of the trip. After a quick rest we continued on south, almost exclusively descending for the rest of the trip. 

 

Pinchot Pass is hiding behind the small hump on the left. 

Looking back on the way up. 

We walked, and walked, and walked. The alpine lakes were traded for wooded forests. The lower we got, the hotter it became. We stopped for lunch at the Woods Creek Trail turnoff. I was surprised by a beautiful suspension bridge over the JMT which I had the pleasure of crossing. We eventually continued onward, joining the hoards of Rae Lakes Loop hikers descending back towards Roads End. 

 

Looking south from Pinchot Pass.

 

Some peak that we passed on the way. 

Walking down parallel to Woods Creek. 

A super cool suspension bridge!

We continued down to Upper Paradise Valley Campground. The evening was spent sitting by the river and prepping for the final day. 

Day 5

The final day was our exit day! We were up and going by 6am with the goal of dodging the heat of the day. We made really good time working our way through the shaded canyons, descending more and more. We passed 2 more bears. One directly on trail and one wandering in the woods on our right. 

We passed large waterfalls and descended steep stairs. Eventually the bugs got worse and worse. The three others dawned bug nets, something I had (unfortunately still have) been putting off buying for years. My defense mechanism was waving my trekking poles in my face for the remaining miles. I promise I did not look silly or crazy, it was totally normal and no one looked at me weird for the rest of the hike. 

We were back at the trailhead by around 11:30am. The final little bit we were in the sun and we were quite happy we decided to get up early. Eventually we packed up and headed to the nearest In-N-Out, an appropriate post trip stop. 

Post trip still smiling!

The trip was much more difficult than I had expected. The off-trail hiking was physically taxing, but the additional mental tax of navigation definitely wore on us after a long day of hiking. Would I recommend doing this, certainly it was absolutely beautiful. But definitely plan that your days will be a bit slower than you expect. 

Happy backpacking!

-m