Shepherd Pass (JMT) Gear Checklist
Shepherd Pass starts in desert heat near 5,925 feet, climbs to a pass at 12,050 feet and drops into Sequoia's Kern country, and the people who wrote about it all talk about water and weight. The gear that shows up is a big water load for the lower slope, a headlamp, trekking poles, a shelter that handles light rain and a food plan for bears at the trailhead. A campfire is not an option here, so the stove is the only fire.
What shapes your gear on Shepherd Pass
- Distance and gain
- One hiker puts the pass at least 9.5 miles from the trailhead and Anvil Camp at 7.5 to 8 miles or more. Another parked near 5,925 feet and counted 9,250 feet of total gain to reach the summit of Mount Williamson from the car. A third group's walk out covered about 18 miles with roughly 6,600 feet of descent.
From Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek, Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl and Backpacking Light forums: Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead
- Heat and the first climb
- The trailhead is hot. One hiker counted 58 switchbacks to the first saddle at about 9,070 feet, and the trailhead writeup says some people climb 1500 to 2000 feet after dinner to sleep above the worst of the midday heat.
From Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl and Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek
- Water
- A ranger note taped to a rock at the last creek crossing told hikers it was the last water until a quarter mile before Mahogany Flat, so fill every bottle. Another hiker calls Mahogany Flat a hot, exposed dry camp and Anvil Camp shaded with a creek running through it. The stream at the trailhead sits below five stock crossings, so the trailhead writeup does not like it for filling bottles.
From Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl, Backpacking Light forums: Shepherds Pass, Forester Pass, Kearsarge Pass and Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek
- Camp rules
- Pick a campsite that is at least 100 feet off the trail and away from water. Campfires are closed in the Shepherd Pass and Anvil Camp area, and the Forest Service allows gas, petroleum and other pressurized-fuel stoves where fires are banned. Groups larger than 15 people are not allowed.
- Bears at the car
- The trailhead writeup warns that bears have shown up at low trailheads around here, Shepherd Pass most of all, so a car with food inside is not safe.
What the agency requires on Shepherd Pass
An Inyo wilderness permit for overnight trips
Spending a night in the wilderness with no valid permit is prohibited. So is carrying camping equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, bear canisters and camp stoves without one.
An approved way to store food
Inyo lists eight areas where a bear-resistant container is required and does not name Shepherd Pass among them. Elsewhere you may use a container or hang food at least 15 feet up and 10 feet from the trunk. A container is also required when camping where trees are too small to hang from.
Fuel stove instead of a campfire
The Shepherd Pass and Anvil Camp area appears on the Forest Service list of areas closed to campfires. Stoves burning gas, petroleum or other pressurized fuel are allowed where campfires are banned.
A way to bury human waste
Away from the Mount Whitney Zone, waste goes in a hole 6 to 8 inches deep and at least 100 feet from water or campsites.
What hikers carry on Shepherd Pass
A full water load at the last creek crossing
A hiker who read the ranger note filled every bottle before the long climb. The trailhead writeup says to avoid filling at the trailhead, and a forum reply describes Mahogany Flat as a dry camp.
From Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl, Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek and Backpacking Light forums: Shepherds Pass, Forester Pass, Kearsarge Pass
A pack in the 30s of pounds for a long trip
A pair doing a nine day loop from the trailhead started at about 34 pounds and a little over 30 pounds, with 4 pounds of water each. A climber going for four peaks started at 45 to 48 pounds and called the trip one of his most strenuous.
From Backpacking Light forums: Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead and Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl
A headlamp for the walk out
One pair decided at the bivy site above the Pothole to hike to the car that night. They put on headlamps at Symmes Creek and reached the car at 8:10 in the evening.
From Backpacking Light forums: Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead
Trekking poles
On the night walk out, the same pair probed the trail edges with extended poles to check for rattlesnakes. They also listed a new pair of poles among the gear they were field testing.
From Backpacking Light forums: Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead
A light tarp or tent for afternoon showers
Light rain fell between 5 and 7 in the evening on the climber's first day, and again by 4 on day two. He slept in the open at the saddle and pitched a tent in Williamson Bowl. Another party woke to drops on a tarp in Kaweah Basin.
From Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl and Backpacking Light forums: Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead
A water filter and a camp away from the pass lake
The trailhead writeup says, as of its 2012 revision, that the lake at the pass had filled with yellow algae and filters clog within one night's stay. It suggests the high lakes in Williamson Bowl or the stream west of the pass instead.
A stove with its fuel
Campfires are closed, and a visitor to the Upper Kern country found a fire ring someone had built in a spot where fires are banned. He and his partner took it apart.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS) and Backpacking Light forums: Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead
A bear canister or a plan for one
Bears have shown up at the trailhead. The Forest Service accepts a hang where trees allow it and requires a container where they do not, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon highly recommend containers across both parks.
From Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek, Inyo National Forest (USFS) and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS)
15 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Shepherd Pass
A campfire ring
Fires are banned in this area, and hikers in the Upper Kern had to tear down a fire ring a visitor had built. Leave the matches for the stove.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS) and Backpacking Light forums: Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead
Hiking the lower slope in midday heat
The trailhead writeup says people climb after dinner to avoid the hot slope below Anvil Camp. A forum reply on the trail's bottom half says the trailhead can be stifling.
From Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek and Backpacking Light forums: Shepherds Pass, Forester Pass, Kearsarge Pass
Filling bottles at the trailhead stream
The stream sits downstream of five stock trail crossings, so the trailhead writeup says it is not a good place to fill up.
Gear questions for Shepherd Pass
Do you need a bear canister for Shepherd Pass?
The Inyo list of eight required container areas does not name Shepherd Pass. Elsewhere in Inyo you may hang food 15 feet up and 10 feet out, and a container is required where trees are too small. Over the pass you enter Sequoia and Kings Canyon, where containers are highly recommended and required only in listed areas. Bears have also been seen at the trailhead, so keep food out of the car.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS), Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS) and Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek
Can you have a campfire on the Shepherd Pass trail?
No. The Shepherd Pass and Anvil Camp area is on the Forest Service list of areas closed to campfires. Gas and liquid-fuel stoves are allowed.
Where is the last water on the Shepherd Pass trail before the climb?
A ranger note on one trip said the last water before Mahogany Flat was at the final creek crossing, with the next a quarter mile before the flat, and told hikers to fill every bottle. Hikers describe Anvil Camp as having a creek and Mahogany Flat as dry.
From Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl and Backpacking Light forums: Shepherds Pass, Forester Pass, Kearsarge Pass
Can a regular car reach the Shepherd Pass trailhead?
Accounts differ. The trailhead writeup says passenger cars could reach the hiker trailhead after 2009 grading with careful driving. A hiker with a low-clearance car parked about a mile short because the road got too rough. Leave extra time for the last stretch.
From Climber.Org: Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek and Climber.Org: Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl
Sources
- Wilderness Regulations · Inyo National Forest (USFS) · Agency
- Wilderness Food Storage · Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS) · Agency
- Shepherd Pass, Symmes Creek · Climber.Org · Blog
- Shepard Pass Trail to Williamson bowl · Climber.Org, Bob Davey · Trip report
- Nine day Kern Basin trip from the Shepherd Pass trailhead · Backpacking Light forums · Trip report
- Shepherds Pass, Forester Pass, Kearsarge Pass · Backpacking Light forums, Ken Helwig · Forum thread