High Sierra Trail Gear Checklist
The High Sierra Trail runs about 72 miles from the sequoias at Crescent Meadow, over Kaweah Gap at 10,700 feet, down into the Kern canyon and up to Mount Whitney. The people we read carry a light kit with a bear canister, a paper map, one to two liters of water capacity and one real warm layer for the Whitney summit. They disagree on whether the park requires the canister along the whole route, and the park's own page is the one to follow.
What shapes your gear on High Sierra Trail
- Distance and high points
- The park measures 49 miles from Crescent Meadow to the John Muir Trail junction at Wallace Creek, then 13 more miles to the Whitney summit. Kaweah Gap, at 10,700 feet, comes about 20 miles in. Walking on down to Whitney Portal makes 72.2 miles in all.
From Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): High Sierra Trail
- Water
- Two hikers who walked it say water is close at hand almost all the way. One kept just one or two liters on hand between sources, and the other says two liters of storage is enough. The park flags two dry stretches. The long drop from the Chagoopa Plateau into the Kern canyon, where it says to fill up at Sky Parlor Meadow, and the climb from Guitar Lake to Trail Camp, which has no reliable water.
From Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): High Sierra Trail, Gizmodo and J.M. Peltier
- Food storage on the route
- One trip report lists food boxes at Nine Mile Creek, Mehrten, Bearpaw Meadow, Hamilton Lake, Big Arroyo Junction, Kern Hot Spring, Junction Meadow and Wallace Creek. The park adds that boxes are shared, locks are not allowed on them, and leaving food or gear cached in a box is not permitted.
From J.M. Peltier and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): Wilderness Food Storage
- Cold at the east end
- The Whitney summit dropped well into the 20s Fahrenheit on one July night, with a wind that made the wait for sunrise miserable. The park says Trail Camp at 12,000 feet cools quickly once the sun drops behind the crest, and cold air also flows down the Kern canyon at night.
From Gizmodo, Backcountry Post and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): High Sierra Trail
- Season and permits
- One hiker puts the best window between early July, once most snow has melted, and late September, before cold storms arrive. The same writer says a daily quota of 40 permits applies from late May to late September.
From J.M. Peltier
What the agency requires on High Sierra Trail
A High Sierra Trail wilderness permit
The park says you need a wilderness permit made for this trail. A permit for the Alta Trail does not cover the stretch between Seven Mile Hill and Kaweah Gap.
From Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): High Sierra Trail
An approved way to store food
The park names Dusy Basin, the Rae Lakes Loop, North Dome, Rock Creek and the Pear and Emerald Lakes areas as places where containers are required from May 1 through October 31. It highly recommends them everywhere else in the two parks. Where a canister is not required you may use a food box or the counter-balance hang, and the park says hanging rarely works in these parks. Food must not be left in a car at the trailhead if a trailhead box exists.
From Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): Wilderness Food Storage
What hikers carry on High Sierra Trail
A bear canister, even though boxes are common
Two trip writers say rangers or the park expect one. Bears near the start of the route are used to human food, and a forum reply recommends a canister for that reason. The largest popular canister holds about seven days of food at best, so boxes at camps are used for the first days.
The park's own page says canisters are highly recommended here but only required in listed areas. See the conflict in the FAQ.
From Gizmodo, J.M. Peltier, Backpacking Light forums: High Sierra Trail August 2017 and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): Wilderness Food Storage
A waterproof paper map
The trail is marked well and cairns show the way over the few granite sections, but the writer who hiked it with a phone app still calls a paper map one of the few musts. A phone with a battery pack and a track recorded for mileage was carried as a backup.
From J.M. Peltier
One to two liters of water capacity
Two hikers who walked it in summer say streams and lakes are never far away. They kept one or two liters on hand between sources. Add a fill at Sky Parlor Meadow and before the climb above Guitar Lake, where the park says water runs out.
From Gizmodo, J.M. Peltier and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): High Sierra Trail
A warm layer and hat for the Whitney summit
A midnight start from Guitar Lake reached a summit in the 20s Fahrenheit and gusting wind. A second hiker called the sunrise wait the coldest he had been. A third writer packed foul weather gear because a hailstorm with thunder hit Guitar Lake.
From Gizmodo, Backcountry Post and J.M. Peltier
A headlamp with fresh batteries
Both hikers who went up Whitney for sunrise woke at midnight or 2:30 in the morning. One chased three headlamps up the switchbacks and the other saw a steady stream of them on the east side of the crest.
From Gizmodo and Backcountry Post
A base weight near 10 pounds
Two friends, one of them on his first backpacking trip, covered more than 80 miles in seven days with base weights around 10 pounds. A solo hiker on the Bearpaw section also kept base weight at 10 pounds, with eight pounds of consumables.
From Gizmodo and Backpacking Light forums: High Sierra Trail trip report, September 2011
A short length of cord
The park says to carry rope in case a food box is full or you stop short of the camp you meant to reach.
From Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): Wilderness Food Storage and J.M. Peltier
One small fuel canister
A hiker cooking with an integrated canister system says one small canister was more than enough for a six to eight day trip.
From J.M. Peltier
A spare battery or small solar charger
One writer carried two camera batteries and a solar charger, and a separate battery pack kept his phone running for navigation.
From J.M. Peltier
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 High Sierra Trail
A heavy camera kit and tripod
One writer met a hiker bent under a pack full of professional camera gear and a heavy tripod. He carried about four pounds of camera equipment instead and says he had a better time.
From J.M. Peltier
Feet that were not ready for the miles
A first-time backpacker's feet were sore and blistered by day six of the seven-day trip, and he stayed at camp while his friend climbed a peak.
From Gizmodo
Food for the whole trip in one canister
Even the largest popular canister holds around seven days at most, so hikers plan to put the first days of food in the camp boxes instead of forcing it all in.
From J.M. Peltier
Gear questions for High Sierra Trail
Do you need a bear canister on the High Sierra Trail?
Sources disagree. One 2014 trip report says bear cans are required in the parks and another writer says rangers still require one. The park's current food storage page lists required areas and highly recommends a canister everywhere else, so check the park's required-area map when you pick up your permit. Even if a canister is not required, boxes at camps are shared and sometimes full.
From Gizmodo, J.M. Peltier, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): Wilderness Food Storage and Backpacking Light forums: High Sierra Trail August 2017
How much water should I carry on the High Sierra Trail?
Hikers who walked it in summer kept only one or two liters on hand because streams and lakes are close together. The park warns of a long dry stretch after the Chagoopa Plateau and no reliable water between Guitar Lake and Trail Camp, so fill before both.
From Gizmodo, J.M. Peltier and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): High Sierra Trail
How cold does it get on the High Sierra Trail near Mount Whitney?
A July summit start found temperatures in the 20s Fahrenheit with a strong wind, and another hiker said he had never been colder waiting for sunrise. Trail Camp at 12,000 feet also cools quickly after sunset.
From Gizmodo, Backcountry Post and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS): High Sierra Trail
Can I sleep without a tent on the High Sierra Trail?
Two hikers slept in the open near Kaweah Gap and Guitar Lake. A hailstorm with thunder and lightning also hit Guitar Lake on another trip, so a shelter or at least a rain plan is worth thinking through.
From Gizmodo and J.M. Peltier
Sources
- High Sierra Trail · Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS) · Agency
- Wilderness Food Storage · Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (NPS) · Agency
- Adventure: High Sierra Trail · Gizmodo, Chris Brinlee Jr · Trip report
- High Sierra Trail Trip Report · J.M. Peltier, John Peltier · Trip report
- High Sierra Trail · Backcountry Post, scatman · Trip report
- High Sierra Trail August 2017 · Backpacking Light forums · Forum thread
- High Sierra Trail trip report, September 2011 · Backpacking Light forums, Bob Gross · Trip report