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Joined: Jul 2011
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Hi Gang,
I will be hiking from Kings Canyon to Mt. Whitney around the 4th of July. I have never been to Kings Canyon and could use some help, I do not have time to hike the High Sierra Trail. I have several questions and hope you can help.
1.What trail from Kings Canyon to John Muir Trail?
2.Best place to camp.
3.Is water hard to find?
4.Total distance, how many nights?
5.Can I make it from Guitar Lake to the portal in 1 day?
6.how many people does it take to eat the pancake at the PORTAL?
Thank You
THE SILENT HIKER
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Joined: Jan 2011
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SH: You pose quite a challenge: I do not think there is a shorter route to MW from anywhere in Kings than the HST. How much time do you have? You can knock a few days off the HST - the whole down Big Arroyo and up Kern Canyon leg, by leaving the trail at 9 Mile Basin and going over Pants Pass and down the Kern-Kaweah to rejoin the trail at Junction Meadow. Its cross country, but the only difficult part is the Pass itself: scree scramble up the west side, but many have done it.
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Joined: May 2005
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Roads End to above Junction Meadow (Day 1 - long day 1); Junction Meadow to above Center Basin trail (Day 2); over Forrester Pass to Bighorn Plateau (Day 3); Bighorn Plateau to Guitar Lake (Day 4); Whitney; Day 5; Portal (Day 6).
It's all uphill to over Forrester. Will depend on how fit you are and how you acclamate. If you add a day or two you'll enjoy it more.
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Joined: Jul 2011
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Thank You, I will be taking 3 friends that have never been about 10K feet before. This is going to be fun!!!
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 67
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 67 |
Roads End to above Junction Meadow (Day 1 - long day 1); Junction Meadow to above Center Basin trail (Day 2); over Forrester Pass to Bighorn Plateau (Day 3); Bighorn Plateau to Guitar Lake (Day 4); Whitney; Day 5; Portal (Day 6).
It's all uphill to over Forrester. Will depend on how fit you are and how you acclamate. If you add a day or two you'll enjoy it more. I just looked this up on a map and it looks good. THANK YOU
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Joined: May 2013
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Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal is doable in a day. My fiancee and I did it last July. Our plan was to leave Guitar Lake, summit, then camp at Outpost Camp. However, the weather proved to be just motivating enough for us to continue on to WP instead of camping at OC. We were on the summit for about 45 minutes (enough time for a proposal:) before making our way down. Probably a 15-16 mile day.
Last edited by tweederjohnson; 05/05/14 10:15 PM. Reason: mileage correction
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[quote=tweederjohnson]Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal is doable in a day. My fiancee and I did it last July. Our plan was to leave Guitar Lake, summit, then camp at Outpost Camp. However, the weather proved to be just motivating enough for us to continue on to WP instead of camping at OC. We were on the summit for about 45 minutes (enough time for a proposal:) before making our way down. Probably a 15-16 mile day. [/quote
The last day of the hike will be interesting, I would love to stay at Trail Camp and watch the sun come up, but a burger and beer at the Portal is very tempting.
Thank You
THE SILENT HIKER
Last edited by Silent hiker; 05/06/14 12:13 AM.
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Joined: Apr 2009
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Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal is doable in a day. My fiancee and I did it last July. Our plan was to leave Guitar Lake, summit, then camp at Outpost Camp. However, the weather proved to be just motivating enough for us to continue on to WP instead of camping at OC. We were on the summit for about 45 minutes (enough time for a proposal:) before making our way down. Probably a 15-16 mile day. This - We did the HST in 6 days when I did it in 2009 with the long day from Guitar Lake to the Portal in one day. so you could potentially do HST if you had the 6 days to do the above mentioned route. =) tif
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This late in the season it may be difficult to get a permit on the Bubbs Creek trail to do the route from Roads End. If you can start on the east side, a shorter route (50 miles) is to go from Onion Valley over Kearsarge Pass, then south on the JMT. Just remember that if you get a permit from Inyo NF on the east side, you also need an exit permit for the day you plan to cross Trail Crest. If you can't get entry at Onion Valley and exit at Trail Crest on the desired days, your trip won't work.
By my map, the route from Roads End is 54 miles (including the trip to the summit of Whitney, then back to the trail over Trail Crest).
I did a trip from Marvin Pass in Kings Canyon, through Sugarloaf, then up Cloud Canyon, over Colby Pass, then down to the Kern to meet the High Sierra Trail. Total mileage is 65, and it's a scenic route with less traffic.
If you are open to a start in Sequoia, another route only a little longer than the Roads End start would be over Franklin Pass in Mineral King, down Rattlesnake Creek, and up the Kern River to meet the High Sierra Trail. Permits would probably be easier to get than at Roads End. This is 60 miles total.
The High Sierra Trail is 71 miles.
Last edited by lambertiana; 05/08/14 02:25 AM.
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Joined: Jul 2011
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This late in the season it may be difficult to get a permit on the Bubbs Creek trail to do the route from Roads End. If you can start on the east side, a shorter route (50 miles) is to go from Onion Valley over Kearsarge Pass, then south on the JMT. Just remember that if you get a permit from Inyo NF on the east side, you also need an exit permit for the day you plan to cross Trail Crest. If you can't get entry at Onion Valley and exit at Trail Crest on the desired days, your trip won't work.
By my map, the route from Roads End is 54 miles (including the trip to the summit of Whitney, then back to the trail over Trail Crest).
I did a trip from Marvin Pass in Kings Canyon, through Sugarloaf, then up Cloud Canyon, over Colby Pass, then down to the Kern to meet the High Sierra Trail. Total mileage is 65, and it's a scenic route with less traffic.
If you are open to a start in Sequoia, another route only a little longer than the Roads End start would be over Franklin Pass in Mineral King, down Rattlesnake Creek, and up the Kern River to meet the High Sierra Trail. Permits would probably be easier to get than at Roads End. This is 60 miles total.
The High Sierra Trail is 71 miles. Wow, That just about covers everything, thank you so much. THE SILENT HIKER
Last edited by Silent hiker; 05/08/14 03:35 AM.
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