The Sierra High Route, Dusy Basin to the Cirque Crest, California

The Trip

Our trek will take us to Dusy Basin, where the striking peaks of the Palisades and the Black Divide dominate the skyline, and end on the lightly used trail over starkly beautiful Taboose Pass. Our journey's highlight will be remote Lake Basin, which we’ll reach by a challenging cross-country route over high, trailless passes. Most camps are above 10,500 feet.

Thunderbolt, North Palisade, Polemonium, Middle Palisade, Sill, and Split. These six dramatic 14,000-foot peaks are the high points of the Sierra Crest in the Palisade Region. Our trip traverses the rugged alpine terrain immediately beneath these peaks. Although we start and finish our trip on major trails, much of our time in between will be spent off-trail.

We’ll be traveling lightly in a group of no more than six participants, plus two leaders. This is fewer than is typical for these trips, many of which have up to 12 or 13 participants in addition to leaders.

We start our trek at one of the Sierra's highest and most scenic trailheads, entering the high country over Bishop Pass. Nine days and some 45 miles later, we conclude with a steep descent from the alpine beauty of the High Sierra to the high desert of the Owens Valley. In between, we’ll forge a challenging cross-country route over four rugged high passes neighboring the Palisades. We will explore 2 beautiful basin areas on layover days.

A highlight of the trip is the dramatic cross-country route from Dusy Basin to Palisade Lakes, which crosses three high trail-less passes, two of them over 12,000 feet. The off-trail hiking and scrambling are not technically difficult, but there will be enough challenging sections to add some adventure.

Our complete route also includes three high trail passes, two of them on the Sierra Crest, in addition to the off-trail passes. Most of the time we will be above 11,000 feet elevation, and all of our camps will be above 10,500 feet.

Join us if you’re looking for the adventure of hiking a challenging route -- both on- and off-trail -- through some spectacular scenery. Please don’t hesitate to contact the leaders if you have additional questions after reading the full trip description.

Our hiking schedule is not rigid. How far we get each day and where we camp depends on group strength, the weather, and other factors outside of our control. Flexibility is important. The itinerary described here should be taken as a general plan; the actual route and schedule may change. 

Day 1: Meet and greet at campground near the entry trailhead at South Lake (9,755 feet) Everyone is on their own for dinner. Pre-trip campsites are provided for those who arrive today, which is encouraged to help acclimate to the altitude (volunteers to assist with a car shuttle to Taboose TH).

Day 2: Our trip officially starts with breakfast at the campground. After breakfast, we will make final preparations before driving the short distance to the trailhead. 

Today, we’ll ascend past a series of lakes along Bishop Creek. Eventually, we’ll climb more steeply to Bishop Pass, where we cross the Sierra Crest into Dusy Basin, where we will camp for 2 nights. Here we’ll enjoy panoramic views of surrounding peaks and the Black Divide, in the distance. We’ll leave the trail to camp lakeside. We will cover about 8 miles and climb about 2,700 feet with the heaviest packs of the trip. Arriving early to acclimate to altitude would make this day less difficult.

Day 3: Today is a layover day to explore the high alpine, off-trail playground of Dusy Basin with its numerous lakes and surrounding peaks. Some may choose to climb 13,000-foot Mt. Agassiz, with magnificent views of the neighboring Palisades. Others might hike off-trail to Rainbow Lakes or find a viewpoint overlooking Le Conte Canyon.

Day 4: We start the day by crossing Knapsack Pass into Palisade Basin, where the 14,000-foot peaks of the Palisades group form a dramatic backdrop to the Barrett Lakes. We wind our way through rough terrain beneath the peaks and climb to Potluck Pass (12,120 feet). Next, we cross into the Glacier Creek drainage, where we plan to make camp. Two 14,000-foot peaks, Middle Palisade and Mt. Sill, are our neighbors. Although today is approximately 5 miles, the terrain is very rugged and traversing on talus is never easy. We will climb at least 2,100 feet and descend 1,100 feet.

Day 5: We cross 12,000-foot Cirque Pass and work our way down through complex terrain to the Palisade Lakes. Our camp near Palisade Lakes will be our first below 11,000 feet. We travel about 5 miles, ascending 1,200 feet and descending 2,200 feet.

Day 6: At Palisade Lakes we join the John Muir Trail and head south to Mather Pass (12,100 feet), a mile west of the Sierra Crest on the divide separating the Middle and South Forks of the Kings River. The Palisades Group dominates the view to the north. To the south is the vast granite bowl of Upper Basin, which contains the headwaters of the Kings South Fork, less than a half-mile ahead. We plan to make camp south near South Forks of the Kings River.

Day 7: We will continue southwest cross-county across Upper Basin to Frozen Lake Pass also known as “Lake Basin Pass” on the Sierra High Route, near the long-since abandoned, original JMT route. We plan to make camp in Lake Basin.

Day 8: We will take a layover day to explore the remote are of Lake Basin.

Day 9: Today, we will exit Lake Basin over Cartridge pass and follow the original JMT along the South Fork of the Kings River towards Taboose Pass, making camp on benches overlooking the Cirque Crest.

Day 10: Today we exit out from the unmaintained Taboose Pass Trail and over Taboose pass (11,400 feet), where we’ll pause to enjoy expansive views back to the Cirque Crest and the South Fork of the Kings River. Our trip concludes with a major descent to the Taboose Creek trailhead in the high desert of the Owens Valley. This final day we’ll ascend 1,200 feet and descend nearly 6,300 feet.

Getting There

For improved acclimatization, participants are encouraged to arrive early and do some day hiking at altitude. An extra day or two also gives a cushion in the event of a missed connection or late flight arrival.

Our trip starts at a campground near the South Lake trailhead, which is located about 20 miles west of Bishop on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. We finish at the Taboose Creek trailhead, about 53 miles away by road.

The closest major airport is in Reno, about 230 miles to the north. Las Vegas is 280 miles to the east and provides ample flight options, often with lower fares. Airports in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas are about 330 miles and 300 miles from South Lake, respectively. Trip members flying from other parts of the country should consider sharing a rental car or arranging rides from one of these airports. The trip leaders will provide a trip roster with contact information to help facilitate shared travel arrangements.

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

We will plan a diverse and appealing menu to accommodate both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Responsibility for cooking will be shared among the trip members. Our first meal will be breakfast on the first day, and our last meal will be lunch on the final day.

Trip Difficulty

The overall difficulty of the trip is rated 5 on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 denotes the least difficult and 5 is the most difficult trip. 

We plan to hike four to 12 miles on travel days, and we intend to take two layover days to explore two basins. We cross the Sierra Crest twice on trails, traverse Mather Pass, and cross four high passes off-trail.

Our greatest elevation gain comes on the first day, when we climb 2,200 feet to Bishop Pass, and another 500 feet to the base of Knapsack Pass. On the final day of the trip, we will descend over 6,000 feet from the Sierra Crest to the floor of the Owens Valley. 

All planned camps are above 10,000 feet, and five nights will be spent above 11,300 feet.

Off-trail sections of the trip include some relatively easy walking, but also some hiking on rough, rocky terrain with loose footing. While not technically difficult, these portions of the hike can be very tiring and demanding. Cross-country hiking requires good balance, stamina, and a patient, tolerant attitude, all of which are requirements for the trip. Some sections require navigating car-sized talus blocks and there are some very steep ascents and descents, particularly on the day hikes. This terrain may intimidate the faint of heart.

Participation in this outing requires adequate experience to understand what is expected from you. In addition, you must have reasonable expectations for the trip. Recent backpacking experience and very good aerobic conditioning are essential.

Our objectives are to enjoy some spectacular country and to complete the trip safely as a group.

Equipment and Clothing

A list of suggested personal equipment will be sent to all participants. Each person should keep the weight of personal gear below 20 pounds (not including what is worn to the trailhead, boots, and trekking poles). With the addition of approximately 13-14 pounds of food and group gear and 2 quarts of water, the total pack weight should be less than 40 pounds at the start.

We will provide all food and cooking equipment, but you must bring your cup, wide bowl, and eating utensils. Some of the group equipment is relatively bulky, particularly pots and bear canisters. Your pack should be sufficiently large to carry an item about the size of a full paper grocery bag (alternatively, four or five one-gallon milk jugs) in addition to your gear. 60–75-liter packs tend to be ideal.

Although Sierra summers are generally relatively dry, we still must be prepared for rain. For shelter, tents are strongly encouraged, and lightweight waterproof tarps are the required minimum. For clothing, you should bring a waterproof jacket and pants rather than a rain poncho. Ankle-high boots are the norm; however, very experienced backpackers accustomed to lighter footwear will be considered after discussion with the leader.

References

Maps:

Please plan on bringing your map and compass -- not only is this a matter of safety, but you will have a better appreciation of where we are going and where we have been.

Maps covering our route include:

• Four USGS 7.5-minute quadrangles cover all but the last few miles of the exit trail: Mt.Thompson, North Palisade, Split Mountain, and Mt. Pinchot.

• The combined Mono Divide High Country and Kings Canyon High Country maps were published by Tom Harrison Maps (www.tomharrisonmaps.com). (The first of these -- Mono Divide High Country -- would be used only for the first few miles on the trail the first day; a photocopy of this section of the trail would likely suffice.)

Books:

• Secor, R.J., The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails. The Mountaineers. An excellent general reference to trails, cross-country routes, and climbing routes in the Sierra Nevada.

• Roper, Steve, Sierra High Route -- Traversing Timberline Country. The Mountaineers. Includes a guide to much of our planned route.

Conservation

“In the California Sierra, living things become stunted above 10,000’ (this is called the Krummholz limit: the elevation where trees no longer reach their normal size). Above 11,000’ feet, the environment deals too many challenges for almost any living thing to survive. It is at this elevation that the Sierra High Route trundles along: the threshold between the rocks and the trees… the organic and the inorganic… The living and the dead.” - Brian Lucido

We will discuss what conservation means for areas above the Krummholz limit, how increased wilderness exploration impacts places such as the Sierra High Route, and what the Sierra Club and us as backpackers and explorers might do to help in preserving these wild areas while also diversifying access.

Participants will also be given the opportunity to reflect on what protected wilderness looks like to them, how do we know if we have achieved it, and what are the things we could be doing to achieve it.