Yosemite's Classic Matterhorn Loop Backpack, California

The Trip

The glaciated granite of northern Yosemite National Park is rich in all the features that make backpacking in the High Sierra famous the world over – rushing streams, gentle meadows, soaring peaks, U-shaped canyons, and sky-blue lakes, all with the best alpine weather to be found. What it lacks compared to other areas of Yosemite is people, providing a true wilderness experience in the “Range of Light.”

Our 50-mile “lollipop” loop begins east of the Sierra Crest, locally manifested by the stunning Sawtooth Ridge. Following maintained trails, including a remote section of the famed Pacific Crest Trail, we rapidly ascend past timberline then spend the next week undulating over sharp ridge crests and down into meadow- and lake-filled canyons. We’ll have some fairly long hiking days and enjoy a layover for lake exploring or peak bagging.

We graciously travel through the land where indigenous people lived for 10,000 years, the most recent being the Sierra Miwok. They spent the summer and early autumn hunting in the high country and trading with the Piute tribe of the Great Basin on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. 

A chart providing daily mileage, elevation gains and losses, camp elevations, and a graphical profile of the route can be found here.

Pre-Trip: Our adventure begins at 4:00 p.m. on the trip’s starting date at a reserved campsite near Twin Lakes. Settling in, we will eat dinner, get acquainted, acclimatize, and engage in our "trailhead talk." Please bring your dinner to the campsite.

Day 1: After an early breakfast, we will disperse the group commissary and move our vehicles to the trailhead parking lot in a private resort at the head of Upper Twin Lake. With loaded packs and 2,400 ft of elevation gain, our first day will be our toughest. Our hike starts in thick forest but soon breaks out into open sagebrush and aspen with wide views of the Sawtooth Ridge. We soon enter a more alpine environment, past the iconic view of Crown Point over Barney Lake, and reach our first camp at Peeler Lake (9,520 ft) after eight miles.

Day 2: Today our hike takes us to the remote northern entry of Yosemite National Park. We will hike down Kerrick Meadow toward Seavey Pass, where we will make camp by a nearby lake (9,150 ft).

Days 3-4: Our hike will continue on the trail with a descent from Seavey Pass (9,150 ft) to a stop at beautiful Benson Lake (7,581 ft), known for its large sandy beach. We then climb up to Smedberg Lake (9,219 ft), where we will make camp for two nights with a layover day to explore nearby lakes, climb a peak, and enjoy the serenity and solitude of a peaceful day.

Day 5: Refreshed from our layover, we will head over Benson Pass (10,130 ft) and enter Matterhorn Canyon. There we will hike farther up the canyon and make camp along the river, enjoying views of the nearby majestic craggy peaks of the Sawtooth Ridge.

Day 6: We continue up Matterhorn Canyon and over Burro Pass (10,650 ft). We make camp beneath the Sawtooth Ridge near Piute Creek or some tarns located a short distance off-trail. Hopefully, we’ll have time to amble over to check out “The Slide” for which this canyon is named.

Day 7: We continue over Mule Pass (10,470 ft) and return to the Hoover Wilderness. Due to limited legal campsite opportunities, we will climb up to the more spacious Snow Lake (10,117 ft).

Day 8: We hoist our packs one last time and descend several thousand feet back to our cars at Twin Lakes, retracing much of our first day's route.

The above itinerary should be viewed as a plan, not a promise. Weather, trail conditions, progress of the group, injuries, and several other factors may require adjustments.

Getting There

We will meet on Saturday afternoon at a campground near Twin Lakes, located about 15 miles southwest of Bridgeport, California off of Twin Lakes Road. The precise meeting time and place will be communicated via pre-trip correspondence. We recommend arriving a day or two early to acclimate to high elevation.

There is a parking fee per vehicle (not included) to park at the private trailhead parking area. The closest major airport is Reno, NV, located 150 miles north of Bridgeport. The San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose airports are located approximately 250 miles away, and the Los Angeles airport is 325 miles away. Public transportation is available from the Reno Airport to Bridgeport on Eastern Sierra Transit (https://www.estransit.com/).

The leader will provide a trip roster with contact information to facilitate ride-sharing and other logistical details in advance of the trip. Due to the uncertainties inherent in a trip of this magnitude, return flight reservations should not be made any earlier than the day after the trip ends.

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

Accommodations and Food

Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are provided and included in the trip price, beginning with lunch on the first hiking day to lunch on the last hiking day. Participants are responsible for dinner at the starting campground, as well as providing their drinks and trail snacks, limited to two – one-quart zip-closure bags.  Specific instructions will be provided before the trip.

To store all food in bear canisters, we will strive to reduce bulk, as well as weight, wherever possible. Therefore, the backcountry menu will consist of low-bulk, non-refrigerated, lightweight foods that have a high calorie-to-bulk ratio.

The menu can accommodate vegetarians but accommodating more restricted diets can be difficult. Please contact the laborer to sign up if you have a food allergy or other critical food restriction to determine if we can accommodate your specific needs without adversely impacting the group.

Generally, we'll have hot or cold cereal for breakfast, and dinners will usually consist of soup, a one-pot entrée, and a small dessert. We will provide plenty of hot water for your drinks and clean up at breakfast and dinner.A gravity water filter may be available in camp. However, participants are responsible for bringing their water treatment for all of their personal use, whether chemical, filter, or UV-based. Additional information will be provided in pre-trip correspondence.

 The leaders generally prepare the meals with the assistance of participants, including fetching water and pot washing.

Trip Difficulty

This trip is rated 4 on the Sierra Club’s rating scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most difficult. This means that participants should expect some relatively high mileage days, stiff climbs, and difficult terrain -- all at high altitudes and a brisk pace. The trip requires excellent health and fitness, appropriate gear, and flexibility for the changing conditions that are often encountered in the High Sierra. Our route starts at 7,000 feet and will climb 2,400 feet on the first day. We will average about eight miles per day on the trail, with our longest day being 10 miles. Our camp selections will be mostly between 9,000 feet and 10,000 feet. 

An undertaking of this nature requires that participants possess the necessary experience and physical condition to contribute to a successful trip. Recent, multi-day backpacking experience in an alpine environment, preferably with an organized group, is required. Participants must have excellent aerobic fitness, stamina, and balance. Participants are required to follow a regular fitness program to build these attributes, and the leaders will discuss the specifics of your program during the screening process. We have found that backpacking stresses your body in some very unique ways, like lengthening your foot from the extra weight. Therefore, we highly recommend supplementing your routine by wearing your boots and carrying your loaded pack on hikes up and down hills (or staircases) for at least a month before the trip.

This is a group trip whose success relies upon the cheerful, active contribution of all participants. Participants will also assist with meal preparation, cleaning, sanitation, camp set-up and break-down, food storage, etc. This trip will emphasize a leave-no-trace ethic in all aspects of its operations. For example, we will “be considerate of other visitors” and “respect wildlife” by setting up tents near each other while exceeding the minimum separation regulations from water and trails. Note that Yosemite limits group size to eight when traveling more than one-quarter mile from an established trail.

Historically, the High Sierra developed a reputation for excellent summer weather.  An old Sierra Club book was titled Gentle Wilderness – the Sierra Nevada. Recently, however, climate change has tarnished this reputation with more extended rain and wind storms, far above or below-average snowpack, heat, and smoke from extensive wildfires.  You must have strong waterproof shelter, clothing, and gear protection, as well as a strong positive attitude, to persevere through these challenges.

Equipment and Clothing

Pre-trip communication will include a recommended equipment list and provide much more detailed elaboration on the range of equipment choices available, as there is no one correct answer for a particular need. While not an “ultralight” trip per se, many of the concepts of ultralight backpacking are useful. Some clothing fundamentals include good quality raingear, dressing in layers, and avoiding duplication. We highly recommend trekking poles to contend with rough terrain, descents, and stream crossings carrying a loaded pack.

The Sierra Club provides group equipment such as cooking pots and utensils, stoves, fuel, hand-wash station, commissary tarp, and bear canisters. Each trip participant will bring his/her eating utensils and carry one loaded bear canister, along with a share of the other group items, bringing each participant's total share of the commissary up to 12 - 15 pounds at the start of the trip.

The total weight of your gear, including the pack, should not exceed 20 pounds, and in no circumstances exceed 25 pounds. Many participants have been successful in reducing their “base load” to well below 20 pounds! This is important not just to increase your stamina and comfort, but also for safety. Generally speaking, packs should have a capacity of at least 65 liters, but with scrupulous attention to weight reduction, some participants have been able to use slightly smaller packs. A small pack will not relieve you of carrying a bear canister!

Backpacking footwear has seen quite a revolution of late, with many people choosing to use low-top hiking shoes or trail runners. The most important thing is that footwear should be well broken in and field-tested under expected loads and terrain well before the trip.

References

Maps:

• USGS 7.5-minute quadrangles: Buckeye Ridge, Falls Ridge, Matterhorn Peak, and Piute Mountain
• Tom Harrison Cartography: Hoover Wilderness Region Trail map
• Caltopo Map of the route: https://caltopo.com/m/2RPDA.

Books:

• Morey, Kathy and White, Mike, Sierra North: Backcountry Trips in California’s Sierra Nevada. Wilderness Press. This trip is listed as Trip #83 in the current, ninth edition.
• Swedo, Suzanne, Hiking Yosemite National Park. Falcon Press. Suzanne is a long-time Sierra Club trip leader, naturalist, and guidebook author. Look for the “Piute Mountain –Peeler Lake Loop” for a description of our route, albeit in the opposite direction.
• Laws, John Muir, The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada. California Academy of Sciences.
• Secor, R.J., The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails. The Mountaineers Books. This is an excellent general reference to climbing routes, cross-country routes, and trails in the Sierra Nevada.

Conservation

The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. Our motto is “Explore, Enjoy, and Protect the Planet.” We are concerned about conservation and the sustainability of resources, both locally and globally. Our work is accomplished by volunteers and aided by a salaried staff, encouraging grassroots involvement. Our outings seek to empower participants toward greater understanding, advocacy, and participation in the goals of the Club.

We will discuss the Club’s current campaigns, “Climate & Energy” and “Lands, Air, Water, & Wildlife," both broadly and from a local perspective. Most importantly, we will discuss how each participant can engage in an issue of interest and take action. We will have explored and enjoyed the planet on our adventure; it will be up to us to take action to protect it as well.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.