"Can you take Diamox if you get altitude sickness, or do you have to take it before as a preventative?"

You can take it either way, but for those prone to AMS, prophylaxis saves some initial discomfort.

Edited: I just read Bob's post. His advice about staying hydrated is on the mark, but that is good mountain policy in general. Diamox has a diuretic effect, and what goes out needs to be replaced.

Edited by ouzel on 02/19/2013 20:06:58 MST.

This is fantastic. You have put a lot of hard work into describing it for people.

While many people could do this without resupply, there are others who can't or won't want to walk 15+ mile days, and WILL want a resupply. It might be helpful to list Kearsarge Pass/Onion Valley as the easiest resupply exit.

- Elizabeth

Question about permits

If I go clockwise, I'de get a permit for Copper Creek. I bet that's lower use. That would entitle me to do the entire loop?

Would I be able to get a permit a few days after Labor Day or should I make a reservation?

Is there any place near Roads End where I could camp out over night?

Then I could just get up the next morning and pick up my permit? They open at 7 AM.

I'm pretty familiar with Sequoia and Kings Canyon. They are administered as a single park.

"If I go clockwise, I'de get a permit for Copper Creek. I bet that's lower use. That would entitle me to do the entire loop?"

Lots of backpackers want to go up Copper Creek simply because it is right there at Roads End. Unfortunately, it is quite an uphill march, so I would not recommend it to the faint of heart. Of course, if you try to start out over Avalanche Pass, it is even worse.

"Would I be able to get a permit a few days after Labor Day or should I make a reservation?"

It's hard to say. Reservations are almost always more reliable.

"Is there any place near Roads End where I could camp out over night?"

Yes, Cedar Grove is about six miles back down the road, and there are some big car campgrounds there.

"Then I could just get up the next morning and pick up my permit? They open at 7 AM."

Yes and no. Lots of backpackers try to do it that way. They roll into one of the Cedar Grove campgrounds, spend the night, then drive up to Roads End at the crack of dawn. Then they discover a waiting line that has been forming at the permit station. Often the people waiting are striving to get into the walkup permit quota for the most popular trails, like the Rae Lakes Loop one way or the other.

I have gotten excellent results by reserving my permit, and then picking it up in the afternoon the day before I actually start out. That also allows me to hit the trail at 6:00 a.m. while it is cool and not wait until 7:30 or 8:00 like the waiting line people do.

Yes, one permit will allow you to travel the entire loop. Technically, if you leave the loop and go to town for resupply, you will need a new permit to re-start there. Some people have devised good methods for legally working around that.

--B.G.--

Edited by --B.G.-- on 02/22/2013 17:39:04 MST.

Thanks Bob (and Amy and...)

They close at like 2:45PM so I'de almost have to leave a day earlier because it takes two days to drive there (14 hours) oh well, maybe I could go further the first day and get up early the second day to get to the permit station well before 2:45PM.

Are there vacancies in Cedar Grove campgrounds?

Another thing, do you really have to carry out your toilet paper? Not that big a deal - two zip bags - I've become acustomed to draining the poop tank in my RV which has to be way worse - but sort of weird.

Maybe I should wait a week after Labor Day and start on the next Sunday or something.

"Are there vacancies in Cedar Grove campgrounds?"

Yes and no, as you would expect. I generally make a point of arriving on some weekday away from the holidays. I try to arrive there early, about the time that others are leaving, 9-11 a.m., so I always score a site. If you are picky or have an RV, then there might not be so many perfect spots. There are black bears that prowl around those campgrounds, and they will steal your dinner in the blink of an eye. Then they run across the river to make your pursuit unlikely.

I generally try to arrive early like that and spend the rest of that day doing some short easy hiking. That may help with altitude adjustment.

I believe that the permit station ranger makes the same statements about toilet paper. I won't tell you what to do. Let's just say that some backpackers have gotten used to burning up their used toilet paper and then burying the remaining ashes in the hole. Besides, backpacker's toilet paper is very thin and produces very little ash when it is burned.

--B.G.--

What??? You make a fire in the Sierras??? I would think that wouldn't be such a good idea.

"What??? You make a fire in the Sierras???"

Surely you jest. I never said that I made a fire.

There are some places where wood fires are forbidden. There are some places where all open fires are forbidden. There are places where there are legal fire rings, and you are forbidden from constructing any new fire rings. There are some times of the year when lots of stuff is forbidden. You just have to be aware of the rules in effect for the time and place you planned.

--B.G.--

Cool info on some great hiking ideas. Coming in from the east, I really like the ability to basically find an access trail, and then make that my start/finish point on the loop. That could save a ton of time with regards to driving time. Thanks for the ideas!

This is a great thread. A resupply near the midpoint is possible using Sequoia Kings Pack Train on the JMT at the Kearsarge Pass junction. They only require a 1/2 day to get to that point so the billing is only a one day use of packer and mule. I've used their service 4 years now. (I do the JMT annually, will be doing my 6th this summer. I've done the High Sierra Trail for 7 years prior to that.)

Another option is you can do the High Sierra Trail as a lasso-loop round trip that is around 150 miles long, nearly the same length as what you show. It enables a resupply at Lone Pine, via HorseShoe Meadow Trailhead (less costly than use of the Packers at the Kearsarge Pass junction). I've done it. Great hike.

Start in Crescent Meadows in SEKI.

At Kern River meetup on the High Sierra Trail (HST), go downriver, not upriver (as the HST states), go downriver 9 miles to Kern Canyon Ranger Station where there is a suspension bridge over the river.

Cross river, go east about 18 miles to Horseshoe Meadows TH, resupply via Lone Pine (Whitney SHuttle Service or hitchhike from TH to Lone Pine), stay overnight in Dow Villa, enjoy hot spa, and get back to Horseshoe Meadows TH before 24 hours has elapsed to avoid losing your permit. Get back onto trail but head north on the PCT up to Crabtree Meadows. From there go up to Whitney Summit and Back, then head back to Crescent Meadows via the normal HST route, and you'll get back to the Kern River junction where you originally went downriver, but now you'll stay on the HST to get back to Crescent Meadows. Great hike. You'd need two maps Tom Harrison SEKI/Whitney high country map and the Golden Trout Wilderness map from Tom Harrison.

Advantage of this hike is that you end up where you started, easier to deal with logistics. There is a shuttle bus from Crescent Meadows to Lodgepole, and from there to Visalia, CA where there is a small airport or buses to major airports.

To echo the sentiments of others, this is a fantastic thread and one of the reasons I rejoined BPL as a forum member. I would chime in here that during last year's early season hike of the JMT (when we ran into a ton of PCT thru-hikers headed north), I couldn't help but think that there had to be other spectacular routes that would provide far more solitude in the Sierra. I started researching routes this winter with the idea of returning again in a few years. Lo and behold Amy did a lot of this work for us!

I agree with Roleigh on the importance of logistics. The loop aspect of this hike is very appealing (as are the cross country opportunities) primarily because you can save a lot of time and effort at the end of the trip. Leaving via the east side of the Sierra presents logistical challenges that can extend the time it takes to return home. The ETA, for example, doesn't run buses on weekends.

Thank you for this thread, Amy. Great work!

Dirk