Sequoia National Park is a place of extremes. In the frontcountry zone of the park, you can find the Giant Sequoia Trees, considered the largest living things on Earth. In the backcountry, you find the tallest peak in the Lower 48 of the United States: Mount Whitney.
john muir trail
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This past summer’s thru-hike of the John Muir Trail took me through a large swath of Kings Canyon National Park. We travelled along the western corridor of the park for eight full days, giving me a great sense of appreciation and awe for all that the Park protects.
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Kings Canyon is really designed as a backpacker’s park, with most of the over 450,000 acres requiring an overnight hike to access. My first two visits to Kings Canyon National Park were through the backcountry…
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In honour of the U.S. National Park Service’s 100th Anniversary, I’ve introduced a feature called “Find Your Park,” named after…
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The John Muir Trail is a 220-mile trail starting in Yosemite Valley of Yosemite National Park, passing through Inyo National…
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Day 21: Whitney Summit to Whitney Portal
Our last morning on the JMT, our alarm went off at 5 a.m. This was no ordinary last morning. We woke up on the summit of Mt. Whitney, having slept at 14,505 feet. It was a truly extraordinary sensation to step out of the tent and be looking down on everything around us. -
Day 20: Guitar Lake to Whitney Summit
After the bizarre excitement of the afternoon it was almost a relief to get back on the trail, plus I was quite anxious to prove to myself that I could summit Mt. Whitney. -
Day 20: Wallace Creek to Guitar Lake
Our 20th day on trail I woke up knowing that I would be summiting the highest peak in the contiguous United States. There was really no question about whether or if I might summit, it was simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. -
Day 19: Bubbs Creek Plateau to Wallace Creek
Forester Pass is the highest pass along the JMT as well as the highest point along the entire PCT. Forester had been on my mind for a few days as we had slowly worked our way south. It was a pretty daunting prospect to climb up to a 13,180 foot pass. -
Day 18: Rae Lakes to Bubbs Creek plateau
Climbing a challenging pass is best done right before picking up a resupply. Shouldering our packs that morning at Rae Lakes felt pretty great. We were pretty well empty of food and fuel, which meant we were down to our pack base weights.