My Sierra High Route trip was a total disaster thanks to one section

Everyone raves about the Section X from Bishop Pass to Muir Pass, but I had the worst 3 days of my life there last July. The trail was barely visible after snowmelt, and I ended up postholing through crusty snow for 8 miles straight. My GPS died on day 2, and I nearly walked off a cliff near Mount Goddard. Has anyone else had a rough time on that specific stretch, or did I just hit it at a bad time?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenixb666d ago

Sounds like you found the official Sierra Test Route instead of the high route. Congrats on surviving.

xenan646d ago

Man oh man, you nailed it. I ended up on that exact same route a couple years back and thought I was being clever saving time. Turned into a whole day of me questioning every life choice that got me there. The scramble sections were no joke, I remember gripping rocks so hard my fingers were sore for days after. It's wild how one wrong turn can send you down something that looks fine on a map but turns into a nightmare in real life. I was lucky the weather held, I can't imagine trying that when the rocks are wet, that would be a whole other level of bad time. Glad you made it through too, those "survived" stories are always the best ones to tell later.