About the Sierra High Route

Description

The SHR is a 195-mile trekking route that runs north-south through the heart of the High Sierra, the crown jewel of the Sierra Nevada Range. It passes through two National Parks—Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yosemite—and two wilderness areas—John Muir and Ansel Adams. It is a rugged alternate to the John Muir Trail (JMT), boasting about 100 miles of cross-country travel, numerous Class III scrambles, and seemingly endless miles of boulder fields. SHR hikers are rewarded with pristine alpine settings, uninterrupted stretches of solitude, and a sense of true adventure. The route was developed by climber Steve Roper back in the late-1970’s.

Starting and Ending Points

The southern terminus is at Road’s End in the South Fork of the Kings River, about 90 miles east of Fresno. Its climbs into the high country via the Copper Creek Trail. The northern terminus is at Mono Village, at Twin Lakes, just outside of the northwest boundary of Yosemite National Park, about 13 miles southwest of Bridgeport. If you do not wish to hike the entire SHR, it is possible to do it in sections, though because the trail is so remote and because vehicle access is so limited, this is logistically difficult and often involves hiking long distances from nearby trailheads before the SHR is even reached. But, in that sense, portions of the SHR can easily be integrated into loop hikes.

SHR versus the John Muir Trail

The SHR and JMT are of similar distance (195 for SHR, 218 for JMT) and both go north-south through the High Sierra. Additionally, the SHR uses about 30 miles of the JMT corridor. But otherwise the trails—and the experiences they provide—are markedly different. First, the SHR is not an official trail; it is a route. It is not labeled on any maps and there is no signage for it on the ground. Very few people know about it, and even fewer hike it. It is not a continuous footpath—about half of its length is off-trail. In almost perfect contrast, the John Muir Trail is an official trail; it is labeled on maps and there is signage on the ground; lots of people know about it and hike it; and it’s a continuous footpath.

Foot Traffic

It’s estimated that about 10 people hike the entire SHR each year, i.e. thru-hike it. There may be more or less, but—whatever the exact number may be—it’s small. Like all long-distance trails, it receives more traffic from section hikers (and, perhaps in the most accessible portions of the route, day hikers). But, again, this traffic is peanuts compared to elsewhere in the High Sierra.

43 Comments

  1. Dogwood on November 18, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    A definite thumbs up! I would highy recommend using Andrew”s SHR mapset on a SHR thru-hike. I used it on my SHR thru-hikes in 2007 and 2009. The mapset is very well organized and designed, which is what I would expect from someone who has been as innovative as Andrew in creating new routes and connecting segments of different trails. I particularly appreciated that he avoided drawing a line on his maps saying this is where the trail/route is. It gives SHR hikers the option of coming up with their own exact Sierra High Routes which increases the sense of adventure and exploration. And, as he says, if one was attempting to piece together and purchase all of the maps needed to cover the route it could not only be time consuming but also substantially more expensive than what he charges for his SHR mapset. The mapset was also easy to print out.

    However, if doing side trips off the route or hiking in shoulder seasons when snow may cover parts of the route or risk of snow is high or simply because one feels more comfortable viewing the “larger” picture I would supplement with additional maps covering larger areas.

    I just wish his mapset for the Hayduke Trail was available when I hiked that trail. It was a tedious and somewhat expenisve task accumulating all the maps.

    • Robert Trick on February 24, 2015 at 9:25 pm

      Hey Dogwood, glad you finished the Hayduke. Met you at Tanner beach in GC, hope you remember, my buddy asked you if you were “cool”. We still laugh about it.

  2. Rob Harlan on February 3, 2015 at 5:37 pm

    Hello Andrew! A true admirer here! I have studied your site, tips, and comments about the SHR for what seems like an eternity now.
    Long story short, I am a typical peak bagger, that fell in love with the beautiful Sierra Nevada as a young man. I learned about the SHR approximately ten years ago while on an annual pilgrimage to the Sierra, but became truly fascinated with the idea of a ‘threw-hike’ when I met a hiker on route back in ’07. I was camping in Dusy Basin on the last evening of a five day loop. He was dropping down off of Napsack Pass. I knew immediately that he was doing the SHR! We met for a short moment, and that is all it took. I was determined from that point on!
    After many early season trips, and trails that disappear under the snow, I have always found ‘off-trail route finding’ my true passion. The thought of a JMT threw-hike just never struck a fancy. I estimate that I have walked only about thirty miles of the SHR thus far, used to access summit tops.
    So finally, after having left my own business/company/career after 26 years of service, and having been granted the “go-ahead” from my ‘boss’ the wife, I am committed to a late summer 2015 SHR threw-hike!
    I have purchased and downloaded the wonderful maps that you have painstakingly compiled. My “Thanks” goes out to you for your efforts on listing the details of a committed hike, and what to expect.
    I don’t mean to write a novel here, but wanted to introduce myself as I fully intend to become one of the few very blessed people to God willing, complete this “wonderful route!”
    Sincerely,
    Rob Harlan

    • Robert Harlan on April 5, 2020 at 12:10 pm

      And proud to say that I did complete the SHR, Sept., 2016. It was the “highlight”, “ultimate experience” of my life!

      • Andrew P on April 12, 2020 at 7:50 am

        Ditto for us. Someone recently asked me what was my favourite holiday. Having visited the Himalaya five times (Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan), plus Kilimanjaro, Patagonia, NZ and lots of Tasmania, I can happily hand on heart say the Sierra Nevada for 31 days was the highlight of my hiking life!
        I don’t know if I’ll ever top it, but to be honest, I don’t need to!

  3. Alex on March 1, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    Wow!

    I am trying to bring a group of 10 Candian hikers (myself +9) on a through hike of the JMT. Alas, I had zero luck obtaining a permits. I had hope for one via Hoover Wilderness but a few days after I mailed my permit application, they came out with a new policy: no more permits for their trailheads if you are heading through Yosemite via towards Donahue Pass. Bummed out yet again by forestry regulations not allowing us to hike, I was doing some research for an alternate hike and came across this site! Wow, the hike seems amazing!

    Question though: I can hold my own navigation wise but am definitely not a pro. Would we be okay on this trail if 3 of us are simply “okay” at map reading and naving?

    • Andrew Skurka on March 1, 2015 at 8:39 pm

      The JMT is hardly the only worthy thing in the High Sierra. In fact, I’d say it may be the ugliest part of it — industrial backcountry tourism. Maybe the Forest Service is actually doing you a favor in not giving you a permit.

      Without more info about you and your experience, it would be very irresponsible to try to give a yes/no on whether you are qualified for the SHR.

  4. Casey Edwards on August 11, 2015 at 10:25 pm

    Hello and thanks! I’m looking at thru hiking in a couple years…realistically, about how much time should one allow?

    • Andrew Skurka on August 11, 2015 at 10:31 pm

      Completely depends on your fitness and will. The limit seems to be vertical change per day, not mileage, especially on the off-trail sections. I would break the route up into two categories: on trail and off-trail. The on-trail portions will go about as fast as you normally hike on-trail (in the Sierra). So if there are 100 miles and you normally do 20 miles/day, that’s 5 days. The off-trail portions will be limited by the vertical. So if there is 50k vertical for the remaining 100 miles, and you can do about 5k vertical per day, that’s another 10 days. So 15 total.

  5. Marcus on March 22, 2016 at 9:46 pm

    Thanks Andrew. I’ve done JMT in 12 days and it was scenic, but yes, not too serene with the “crowds”. I’m a climber and a runner and love 3rd and 4th class exposed fun. Do you have the cumulative elevation gain loss? Would you recommend nobo or sobo? I do plan on throwing you some $ for your guide but just trying to figure out some preliminary info.

    • Andrew Skurka on March 23, 2016 at 4:58 am

      I don’t know the exact vertical on the SHR, but I’ll estimate it at 500-550 vertical feet of change per mile. Overall, it’s not as intense as the Kings Canyon High Basin Route (700) or the Wind River High Route (620) — the on-trail sections, in particular, will dumb it down.

      Re direction, read this: https://andrewskurka.com/adventures/sierra-high-route/logistical-considerations/

    • Michael Hofmayer on July 30, 2016 at 6:47 pm

      Marcus,
      Are you the French trail runner/Montreal student we met on the JMT last summer and later shared the bus from Mammoth to the Valley? I was the one with the Petzl eLite headlamp. Wonder how you are doing and what your plans are for this summer.
      Cheers,
      Michael

  6. Rob on June 14, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    Hi Andrew,

    Two friends and myself are planning on doing a hybrid sections of the SHR starting at Devil’s Postpile and going to Thousand Island Lake (on the SHR) and then looping back via the JMT. All of us have mountaineering and backcountry hiking experience; are all in very good physical shape; have spent time together on multiple trips in the past; and have no reservations about bailing out. We are planning on 3 nights, 3.5 days to complete so we can take our time and move slowly. However, we have two members with intermediate route finding skills and one member with beginning route finding skills. Is this feasible or are we getting in over our heads? Thanks.

    • Andrew Skurka on June 14, 2016 at 2:59 pm

      I would switch your route so that you’re doing the SHR with lighter packs, and when you’re more acclimatized.

      When creating an itinerary for these high routes, the most useful variable is vertical gain and loss. With so much vert, your daily mileage will be limited by how much you can climb and descend in a day, not how many miles you can cover. Before you lock into your 3.5-day itinerary, I would run through the numbers to make sure it’s viable.

      I think you guys will be okay. Three heads are better than one. When I travel off-trail, I try to create a consistent story with the data I have — dead reckoning, altimeter, topographic map, GPS. When one of these pieces of data is inconsistent with the others, stop and figure it out.

      • Larry on June 25, 2020 at 12:16 pm

        Hey Andrew,
        My son and 2 friends are planning on doing a 100 mile section of the SHR.
        He seems to think that a gps ap on his cell phone would be sufficient.
        Any professional experienced guidance would be helpful. We live in the Southeast and none of them have any High Sierra experience.

      • Larry Meisner on June 25, 2020 at 12:16 pm

        Hey Andrew,
        My son and 2 friends are planning on doing a 100 mile section of the SHR.
        He seems to think that a gps ap on his cell phone would be sufficient.
        Any professional experienced guidance would be helpful. We live in the Southeast and none of them have any High Sierra experience.

    • Caroline on June 17, 2016 at 8:38 am

      Hi Rob,
      There is trail and use trail a lot of the way for that section – it’s pretty darn hard to get lost! Keep your eyes peeled for use trail, and there are some cairns coming down from the Minarets. The two areas where there is not use trail are the three passes you’ll get over, and when you’re on a pass (except for the third pass, just before Thousand Island) there aren’t too many choices where to go. It’s up and over. Last year I was able to follow the route in that section without relying too much on my map & compass, because the landmarks (peaks) are all so distinct, and again, the route is beat in. You’ll see! Have fun!

      • Rob on June 17, 2016 at 12:14 pm

        Caroline,

        Good to hear. Thanks so much for the feedback.

    • Caroline on June 17, 2016 at 8:51 am

      I should have given my 2015 blog link for that particular section, Rob. Here it is: http://www.little-package.com/blog/2015/09/sierra-high-route-reds-meadow-tuolumne-meadow

  7. Andrew Purdam on January 7, 2017 at 4:02 am

    Hey Andrew,
    My wife and I did 31 days of SHR north (Mammoth to Mono) and south (Mammoth to Mather Pass) then continued on to Mt Whitney and exited via Cottonwood Lakes.
    Certainly busier once you get on the JMT and PCT!
    Had a great time and really appreciated your detailed terrain maps. They really helped us find our way (most of the time! – we got stuck on one map edge…) Of course, once leaving the SHR, didn’t really need such detailed maps (though we still found some diversions on the way south, Cardinal Lake, Striped Mtn, Sixty Lakes Basin, Kern Circuit Trail, Army Pass).
    We went ultra-light with our gear, but still struggled with bear canisters and up to eight days of food.

  8. Alain Monne on August 18, 2018 at 6:04 am

    Hey Andrew,
    your internet site give me lot of desire to go through the SHR.
    I come from france starting from Yosemite valley, tuolume medows and then the shr.
    Do you think, before buying the maps, that it’s possible to take this alternative route whith the JMT permit ?
    Do you think it is possible to do all the parts before junction knowing I have to go to whithney portal.
    I hope to be clear enough 😉
    Thanks a lot,
    Alain

    • Andrew Skurka on August 18, 2018 at 7:41 am

      If I understand you correctly…

      To hike from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows you will need a wilderness permit out of Happy Isles — unless you can cover that distance in a day, in which case you can get a permit out of TM.

      To follow the SHR out of TM, you’ll need a permit for Rafferty Creek to Vogelsang Pass.

  9. Alain Monne on August 19, 2018 at 5:54 am

    Hi Andrew,

    Thank you for your quick response.

    In fact I have my permit for the jmt beginning the 16 th of September from Yosemite to Whitney portal, and after another one for the high sierra trail beginning the 1st of October. plane back for France is scheduled the 10 th of October.

    So , arriving in Yosemite the 10th of September, i will try to start earlier and ask for the vogelsang area permit like you said. I have planned to do some parts of the SHR, Vogelsang to Red Meadows, Red Meadows to Duck lake, Tully Hole to Darwin Bench and Bishop Pass to palissade Bassin but I need this few days more to be able to do it and also the permits. It’s not simple to organize a trail from outside and happily people like you are very helpful.

    Anyway, I will charge your mapset hoping to get the permit to use it.

    Thanks again.

    Alain

  10. Jonathan on February 17, 2019 at 10:24 am

    Hello Andrew! Came across your blog and wanted to say great info for those looking to hike the SHR. I went on a section hike of it last summer with a few friends and it was the most incredible experience I’ve had in the backcountry so far. We saw maybe 10 other people in the route sections of our hike, and the scenery every moment was spectacular.

    I wanted to share some of the images and video I created while on the route, take a look!
    Photos – https://www.flickr.com/gp/jknepp/6XnqC3
    Short highlight – https://youtu.be/1k2qq_bKlTk

    It was well worth carrying my professional camera to capture some of the incredible wilderness. Plans are set to do another section next summer!

    Happy hiking man.

  11. Joseph on August 3, 2019 at 3:33 am

    Andrew,

    This may be a novice question but on your routes that can take up to 10-14 days to complete, how do you recommend resupplying? I know it varies on each trail but this is one thing that is a head scratcher to me. I can’t see carrying 14 days of food… I don’t even think my pack would fit it! I tried looking for a tip and only saw on your YHR, you prefer to start where the loops meet so that when you finish one loop, you simply resupply. But what if this isn’t the case? Seeing that these are remote areas, is carrying all of your food the answer?

    Thank you!

    • Andrew Skurka on August 3, 2019 at 7:35 am

      Hate to break it to you, but if you want to get into deep wilderness and stay there, you need to carry a lot of food.

      The alternative is to periodically exit the wilderness to resupply, or maybe to meet a horse packer who agreed to drop some things for you. The exact resupply options vary by route.

      • Andrew P on August 3, 2019 at 1:09 pm

        Yes and no. We did our own version of the SHR and had four resupplies.
        One we posted to Tuolumne Meadows and picked up on day four heading north from Mammoth Lakes. First leg was nine days total, finishing at Twin Lakes/Mono Village.
        Our next was refilling back in Mammoth before heading south for a longer stretch.
        Three and four were provided by someone whom we paid a lot of money to to carry food up to passes on the eastern side too meet us as we headed down, eventually to Mt Whitney and beyond. Each of these last two saved us two days hiking out and back, including walking up 1000m with newly full packs. A bargain in my mind!
        We were 31 days walking.

  12. Amber on February 13, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    I would love to connect the Kong’s Canyon High Route, the Sierra High Route, and the Yosemite High Route. Do they connect or overlap? I am having a tough time visualizing the connections and the start and ending points to know if this is possible.

    • Andrew Skurka on February 15, 2020 at 7:23 pm

      Yes, you can link them up. Starting in the south:

      The SHR and KCHBR intersect in LeConte Canyon on the JMT, and overlap with the JMT to just below Muir Pass. Beyond Helen Lake, the KCHBR turns south into Ionian Basin, while the SHR continues on the JMT. Stay on the SHR.

      The SHR and YHR intersect shortly after the SHR enters the park via Blue Lakes Pass. I’d recommend following the YHR to Tuolumne Meadows, not the SHR — the route is multitudes better.

      The SHR and YHR split in upper Spiller Creek. The SHR jumps the boundary via Horse Creek Pass and descends to Twin Lakes/Mono Village, while the YHR continues north into the remote northern canyons.

      More details on YHR and SHR link ups, More details on this one, https://andrewskurka.com/adventures/yosemite-high-route/links-pct-jmt-shr/.

  13. Stephen on March 4, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    Hey Andrew – Picked up your SHR map set, really helpful thank you. I have two questions, hopefully not too much to ask. I’ve been looking at the section between Devil’s Postpile & Tuolumne Meadows, mainly because pick up and drop off for me will be a breeze.. but i’m having an issue getting july permits for Minaret on any day. Is there any alternative that you’re familiar with, that will get me to the Route considering the section i want to do? A less popular trail head that might link up? I’d also do it in reverse but the Yosemite permit reservation system is yielding same result. I’d like to keep the trip to about 50 miles but a few more is fine for the time i have.

    My second question is: I’ve done 100’s of sierra miles on trail, and a few shorter 2 day trips XC in lower country, but this will be my first trip which requires this much navigating and if i can’t get permits for the area mentioned above i’m open to others.. are there any sections of the SHR you particularly recommend that might be good intros to this level of navigation? Thank you, really appreciate your work, impact, and your materials!

    For example, can i use the Beck Lake trail head to get to the SHR without much change? Thank You, again!

    • Andrew Skurka on March 5, 2020 at 5:41 pm

      You would definitely want to hike from TM to Devil’s Postpile. The SHR in the southern half of Yosemite is almost entirely on-trail, and it’d be an anti-climatic finish.

      If you’re going to be heading out of TM and if no permits are available, you have two options:
      1. Walk-up. Yosemite reserves 40 percent of the quota for walk-up. They start giving out these permits at 11am the day before.
      2. Use Nelson Lake entry. Officially this is an off-trail route, but there’s a use trail all the way to Nelson Lake. It can be reserved, and the reserve-able quota is rarely met.

      If you are new to off-trail, my recommendation is to simply do a loop rather than a point-to-point. You can make your own with SHR (for example: South Lakes to LeConte to Palisade Lakes, then SHR back to Bishop Pass Tr), or you can use guidebooks for the Kings Canyon High Basin Route and Yosemite High Route, both of which included recommended section-hikes.

      Unless you live in Lee Vining or Bishop, I would never recommend a point-to-point itinerary of just 50-ish miles. The logistics rarely make it worthwhile, relative to the ease of a loop itinerary. Plus, loops allow you to shorten or extend your itinerary without consequence based on how you’re doing, whereas with a point-to-point you’re committed to that distance.

  14. Stephen on May 29, 2020 at 2:23 pm

    Hey Andrew ! The info on this site has really made planning digestible. Just wrapped up Steve Roper’s book as well, based on your Rec. Anyway, my plan is to finish Headwaters Country and potentially continue on to canyon country. Permits are set for northbound starting at Devils post pile. I’m set to start on July 19th.. do you have a recommendation for the most reliable online information about snow for this year ? Any info you might have on 2020 snow in this area would be very helpful. Appreciate you !

  15. Amber on May 30, 2020 at 11:56 am

    I am trying to put together a hike. I am very confused about permits. Do you need a new permit every time you exit to resupply. I bought the kit for the SHR and KCHBR. I am currently looking at combining the KCHBR with the High Sierra trail. The permit part is so confusing for me. If I exit out of Whitney Portal to resupply do I need a permit to legally re-enter? Same question for Road’s end or Lodgepole? Any help you or anyone else could give me would be great. The only hike I have done in the Sierra was on my thru-hike of the PCT. The mass permit made the whole thing a lot left confusing.

    • Andrew Skurka on June 2, 2020 at 4:22 pm

      It’s a gray area. Most rangers would probably consider it kosher if you get off a trail to resupply and get back on at the same place. This is standard operating procedure on the JMT; in other areas where resupplies are less common, you might have more explaining to do.

  16. Ryan Hubbard on August 2, 2020 at 10:49 pm

    Ten people per year? You’d better update that. I was just on the SHR last week from Humphrey’s Basin-Merriam Lake-Italy Lake and came across several groups each day. In Bear Lakes basin alone, we ran into 17 people! There were other folks on every one of the 5 cross-country passes that we crossed. Yes, the SHR is much less traveled than JMT but more and more people every year are on the SHR. Still beautiful and amazing, but disappointing to miss out on solitude. Crazy to think of these mega-remote spots getting over-run. It’s public space and open to all of us, but I’m used to having it to myself over the past couple of decades. I guess there’s a lot of people in California. Maybe I need to check out the Northern Rockies to be alone? Just a heads up to other mountain travelers… When you show up at a lake that has other campers on it, don’t start running around and shouting at each other around the lake. Respect your neighbors.

    • ANDREW FRANKS on August 23, 2020 at 11:57 am

      I hear the Great Divide Trail in Canada offers a chance for significant solitude.
      Of course, that was a few years ago. It may have gained in popularity.
      Supposedly, it is poorly marked or unmarked in many areas. Top-notch map-n-compass plus GPS are said to be a good idea.
      It is Canada’s extension of our Continental Divide Trail.
      Best of luck.

  17. Ryan Melius on May 28, 2022 at 8:53 pm

    I’ve hiked the JMT twice and both times it took me 10 days. Would you budget 12-14 days for the SHR? I’m trying to plan food and don’t want to carry too much or too little. I’m approaching from Onion Valley and plan to resupply in Mammoth so I’m trying to limit the amount of food I’m carrying to stay fast and light. Thanks

    • Andrew Skurka on May 29, 2022 at 2:39 pm

      I don’t know, but this article will help you know, https://andrewskurka.com/high-route-time-days-management-vertical/

      • Ryan Melius on May 30, 2022 at 5:54 am

        That article helped. Thanks

    • Andrew P on May 30, 2022 at 12:31 am

      Been a while since we did the SHR, and I can’t remember Onion Valley (I see, it’s around Kearsage pass). We also resupplied in Mammoth (having walked north from there first and then getting a lift back to then go south eventually peeling off to Mt Whitney and exiting at Cottontree). We posted food to Tuolumne and organised (expensive) food liaisons at Pyute Pass and I think Taboose Pass. We didn’t have a car to do food drops ourselves, and we didn’t want to spend too much time hiking down and back up to pick up food.
      My feeling is that 12-14 days sounds like a bit of a rush. We took 31 days (I’ve linked to our flickr album of this trip for more details including indicative elevation and google maps) and some of our days were still considered long by friends who had also done it. Take off six days for the extension south we did and that’s 24-25 days. You don’t say how far north you are going.
      It sounds like you are confident you can cover lots of ground each day, which is fine – and Andrew S has pointed out the limitations on speed when hiking off-track – but also don’t forget to stop and enjoy the views! There are many more when you are up high.

      • Ryan Melius on May 30, 2022 at 6:06 am

        Thanks. Yes, I’m coming in from Kearsarge Pass since I’m hiking solo. It’s easier to arrange transportation if I stay on the east side. It adds a little distance but is all on-trail.

        I’ve been training for months, putting in a lot of miles/elevation on long day hikes including Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, Cactus to Clouds, etc. to make sure I’m fast and (relatively) light. I’m not in any kind of race, and I plan to fly fish 1-2 times a day. I do have a limit of 16 days, but I was primarily concerned about food weight. I think I have a good idea how much food to plan for now.

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