I scored a walk up permit for the High Sierra Trail at Sequoia about a week ago. Been wanting to get to Hamilton Lake for a long time. There was heavy hail and thunder the night before I started out. There was a couple inches of snow near Lodgepole the next morning.
It started out sunny in the morning and got cloudy in the afternoon. It was sunny for the rest of the trip.

Mehrten Creek about halfway to Bearpaw Meadow.



Nice falls past Mehrten Creek.



Thought about going to Hamilton Lake the first day, but hadn't hiked much for awhile, and it just wasn't going to happen.
Camped at the Bearpaw Meadopw campground the first night. Not the most scenic place, but I was pretty much just there in the dark. I was the only one there.
On to Hamilton Lake the next day.



















On the way out:

Awesum! Tanks fur Sharon

Only been there once. Gorgeous!

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Sweet! I liked the one with the clouds and the long, ribbony falls at Hamilton Lake. Looks awesome out there.

SEKI and the HST are one of California's best kept secrets. It amazes me how many less people, including hikers and backpackers, visit SEKI compared to Yosemite. People always complain about "the crowds" at Yosemite and yet rarely visit Sequoia or Kings Canyon where it's far less crowded. Go figure.

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Leave No Trace

I think SEKI has less day hike options. There is definitely some pretty epic back packing opportunities. I think a lot of people just think of trees at Sequoia.

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yosemitejim
I think SEKI has less day hike options. There is definitely some pretty epic back packing opportunities. I think a lot of people just think of trees at Sequoia.

I agree! Love SEKI. I wish Muir Grove was backpackable. Hoping to snag some walk-in permits for SEKI for July 4th weekend

Building the High Sierra Trail

Just started playing this... Gonna restart on bigger screen with a bit more time to indulge later today!

Was this on their NPS site? I should be better about poking around the websites!

Have done the HST a couple of times now... love! Was my first "long" trip!

THANK YOU for posting and bringing it to my attention!

I was looking for history of the High Sierra Trail. I had seen an interesting sign at Crescent Meadows. The sign said that a woman photographed Sequoia's high country to try to get Congress to protect it, before the HST was built. I came across this video looking for more information about that sign.

I think the sign at Crescent Meadows was about Susan Thew.
https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/historyculture/susan-thew.htm

Old proposal to expand Sequoia National Park

https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/historyculture/upload/Thew-Proposal-2.pdf

Wow! That's a really fascinating video. Thanks for posting this.