The Best Hikes in Sequoia National Forest

 This was my solo northbound journey from Onion Valley to Mammoth Lakes, CA and then from Tuolumne Meadows to Happy Isles northern in Yosemite Valley to complete my final 160 miles of the John Muir Trail. I hiked for 172 total miles over 14 days which included the entrance in from Onion Valley, 8 alpine passes, and some side trail mileage done at Muir Trail Ranch, Red's Meadow, Devil's Postpile, and Tuolumne Meadows.

The original plan was to hike for 18 days straight, meeting up with a friend on day 11 who would join me for the last 7 days. Part of that final week would be spent covering 4 days of trail that I had already completed back in 2015. When my friend had to cancel after I was already on the trail, I chose to take 4 zero days in Mammoth Lakes to heal my feet and enjoy some luxuries. I reconvened with the JMT for the final 3 days of trail that I had yet to complete, making this a 2-section adventure all in one trip to close the gaps of the remaining miles of this amazing trail.

 We were on a mission to get out of the backcountry on Labor Day, so this day was completed about as quickly as we could possibly have done it given our relative inexperience and overweight packs! In any case, the first 2 miles are a serious climb going up 1000 feet quickly before moderating. But after crossing the JO Pass at nearly 9,400 feet, the last 3.7 miles are almost entirely downhill. This is certainly the least popular of the trails that made up our three-day loop, and in several instances, large logs crossed the trail and had not been cut. (The other trails on our trip never had any obstacle that had not been cleared.) This trail is not nearly as scenic as some of the others in the area, but is a key link if you use the Big Meadow trailhead, or visit Jennie Lake or Weaver Lake. We used it as a connector between the Twin Lakes Trail across Silliman Pass, and the Belle Canyon Trail in Rowell Meadow.

 The first of a 25-mile three-day backpack trip. This trail was a great starting day, and except for a slight misstep down the Sugarloaf trail toward Roaring River, which added about an extra mile to our day, the hike was easy and uneventful. We ended our day by taking the spur to Lost Lake, and camped there on our first night. Despite being Saturday of Labor Day weekend, we were the only ones at Lost Lake. We skipped Seville Lake because while picking up our permits at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center, the ranger informed us that a party of 15 was spending two nights at Seville Lake, and we decided that wasn't the kind of wilderness experience we were looking for. The next day we found that there was a family camped at Ranger Lake, so we were happy with our decision to spend the night at Lost Lake. The scenery is unlike anyplace I've ever camped before!