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Got turned around on the High Sierra Trail near Hamilton Lake last fall
I was hiking the High Sierra Trail solo in October, aiming to make it to Precipice Lake by sunset. The trail was clear until I hit a big rock slide about a mile past Hamilton Lake. The cairns just stopped, and the path on my map was totally buried under fresh scree. I spent a good hour scrambling over loose rock, trying to find where the trail picked up again on the other side. My GPS was useless because it just showed the old, now-gone trail line. I finally backtracked and found a faint use trail that cut high up the slope, which got me around it. That detour added like two extra miles and a bunch of elevation gain I hadn't planned for. Has anyone else hit that slide and found a better way through, or know if the park service has fixed it since?
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daniel5523mo ago
Man, that exact slide got me last September. GPS was a total liar too. I ended up doing the same thing, backtracking like crazy until I spotted that sketchy high route. Sucked, but it worked. Heard from a ranger in Lone Pine that they might mark a proper detour next season, but for now, it's just that loose scramble.
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valsullivan1mo ago
Wait, did they actually say they're marking a detour next season? I heard something different from a buddy who works trail maintenance in the Sierra. He said the slide area is still too unstable to put any official route through, and they're leaning toward just rerouting the original trail way lower instead. I'd take that ranger's info with a grain of salt, honestly. Rangers are great folks, but they don't always get the final word on what the forest service actually ends up doing. Last I checked, that sketchy high route is still the only game in town for now.
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