14 Total Miles (includes cumulative elevation gain)
The whole crew starting at Wolverton Parking lot My family was leaving from the Bay Area, and my brother's family was coming from LA County. We decided to leave early on the morning of our first day and meet at the trail head in Sequoia National Park. We started hiking at 10am, and we needed to cover 10.5 miles to Bearpaw Meadows before dark. Top of Panther Gap We started our ascent up, and peaked out at the top of Panther Gap by lunch. We got a little rain in the afternoon, and it threatened to dump on us during dinner. Towards the late evening it cleared up and left us with plenty of stars and a near full moon for the rest of the night. This first day in is fairly aggressive, and we planned a shorter day to Hamilton Lakes for the following day. There is the initial climb to Panther Gap, and then it drops down to Buck Creek. From there, there is one more heavy ascent into Bearpaw meadows. There are several campgrounds before that heavy ascent before and at Buck Creek that have bear containers if you feel the push to Bearpaw Meadows is to difficult.
Looking up the High Sierra Trail from Panther GapBeginning of the downhill into Buck CreekBuck Creek, the campsites appear before the creek.Bearpaw Meadows Campsite, the next morning.Wolverton To Bearpaw Meadows
