Sierra Grand Traverse

Book excerpt: 2023 Banff Mountain Book Award finalist in Guidebooks Detailed topographic maps and elevation profiles depict the entire route Sections about planning, preparation, transportation, acclimatization, resupplying food, permits, maps, suggested itineraries, and safety Includes photographs, alternative routes, and side trips, plus history, geology, flora, and fauna Sierra Grand Traverse offers experienced hikers an epic route across one of the world’s greatest mountain ranges. Designed by experienced hikers and writers John and Monica Chapman, this 200-mile-long traverse begins in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park and heads through the High Sierra south to Mount Whitney and then on to Horseshoe Meadows. The challenging, but approachable adventure winds through five wilderness areas spread across three national parks and two national forests. While some of the traverse follows well-defined trails, it starts at 8,580 feet and hikers spend most of their time between 9,000 and 12,000 feet--reveling in the open ridges and stunning vistas above treeline. With 56,000 feet of elevation change and crossing 41 mountain passes, this route requires solid navigation skills and careful planning and preparation--more than half of it is off-trail. But for determined hikers, the adventure of a lifetime awaits.