Sierra High Route
High Route hikers travel aroundMinaret Lake[1]: 166
Length	195 miles (314 km)[citation needed] (different source: 220 miles)[2]
Location	Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA
Trailheads	Yosemite NP38°08′49″N119°22′39″W / 38.146859°N 119.377522°W /38.146859; -119.377522 (Kings Canyon) Kings Canyon NP36°47′44″N118°35′04″W / 36.795574°N 118.584366°W /36.795574; -118.584366 (Sierra Crest trailhead)
Highest point	NearFeather Peak, 12,360+ ft (3,767 m)[3][4]
Lowest point	Cedar Grove, 5,020 ft (1,530 m)[4]

TheSierra High Route (also called theRoper Route and theHigh Route) is a cross-country hiking route, 195 miles (314 km) long, through theSierra Nevada. It was scouted bySteve Roper and described by him in his bookSierra High Route: Traversing Timberline Country.^[1]

Much of the Sierra High Route runs parallel to theJohn Muir Trail, staying east of that trail and keeping above thetimberline to higher elevations — between 9,000 and 11,500 feet (2,700 and 3,500 m). About a third of the route follows maintained hiking trails (including 28 miles (45 km) of the John Muir Trail); the rest of the route traverses off-trail meadowlands, granite slabs, and, at high elevations, difficult loose-talus terrain. Hiking the route does not require advancedmountaineering skills, but the hiker occasionally encountersclass-3 rock faces in which footholds and handholds must be carefully chosen and tested. The route requires the use of route descriptions,topographical maps, and one or more instruments (e.g.,compass,GPS receiver) to navigate. Writes Roper inSierra High Route, "High Route adventurers will not be put off by the lack of an actual trail, since much of the singular joy of cross-country travel lies in wandering through the timberline country as the pioneers did--wondering what the next turn will reveal."^[1]: 12

Roper divides the route into five segments:

• Cirque Country: Cedar Grove to Dusy Basin, traversing the Monarch Divide, Lake (Cartridge Creek) Basin, Upper Basin, Palisades Basin, Barrett Lakes Basin, and Dusy Basin.
• Whitebark Country: Dusy Basin to Lake Italy, through LeConte Canyon, Muir Pass,Evolution Basin, the Glacier Divide, Humphrey's Basin, and Bear Lakes Basin.
• Lake Country: Lake Italy toDevils Postpile by way of Bear Lakes Basin, Mono Lakes Basin, the Recesses, the Silver Divide, and the Mammoth Crest.
• Headwaters Country: Devil's Postpile toTuolumne Meadows, crossing theRitter Range and theCathedral Range. Roper calls this "Headwaters Country" because the route crosses headwaters of theSan Joaquin River.
• Canyon Country: Tuolumne Meadows toTwin Lakes throughYosemite's north country.

From south to north (the direction Roper recommends hiking it), the Sierra High Route passes throughKings Canyon National Park, theInyo National Forest, andYosemite National Park.

In 2006,Backpacker magazine editor Steve Howe hiked the entire Sierra High Route in one month.^[2]

• The Sierra High Route: A Journey at Timberline, Steve Roper recounts his discovery of the Sierra High Route
• Sierra High Route: Kings Canyon to the Second Recess, Roper's account of this trail segment
• Sierra High Route: Silver Divide to Rainbow Fall, Roper's description of this trail segment

• Hiking trails in California
• Sierra Nevada (United States)
• Long-distance trails in the United States

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