High Sierra 7- Day Adventure
45 miles in the Emigrant Wilderness
July 17-25, 2021
7 days/6 Nights on the Trail
$795 per person
$895 with gear rental
Your registration includes a 45-mile, 7-day, 6-night wilderness backpacking adventure, training meeting before the trip, a food-kit with all meals on the trail, and devotionals every morning and evening. Not to mention spectacular High Sierra views and the memories of a lifetime! This is truly an epic adventure!
Airfare and ground transportation and lodging in SFO not included but we can help arrange van rentals.
This hike is rated Strenuous
We reserve the right to adjust the itinerary based on overall group dynamics and safety.

View from Burst Rock

High Sierra Meadow
Trail Description:
Day 1: We fly into San Francisco on Saturday, July 17th, staying at one of the airport hotels. (Airfare and hotel not included.)
Day 2: We’ll leave our hotels and head out for Gianelli’s Cabin trailhead (elev. 8,600 ft.) stopping for a bite to eat on the way. We’ll hit the trail that afternoon and hike by the Burst Rock overlook, finishing a short 3 miles at Powell Lake (elev. 8,900 ft.) for our first night.
Day 3: We’ll hike 6.5 miles through pine forests and open meadows, finishing at Toe Jam Lake (elev. 8,600 ft.) for the night. This is an extremely warm Sierra lake with good fishing and swimming.
Day 4: We’ll hike 7.5 miles to through the Lake Valley, Whiteside Meadow, then southeast to Deer Lake, where we’ll camp for the night. There’s a beautiful inlet “swimming Hole” near the many camping areas.
Day 5: This is a shorter 5-mile day, but with significant elevation gain as we hike up to the crystal clear waters of Lertora Lake, one of my favorite Sierra camping destinations. You have rock islands scattered throughout the lake, with the imposing views of Mount Bigelow to the East. Above the lake is a summit with a 360 degree scenic view of the Sierra Nevada.
Day 6: We’ll begin retracing our steps, back to our starting trailhead, hiking some 8.5 miles past Wood Lake where we’ll stop for lunch. Then it’s on the trail again with the final destination of Long Lake (elev. 8,500 ft.) where we’ll camp for the evening.
Day 7: We’ll hike back through Whiteside Meadow, finishing a 7.5 mile day at the beautiful Y-Meadow Lake (elev. 8,800 ft.) where we’ll camp for the evening. Swimming and fishing are encouraged.
Day 8: Today we get up super-early, break camp, then it’s a quick 6.5 mile day back to the Gianelli trailhead. We’ll climb in our vans and drive back to San Francisco staying at one of the hotels (hotel not included) close to the airport. We’ll get an amazing dinner that evening where we’ll share our highs and lows from the trip.
Day 9: It’s a bittersweet finish to our adventure as we fly back to our homes with friendships and memories that can only be forged over a week in the wilderness together!
*Your registration does NOT include airfare to San Francisco, ground transportation to the trailhead, or hotel lodging in San Francisco. However, we can help arrange van rental.

Powell Lake at Sunrise

Swimming at Lertora Lake!

Camping at Deer Lake

Operated under Special Use Permit on the Stanislaus National Forest.
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status.”
No gear, no problem! You can rent all of your backpacking equipment from us for just $100 per person. Just click the Registration with Gear Rental button and we’ll get you set up with all the gear you need including backpack, tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, pillow, camp chair, headlamp, extra batteries, water filtration system, water bottles, fuel, stove, cookset and utensils, fanny pack, and trekking poles. ($80 additional charge if we have to ship/fly gear to you or to the trailhead.)
