Lamarck to Muir Pass

This out-and-back from Lamarck Trailhead to Muir Pass provides for a versatile adventure in the High Sierra. At 30 miles round trip, this adventure can be a long day-trip, or a multi-night backpacking trip. The idea of this route is to provide a skeleton for other routes or mountain climbing trips, but functions well as a stand-alone.

The trail up to Lamarck Col starts from the parking lot at North Lake, and is quite a steep ascent up to the col at nearly 13,000 feet. Coming down from the southwest side of the col into Darwin Canyon is often a trail-less adventure, but the aim is toward the prominent lakes below. Just behind, the scenic Darwin Bench is an attractive place to spend a night or two. We descend from the bench down to the far west end of the Evolution Basin, and then climb gently through the basin toward Muir Pass. This section follows the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and might be notably more crowded than other regions of the High Sierra. Along the way, hikers will pass Evolution Lake, Sapphire Lake, and near the pass, Wanda Lake. The hut at Muir Pass is the turn-around for this route, but again, there are ample opportunities for magnificent side trips off the main trail. Check out Secor’s High Sierra for thoughts.

Hikers will pass through the John Muir Wilderness in Inyo National Forest and enter Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. Wilderness permits are required for backcountry camping, which can be found at www.recreation.gov. For more information regarding advisories, weather, road conditions, campgrounds and more, check out the Inyo National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/inyo, and the Sequoia-Kings Canyon website at https://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm. Practice the principles of leave no trace, and take action to defend threatened wilderness areas (wildernesswatch.org).