The hike is 72.2 miles and begins inside Sequoia National Park on Sunday July 20. It takes seven days to complete the hike (if you're in great shape) and eight days to survive it (if you're in good shape). In addition to the difficulty of the trail and elevation, we'll need to find a path to the trailhead and then find a way back from terminus. There are no roads that run entirely through Sequoia (that's what makes it beautiful), so we'll have to get creative with our transportation.

The High Sierra Trail is very popular (for good reason) and there are lots of nifty ideas. After scouring the web and reading sites like backpacker, summit forums, a good blog, a couple great trip reports from Ultralight Joe and Jason Parks, and (of course) the National Parks Service, I am excited about our plan. There are always time vs. money trade-offs, but I am confident that our plan is rock solid (at least the logistics).

When we are done with the hike and recover from the mountains, we'll head west and soak our feet in the Pacific.

Fly into LAX. As usual, I'm going with Southwest for the free checked bags and the overall good experience. I'll be landing on the 15th (Tuesday) to hang out first. When Jason lands on Friday around 3pm, I'll pick him up with a rental car (we'll call it car #1), and then ...

1. Drive to Lancaster, CA and rent a second car (we'll call it car #2)
2. Drive both cars to Whitney Portal (our terminus) and drop off car #1; it will be a beautiful sight when we finish our last day.
3. Drive car #2 to Visalia, a small town near the entrance of Sequoia. Check-in to our hotel. Pass out. Day 0: ~11 hours of driving.

Small note: I've had bad experiences with Hertz, but they are coming back into my graces by letting us to pick up and drop off a car at different locations without incurring a cost. Great policy!

Sleep-in, eat a leisurely breakfast, then drop off car #2 at the car rental place. We are now motor-free. Walk back to the hotel and wander the town.

We will attend vigil mass at one of Visalia's Catholic Churches (there are 4 in this town!).

Rise bright and early, eat a quick breakfast, and leave the hotel at 5:30 AM sharp. Arrive at the Visalia Marriot Convention Center and catch the 6:15 shuttle into Sequoia. Over the next 4 hours, the shuttle will take us up about 6000 ft and arrive at the Lodgepole Visitor Ranger Station and Visitor Center. We'll go through some paperwork (fingers-crossed for an uninterrupted itinerary). Then it's another (short) shuttle ride to Crescent Meadow.

Below is the breakdown of the hike each day. The plan is designed alternate long and short days. Sequoia's reservation system is based on the number of people are on the trail each day (30). There are no reservations or requirements for any of the backcountry sites. So our entire plan is very flexible and adaptable. However, there are certain places we definitely want to stop. And, of course, we want to be well-rested before summit day.

Day	Milestones	Distance (miles)	Comments
1-Sunday	Crescent Meadow to Nine Mile Creek	8.8	Since we are over a mile above sea level and we will not start until noon, I prefer to hike a little less. However, Nine Mile Creek is the first backcountry campsite. We'll be distracted from fatigue by the sight of giant sequoias and stunning vistas..
2-Monday	Nine Mile Creek to Big Hamilton Lake	7.8	The 2000 ft. climb will give our legs and lungs a solid workout. We'll be rewarded with a great campsite. Plenty of places to camp, bear box, cool lake to swim in, followed by rest time on the beach with views of the mountains and waterfalls. Type I fun all the way.
3-Tuesday	Big Hamilton Lake to Moraine Lake	13.9	Longest day (unless we want to push ourselves on summit day). Moraine Lake has bear boxes and is surrounded by tall shady trees.
4-Wednesday	Moraine Lake to Kern Hot Spring	6.3	A short day that ends at a natural hot tub. This is the ultimate Type I day. This site is crowded, so it's good that we can get in early and find a good spot and then head down to the springs.
5-Thursday	Kern Hot Spring to Wallace Creek Junction	12.1	Type I fun has passed. This is a long day, with lots of elevation gain and we camp at a spot with plenty of mosquitoes.
6-Friday	Wallace Creek Junction to Guitar Lake	7.7	We enter the Whitney Zone. Guitar Lake is a beautiful site above the treeline.
7-Saturday	Guitar Lake to Outpost Camp	12.1	This is the highlight of the trip. We summit Whitney and then begin our hike out of the wild. We'll leave early (5 AM) and move quick as we can. If we're tired, we'll stop at Trail Camp (9.1 miles). If we're pumped, we'll get to the parking lot (15.6 miles).
8*-Sunday	Outpost Camp to the car	3.5	Victory hike to the car, just on time for brunch.
Total		72.2 miles	By this time in 2015, I'll be at the beginning of an all new adventure

Mt. Whitney

Mt. Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous 48 states and the 24th highest point in North America (most tall peaks are in the Alaska and the Yukon). Unlike many other tall mountains, Mt. Whitney does no require technical climbing. There are still plenty of challenges: altitude sickness, rough trails, etc.