DESTINATION
SIERRA NEVADA Hiking California’s
A Grand Traverse along the Range of Light
John Chapman gives an overview of the amazing hiking opportunities in California’s Sierra Nevada, and outlines a new route he’s conceived of through these fabulous mountains: The Sierra Grand Traverse.
Words & Photography John & Monica Chapman
JOHN MUIR, WHO WAS INSTRUMENTAL in the creation of Yosemite and other national parks in America, called California’s Sierra Nevada mountains ‘The Range of Light’. With clear, cobalt-blue skies during the day, the sun has ample opportunity to create patterns of shimmering light across lakes, and to generate a warm glow at sunset and sunrise that illuminates peaks and crags. This alpenglow is indeed often colourful and a major highlight, especially when orange cliffs and spires are reflected in the tranquil lakes that are a dominant feature of the Sierra Nevada’s high regions. Over one thousand lakes stud the range. Remnants of recent glaciation, these lakes and their associated basins are often tucked up close to the many granite cliffs, crags and dagger-sharp pinnacles that crown these magnificent mountains. The range is a walker’s paradise, a wonderland of ragged peaks, pristine lakes, small glaciers and alpine meadows. It is regarded by many American backpackers (as the US calls its bushwalkers or trampers) as the country’s most scenic mountain range. Comparing it to ranges in other countries we’ve walked, we’d go so far as to rank it as one of the world’s most scenic. Imagine a merger of the centre of Tasmania (with its many lakes), and the alpine scenery of New Zealand’s South Island, but with an added dose of elevation. Augment that with the often-fine Californian summer weather plus the regular alpenglow, and it makes the Sierras a mountain lover’s nirvana.
122
WILD
Descending from Cartridge Pass to Lake 10855. Many lakes are unofficially named by their elevation, which being the US is in feet
