I wouldn’t say I had too many surprises this summer on the Sierra High Route (SHR). I was fairly lucky with weather, I had warm gear, almost enough food, and navigation worked out well. I only had two death-defying falls. One thing stands out about this hike and that thing is exceptional amounts of talus. Now that I think about it, talus caused both of my falls while hiking the SHR (fall #1, fall #2).
Talus, Talus, Talus
So much talus. Talus fields. More talus than you can shake a stick at. Talus coming out your ears. Talus rainbows. Talus, talus, talus.
Wait–what is talus?
ta·lus: a sloping mass of rock fragments at the foot of a cliff.
Photographs of High Sierra talus will help give you the idea:
Talus is tricky. Over time, as one hikes over miles and miles of talus field, one might become a TALUS MASTER. One will know in their bones what Steve Roper means by “stable” and “unstable” talus, and the scale of talus will broaden from small to large, to small to gigantic. Some is very grippy and some very slippery. Some is rounded and fairly friendly and some is knife-blade sharp.
Yet talus can break a person. It broke me, anyway! Don’t count on big miles over talus fields. Don’t count on big miles on the Sierra High Route at all. But a talus field will slow a hiker to a crawl, 0.5-1mph, think even slower if there is exposure, wind, or rain, ice and snow. It is a knee-breaker. An ankle-breaker. I got blisters where I’d never had them before.
And don’t be surprised if talus makes you fall.
Wear Boots
Perhaps for the reason of talus alone, I recommend hikers consider wearing hiking boots for this route. As a die-hard trail runner fan, I utter this advice through clenched teeth. But talking with hikers who have done this route, I get nods of agreement. Wear boots.
Given the risks that talus present, I would wear some lightweight hiking boots like the Merrell Moabs if I did this route again, hopefully as light-feeling as a shoe but with something to wrap around my ankles. (Which ones?!) I lost way too much skin off my ankles on this trip, and destroyed several pairs of socks. And shoes. This trail chewed through a pair of shoes in 200 miles that normally last me 500 miles. The toe box ended up completely ripped open, most the grip was gone, and the padding around my ankles ended up gored.
That’s it! Boots! Except one thing… the other dictionary definition of talus?
ta·lus: the large bone in the ankle that articulates with the tibia of the leg and the calcaneum and navicular bone of the foot.
This is a conspiracy. 🧐
Here is an overview about the Sierra High Route and an index of my blog posts about it
Start reading part 1 about my 2015 SHR hike: Roads End to Taboose Pass
Skip to part 2 of my Sierra High Route hike: Taboose Pass to Piute Pass
Part 3: Paiute Pass to Reds Meadow
Part 4: Reds Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows
Finally: Tuolumne Meadows to Twin Lakes
