Eagle Scout Peak via Kaweah Gap

Last Sunday I enjoyed a great adventure run to Eagle Scout Peak via Kaweah Gap.The 45+ mile trip took 9:38 minutes from Crescent Meadows, starting at 4:20 a.m. and finishing just before 2 p.m. Eagle Scout Peak is located just south of Kaweah Gap along the Great Western Divide in a remote region of Sequoia National Park. The climb of the 12,000 ft peak entails over 45 miles roundtrip and 8,000+ ft of elevation gain. While it’s a long way just to Kaweah Gap along the High Sierra Trail (21 miles from Crescent Meadow), the scenery is phenomenal and well worth the effort. The sapphire blue Hamilton Lakes surrounded by the towering granite walls of Angel Wings and the Valhallas is truly magnificent (see photos below from July 2010). Time splits for the run and many fantastic photos by Joel Lanz are located here.

Last year on the same weekend I pursued a speed objective on the Rae Lakes Loop, and having already experienced the spectacular scenery of the High Sierra Trail to Kaweah Gap on a climb of Mount Stewart in July 2010, I figured this would be a great one to do for time this year.

Eagle Scout Peak in the foreground as seen from Mount Stewart, July 2010.

I was hoping to go around 11 hours roundtrip and started at 4:20 a.m. from Crescent Meadows with Joel, whose objective was Kaweah Gap. The High Sierra Trail is an excellent trail for running all the way to the crossing of Lone Pine Creek (~13 miles in). It was perfect weather for a night run with temperatures in the mid 40s. I felt good reaching Kaweah Gap in just over 4 hours. It took nearly 2 hours to complete the roundtrip from Kaweah Gap to the summit of Eagle Scout Peak. The climb itself is straightforward with a nice perspective on the Hamilton Lakes area and Precipice Lake directly below. The run down to Hamilton Lakes from the Gap was gorgeous and at that point I knew sub 10 hours would be possible. The anomalously cool weather on Sunday helped on the return trip along the trail (which is typically hot on the exposed south slopes) and I was able to complete the adventure run in 9:38 finishing up just before 2 pm.

Time splits and many fantastic photos by Joel here.