Trip Report: Sequoia NP. Wolverton to Table Meadows
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 2:31 pm
Wintertime is on us, and I am dead keen to be out there floundering around in the snow again. I have now recovered from my last ski-touring misadventure, so I'm ready for the next one. I may choose the more pedestrian ski tour out from Badger Pass, along the snowy road toward the camp I've always dreamed of on top of Sentinel Dome. While preparing for that, I thought of cobbling together a report about another ski-friendly terrain to the south. The Sequoia NP trailheads of Wolverton and Lodgepole are usually easy to reach via the good roads CA-180 and 198. When our boys were young, we camped at Lodgepole a few times, and day-skied from there. Later, we would set out from Wolverton for shorter and longer trips, such as the one I'll highlight here-- 5 days and 4 nights from Wolverton to Table Meadows and back.
I'll add a few more photos and descriptions of a couple of other nice trips that can be accomplished in the same area. For instance, you can easily make day tours out to Panther Gap, and ski or snowshoe around the amazing "Giant Forest." The first also begins at Wolverton, and the latter by parking just by the Giant Forest Museum. The Crescent Meadow road can be used as a ski trail, and it wends its way through stunning Sequoia forest for about 3 miles, out to the "High Sierra TH." That trip is on pretty level ground, unless you choose to add in another mile or so up to the brilliant viewpoint of Moro Rock. My youngest son and I did that one winter, and spent a night out in those giant redwood trees. No photos of the snowy forest, but it truly is something special. Below are three shots from a trip up to Panther Gap:
Looking southeast across the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, with Sawtooth Peak in the center.
This is the view due south from Panther Gap to Castle Rocks.
The pretty ridge due west from Panther Gap, has a wonderful slalom course for the more talented among us. Looking close, you will not find my ski tracks weaving in and out of the boulders. It's all yours Sam!
Panther Gap is 2.9 miles one way from Wolverton, and an easy climb of 1,320.' That makes a 6 miles day tour, with the last 3 miles all downhill.
This is the first great vantage point on our route to Table Meadows-- it's the view from the top of "The Hump," into the high country of the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River.
Okay, so this trip from Wolverton to Table Meadows, with Frank and the boys, was more than a decade ago. We went in from the Wolverton Trailhead, and made it as far as the Table Meadows area. We skied and snowshoed up to the top of "The Hump" for our first camp, and then made it down to Pear Creek for a couple nights-- day-touring out from a second camp. Our route to The Hump from Wolverton is a trip of 3.9 mi., and a climb of 2,200.' I think the Watchtower route is more scenic, and it adds just .3 miles. From The Hump on to Pear Lake Ski Hut is about 2.5 miles farther, and slightly downhill overall. On our final night we camped again on top of the Hump for the great views eastward. We chose to do the fun, but hard work to dig out a massive snow cave, large enough for all five of us. This trip was made great by exciting weather that threatened, but never really nailed us. The conditions were excellent for skiing, and luckily, we also brought snowshoes, which came in handy for the steep hills, and for when Frank's supposedly all-purpose, can fit any boot, Ramer ski bindings failed miserably. So you will see many photos of Frank with skis sticking out above his back, snowshoeing along with small snowshoes on his size 14 feet!
The photos for this trip happen to mostly include people. I didn't want this TR to appear like a family home slideshow, so I've added some scenic shots from my solo trips in the same area. I'll try not to drone on about the kids, though for us they were the highlight of the trip. Our eldest son Ryan was 9+ and Nathan was 7 years old, and for many years both had been able to both hike and ski their ages. Lots of rest breaks, and stops for fun seemed to do the trick. I was just beginning to experiment with homemade "pulks," and this one served me well till the bamboo poles fractured on the final icy run down to Wolverton.
We used snowshoes for some of the steeper uphills.
The wife and kids ski team.
And there's Frank, with the skis he packed all over the place. He had found some old skis with the amazing Ramer bindings that supposedly will fit any boot, even your hiking boots.... but they didn't. Frank kept on trying to get them to work, but mostly carried them like this for exercise. Does anyone, maybe Gogd, bobby49, or wildhiker recall these Ramer bindings, and can they really work?
I've dotted in our route in red., and a blue arrow points to our camp by Pear Creek.
Alta Peak.
Off we went, into some pretty interesting weather.
I'll add a few more photos and descriptions of a couple of other nice trips that can be accomplished in the same area. For instance, you can easily make day tours out to Panther Gap, and ski or snowshoe around the amazing "Giant Forest." The first also begins at Wolverton, and the latter by parking just by the Giant Forest Museum. The Crescent Meadow road can be used as a ski trail, and it wends its way through stunning Sequoia forest for about 3 miles, out to the "High Sierra TH." That trip is on pretty level ground, unless you choose to add in another mile or so up to the brilliant viewpoint of Moro Rock. My youngest son and I did that one winter, and spent a night out in those giant redwood trees. No photos of the snowy forest, but it truly is something special. Below are three shots from a trip up to Panther Gap:
Looking southeast across the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, with Sawtooth Peak in the center.
This is the view due south from Panther Gap to Castle Rocks.
The pretty ridge due west from Panther Gap, has a wonderful slalom course for the more talented among us. Looking close, you will not find my ski tracks weaving in and out of the boulders. It's all yours Sam!
Panther Gap is 2.9 miles one way from Wolverton, and an easy climb of 1,320.' That makes a 6 miles day tour, with the last 3 miles all downhill.
This is the first great vantage point on our route to Table Meadows-- it's the view from the top of "The Hump," into the high country of the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River.
Okay, so this trip from Wolverton to Table Meadows, with Frank and the boys, was more than a decade ago. We went in from the Wolverton Trailhead, and made it as far as the Table Meadows area. We skied and snowshoed up to the top of "The Hump" for our first camp, and then made it down to Pear Creek for a couple nights-- day-touring out from a second camp. Our route to The Hump from Wolverton is a trip of 3.9 mi., and a climb of 2,200.' I think the Watchtower route is more scenic, and it adds just .3 miles. From The Hump on to Pear Lake Ski Hut is about 2.5 miles farther, and slightly downhill overall. On our final night we camped again on top of the Hump for the great views eastward. We chose to do the fun, but hard work to dig out a massive snow cave, large enough for all five of us. This trip was made great by exciting weather that threatened, but never really nailed us. The conditions were excellent for skiing, and luckily, we also brought snowshoes, which came in handy for the steep hills, and for when Frank's supposedly all-purpose, can fit any boot, Ramer ski bindings failed miserably. So you will see many photos of Frank with skis sticking out above his back, snowshoeing along with small snowshoes on his size 14 feet!
The photos for this trip happen to mostly include people. I didn't want this TR to appear like a family home slideshow, so I've added some scenic shots from my solo trips in the same area. I'll try not to drone on about the kids, though for us they were the highlight of the trip. Our eldest son Ryan was 9+ and Nathan was 7 years old, and for many years both had been able to both hike and ski their ages. Lots of rest breaks, and stops for fun seemed to do the trick. I was just beginning to experiment with homemade "pulks," and this one served me well till the bamboo poles fractured on the final icy run down to Wolverton.
We used snowshoes for some of the steeper uphills.
The wife and kids ski team.
And there's Frank, with the skis he packed all over the place. He had found some old skis with the amazing Ramer bindings that supposedly will fit any boot, even your hiking boots.... but they didn't. Frank kept on trying to get them to work, but mostly carried them like this for exercise. Does anyone, maybe Gogd, bobby49, or wildhiker recall these Ramer bindings, and can they really work?
I've dotted in our route in red., and a blue arrow points to our camp by Pear Creek.
Alta Peak.
Off we went, into some pretty interesting weather.