As 2025 began, I was getting rather reflective as one often does as they approach one of those big birthday years (the big 5-0). Kim and I started to discuss what I wanted to do this year to mark this year of my life, and one of the first things that stuck in my mind was doing a long, challenging backpack trip. Looking through my wish list of trips, I looked at which ones I could get a permit for a summer backpack, and I was grateful to see an opening in the Mineral King portion of Sequoia National Park an area I have wanted to explore for a long time. So started the planning for my Mineral King to Little Five Longs 29-mile trek through the Sierra Nevada.
Why Mineral King?
I grew up hearing my mother’s fond memories of many childhood family vacations out to Mineral King. They stopped going because Disney planned to turn it into a resort back in the 60’s. Gratefully development fell through, and it’s now part of Sequoia National Park. I was always curious to check it out, but the timing never quite worked out to visit this secluded part of the Sierra Nevada.
Why Little Five Lakes?
Like Mineral King, I had heard many great stories about this little pocket of the High Sierra from friends and family. And again it was on my list of places I wanted to go for a long time, but the timing just never worked out. I did come close a couple of times, first while trekking the High Sierra Trail 16 years earlier, and a second time in 2020, we planned a trip to the area but had to cancel due to fire in the region.
The Trip
This part of the Sequoia National Park is beautiful, but it’s not for those looking for an easy entrance into the High Sierra. Over the four-day 29-mile trip our total ascent was 10,437 feet of elevation and another 10,428 of descent. Even our first day in Mineral King felt like anything you visit required either a climb or a descent. Little Five Lakes lived up to all the talk I had heard, I only wished we could have spent more time there, or at the neighboring Big Five Lakes. I was also pleasantly surprised by Lost Valley, our last stop on the trip, which personally I feared was going to be little more of a ravine before we climbed up Sawtooth Pass. Below you can see it was a nice pristine meadow to rest in before our final ascent of the trip.
Final Reflections
Overall a trip I thoroughly enjoyed. It felt so good to do a physically challenging trip again. If I were to do this again I would definitely train more to prep for all the climbs and descents. I thought I was ready for them, but the high altitude really took the wind out of me on this trip.
I hope you enjoyed this trip report.If you’d like to see the full trip gallery click on this link here. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the trip or the photos.