HIBERNATING ... IN HIGH SIERRA BEARPAW HAS BEEN OFFERING LODGING, `LUXURY' SINCE 1930S.

Byline: Story and photos by Bill Becher

The smell of teriyaki pork loin and Indonesian rice wafts through the pine trees. The hikers, 11 miles into the backcountry on the High Sierra Trail, sniff the air like coyotes on the scent of a plump rabbit.

This is not a hallucination brought on by fatigue.

It's the aroma of dinner cooking at Bearpaw High Sierra Camp - what one guest calls the Ritz-Carlton of backpacking.

Bearpaw sits on a granite bluff above the Kaweah River with views of the snow-veined mountains of the Great Western Divide.

A lodge building houses the kitchen and dining room with two long wooden tables. Guests can sit on a canvas-shaded porch and sip a pre-dinner glass of wine. Six tent cabins are furnished with twin beds and comforters. One of the outbuildings is decorated with the traditional crescent moon, but inside is the ultimate backcountry luxury - a flush toilet. Hot water for the two showers comes from the bowels of the ``Dragon,'' a wood-burning stove converted to a water heater.

Bearpaw opened in the 1930s, after the 62-mile High Sierra Trail was built linking the Giant Forest in Sequoia with Mt. Whitney.

Not much has changed since a 1937 pamphlet described Bearpaw as, ``in the midst of some of the most spectacular scenery in the High Sierra and some of the best fishing water. Providing plain but comfortable tent accommodations, enabling one to travel unencumbered except for camera, fishing rod and personal necessities. Meals $1.00. Sleeping accommodations per person per day, $1.50.''

Well, the prices have changed. Now it's $175 per person per day, including breakfast and dinner. For weary hikers it's worth it. Reservations are taken each year starting at 7 a.m. on Jan. 2 and fill up quickly, although cancellations often occur and dates open.

Some guests have been coming to Bearpaw annually for more than 30 years. Aside from the luxury of not having to hike encumbered with tent and sleeping bag and not having to eat freeze-dried backpacking meals - stuff that could make you nostalgic for airline food - there is the location. Bearpaw is an ideal base for day hikes to explore nearby lakes, including Hamilton Lake with a self-supporting rainbow trout population.

The journey to and from Bearpaw is long but also its own reward. The trail is chiseled into the side of the Kaweah River Valley, providing a helicopter-like perspective on the river below and stunning mountain views. It takes most hikers seven or eight hours to walk the 11 1/2 miles.

Those who have explored only the Eastern Sierra will find that the western side of the mountains is lusher, with emerald meadows, a mixed conifer and broad-leaf forest at lower elevations and fields of wild flowers.

This year's heavy winter snows caused Bearpaw to open a week late because creeks that hikers cross on the way were running higher than usual. Supplies had to be brought in by helicopter instead of by mule train because the harsh winter damaged portions of the trail.

Bearpaw is fortunate because the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite won't open at all this year because of the heavy snowfall.

The best strategy for fording a swollen Sierra stream is to change into river sandals and tie hiking boots around your neck before plunging in. Trekking poles help with balancing on slippery rocks in swift currents. The water seems to remember having been snow a short time ago so hikers don't linger in the creeks.

There is plenty of opportunity for wildlife viewing on the trail and at Bearpaw. On a recent trip, guests saw deer roaming through the camp, a small black bear and plenty of marmots. Marmots look like woodchucks training to become sumo wrestlers. The fat marmots like to sprawl on the sun-warmed granite, something that guests enjoy as well while recuperating from their hike and waiting for the chef to beat on the old iron skillet to signal that dinner's ready.

Guests don't want to be late - after the pork and Indonesian rice with grilled zucchini, dessert is strawberries with pound cake and fresh whipped cream.

IF YOU GO

Sequoia National Park is about a 5-hour drive from Los Angeles. Entry fee is $10 per vehicle, good for seven days at Sequoia and King's Canyon.

Bearpaw High Sierra Camp is located 11 1/2 miles east of the Giant Forest via the High Sierra Trail. Bearpaw is open mid-June to mid-September, weather permitting.

Reservations are required by phone beginning 7 a.m. Jan. 2. Call [phone] or [phone] to check on availability. Bedding, towels, linens and showers are provided. Two home-style meals per day are included. Box lunch available for $8. A free wilderness permit is required and can be obtained at the Lodgepole Visitors Center.

Single/double occupancy $350 ($175 per person). Extra persons age 3 and older is $75. Third person sleeps on floor, no bedding provided. An adult in the same tent must accompany guests 17 and under.

Sequoia National Park, A Complete Hiker's guide by Mike White, published by the Wilderness Press, describes trips in the area from day hikes to major backpacking expeditions.

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Hikers on the way to Bearpaw can enjoy majestic views of snow-covered mountains and ford streams in the High Sierras.

Photos by Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News

(3 -- color) no caption (High Sierras)

(4 -- color) no caption (Animal)

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IF YOU GO (see text)