The High Trips were large annual wilderness excursions organized and led by the Sierra Club, beginning in 1901.
Francis Farquhar wrote that the purpose of the High Trips was far more than to provide an enjoyable vacation to the participants, but also to "lead them to know and appreciate the beauty and inspiration of the mountains, and to educate them to become defenders of the wilderness.
On the eve of the start of the trip, club co-founder and University of California, Berkeley geology professor Joseph LeConte died of a sudden heart attack in Yosemite Valley at age 78.
The high trips were complex affairs, with gear for approximately 200 participants packed in by mules, with a staff of up to 50 and elaborate food prepared by professional cooks.
The July 1928 trip to the Canadian Rockies was a joint venture with The Mazamas of Oregon, and The Mountaineers of the state of Washington.
Francis Farquhar wrote that "Greatest of all mountaineers who have participated in Sierra Club outings is Norman Clyde," who led many High Trip climbs from the 1920s to 1941.