Last week I spent seven days hiking a loop through Sequoia National Park, going in along the famous High Sierra Trail and looping back into the tucked-away Mineral King from the Kern River Canyon. Our route took us through some incredible scenery (is there any other kind in the Sierra?), including a night of cowboy camping at Precipice Lake, the site of one of my favorite Ansel Adams photographs. It just so happened that the night coincided with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, making for one memorable night.
Day 1: Wolverton to 9-Mile Creek (map)
Our first day involved a lot of driving before hiking due to the shuttle from Mineral King. We had camped Saturday night at Mineral King, then left a couple of cars at the MK trailhead and all piled into Pavla’s Jeep to haul us to the starting trailhead. After a stop at Lodgepole to pick up permits, eat a pizza, and pick up some last minute supplies, we headed over to the Alta trailhead at Wolverton. By noon we were on the trail and ready for our hike to 9-Mile creek.
The hike from Wolverton starts nice and calm, with a gentle climb up to Panther Gap. At Panther Gap the true Sierra scenery begins with the first peek at the Great Western Divide. We took in the views of the Divide we would be crossing in two days, knowing that the sights would just get better as we got closer.
Paige had promised us some bears at 9-Mile creek due to her past experiences there, but no luck. Pavla still thinks they are mythical creatures. Campsites were limited at 9-mile, and filled with our group and one other, but I ended up finding a nice spot right on the cliff edge overlooking the creek.
Day 2: 9-Mile Creek to Precipice Lake (map)
The second day of a longer hike is traditionally the hardest for me. The first day’s excitement and adrenaline has worn out, and I’m not yet acclimated to the altitude or strong from the buildup of multiple days on the trail. So of course it was a perfect day for a 4800 foot climb. Yikes! Today’s hike took us from 9-Mile Creek all the way up to Precipice Lake, a location that has been on my Sierra must-see list ever since I figured out it was the location of one of my favorite Ansel Adams photos, Frozen Lake and Cliffs.
The first couple of miles were a gentle grade through the woods to Bearpaw Meadow, where fresh brownies were given to us by the generous staff of the High Sierra Camp. That brownie had enough calories to get me up the next big climb to Hamilton Lake. At Hamilton Lake, now near the tree line, we enjoyed a nice long break and a cooling swim. The big push to Precipice Lake started in the heat of the day but it was really a great hike. Yes, it was a big climb, and yes, it was hot and exposed. But the amazing. memorable views made it quite bearable, and even enjoyable!
I probably can’t repeat my words upon cresting the ridge and seeing Precipice Lake for the first time. It really is a stunning location, and it wasn’t just the altitude that took my breath away. The rocks up here are jumbled and it is far above treeline, and this makes finding a typical campsite pretty much impossible. Fortunately we were faced with great weather and were able to sleep out cowboy style wherever we found a flat rock.
Since the Perseid meteor shower was peaking that night, we set our alarms for 4 am and were able to simply open our eyes and watch the meteor shower from the comfort of our warm and snuggly sleeping bags. This night goes down as one of my favorites ever on the trail.
Day 3: Precipice Lake to Moraine Lake (map)
Precipice Lake was a completely different place by the morning light. As the sun started to hit the lake the blues and the greens started to show. I’m surprised this lake didn’t inspire Ansel Adams to photograph in color – the shades in the lake were unlike many I’ve seen before. The closest I’ve seen are the lakes near Muir and Glen passes along the John Muir Trail.
The climb from Precipice up to Kaweah Gap was short, and it was here that we crossed the Great Western Divide. To the west of the Divide, water flows to the Pacific. To the east it flows into the Great Basin. At the Gap I had a question: what’s the difference between a Gap and a Pass? I’ve done some googling and still haven’t figured it out.
We descended into Big Arroyo with the Divide to our right and the Kaweahs to our left. Eventually we had another hot climb up to a ridge that took us over to Moraine Lake. Moraine Lake is below treeline and we had a shaded site to camp near the shore, where we even had a small sandy beach for swimming. It was a great third night out – we arrived at camp with plenty of the day’s warmth left for laundry, a cleansing swim, and then a nice campfire around which we shared stories and had a great time.
Day 4: Moraine Lake to Kern River Canyon (map)
The fourth day on the trail was a short one, but not easy due to the creatures that lurked along the way. Moraine Lake to the Kern River Canyon is only about six miles, but there is a large burned out area with new fern growth where rattlesnakes are happy to live. I stepped carefully down the trail and didn’t see a single snake, but others in the group saw (or heard) them.
During the last few switchbacks to the bottom the heat of the day really hit me. Part of it was due to the descent to 7000 feet, but the sun was also really intense. We found a campsite off-trail next to the Kern River and spent the afternoon fishing and spending as much time in the cool water as possible. I went though most of my sunscreen and still ended up with a bit of red! I really enjoyed the relaxing afternoon and the time spent working on my tan, even if the sun was a bit much.
Day 5: Kern River Canyon Layover Day (map)
Today was a layover day in Kern Canyon, though we still got in about six miles of hiking. In the morning we dayhiked up the canyon to the Kern Hot Spring where we soaked until pruney. There is a tub with a privacy fence, but the hot water flowing into the tub was way too hot for a soak. It drained into a bigger pool along the river’s edge where several of us could relax and soak at the same time.
After a soak we spent some time reading and relaxing along the Kern River, then decided to head back to camp since we saw clouds forming. Our plan was to move camp to a shadier site that afternoon, and we wanted to get settled before the forming clouds had a chance to turn into rain.
For readers not familiar with summer in the Sierra, afternoon showers are common. Usually clouds start forming around noon, and reach their peak around 3pm. Sometimes they build enough to sprinkle, sometimes it thunderstorms, and sometimes it hails. The weather is usually over before sunset. By the time we had settled into our new camp about a mile down-canyon, the clouds sprinkled a bit, but we never saw a downpour and were able to enjoy time swimming and fishing along the river. By sunset the remaining whispy clouds glowed a nice pink.
Day 6: Kern River Canyon to Franklin Pass (map)
We started off early on day 6 so that we could get as much of the big climb towards Franklin Pass out of the way before it got too hot. We hiked up Rattlesnake Creek, so of course I had this in the back of my mind as well – I wanted to get well above rattlesnake elevation before it got too hot out! The first 1500 feet out of Kern Canyon was steep but really enjoyable. Rattlesnake Creek provided nice views and cool water to hike along as we climbed.
After this first steep climb we still had a ~2000 foot day in front of us and I really underestimated it. On the map it looked like it climbed gradually, but there were a couple of hot and steep sections that drained me. Still, I arrived into our camp area below Franklin Pass around 2 pm and had my tent set up by 2:30. This was fortunate, as the clouds were building again and by 3 pm a light rain had started.
This ended up being one of my favorite afternoons on the trail. For three hours I was curled up in my tent under my sleeping bag, sipping peppermint tea I cooked under my vestibule, reading and napping while accompanied by the patter of rain and the occasional slap of hail. It was a great final opportunity for unwinding and relaxing before the next day’s reemergence into civilization.
Day 7: Franklin Pass to Mineral King (map)
Our last day was a big day over Franklin Pass with about 4500 feet of descent into Mineral King. Once again we started early and were on the pass by 9 am. The 1500 foot climb to the pass was really scenic, passing through a moonscape similar to the approach to Kearsarge Pass. The Pass was more like a summit, going over a high point and ignoring the ridgeline dips to either side of the peak!
After a brief break on the pass, I started the long, ~10 mile descent to Mineral King. I didn’t take a single break, other than to take pictures, since by this point I was smelling the cheeseburgers and beer. It doesn’t take much for motivation after a week on dried and prepackaged food.
The scenery on the way down from Franklin Pass was stunning, of course, Red peaks, turquoise lakes, and green Alps-like hillsides. Meanwhile, clouds were once again forming and were actually sprinkling by the time I reached the trailhead a short while after noon. Everyone met at Silver City for food and carpooling and then left on the long drive out of Mineral King and back to Pavla’s Jeep at the starting trailhead. As we drove out we could see the thick clouds and precipitation above the peaks we had been on a few short hours before.
A huge thanks to Paige for organizing this trip, and thanks also to Pavla, Steve, Ray, and David for the company. I had a great time!
“The weather is usually over before sunset. ”
i think that is my favorite quote. i don’t know why. this is an amazong rundown – thanks for writing it up! that lake is gorgeous – almost looks more stunning in the miniature version of the pic.
i can’t believe how much elevation you covered. you know the tennessee valley? there’s a part of the coast trail that veers straight up to hill ‘888’ from the left of the main path. when i want to test myself, i go up this path. but i think it’s not even a 1000 foot gain. your talk of 4800 feet just makes me feel WEAK! isn’t that, like, a mile straight up or something?
cheers,
-m
What a great blog and read. Your walking country is just amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Hey! That’s my trip! 🙂
(Just saw the mention over at two-heel drive.)
We must have almost passed on the trail. We started at Crescent Meadow on August 4, and I was at Precipice on August 6, though we didn’t stay overnight – just passed by on our way from Hamilton Lake to the old cabin in Big Arroyo before heading on to Moraine Lake, dropping into the Kern, and then climbing out to exit over Whitney.
Precipice Lake is a stunning place. The first time I was there – 30 years ago – I did not realize that the famous Ansel Adams photograph had come from this lake… until I topped the small saddle at the outlet of the lake and there it was in front of me. Astonishing!
I haven’t posted “the story” of the trip on either of my blogs yet, but I have posted some photographs at my photography site, including some Precipice Lake images:
Precipice Lake
Submerged Boulders, Precipice Lake
… and others from elsewhere on the trip. (We followed the “High Sierra Trail” from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal.)
We did see one bear at Nine Mile Creek, but no problem. That was pretty aggressive of your group to do a 4800′ climb to Precipice in one day! We shared your experience with rattlesnakes – one member of our group saw at least one per day on the first four days of the trip, and that burned section on the descent to the Kern has a “reputation” among those who hike it.
By the way, I think we have you beat in the Really Awful Car Shuttle department, having had to leave two cares on the west side and two at Whitney Portal.
Dan
G Dan Mitchell Photography – http://www.gdanmitchell.com/
and dan’s outside – http://outside.danmitchell.org/
Woo! Great trip and great trip report! I love the way you’ve integrated the photos and maps here.
Since I found your blog via the Garmin Colorado review, is that the GPS you used here? How did you make all of those lovely maps?
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks all!
I tracked the entire trip with my Garmin Colorado, saving each day’s track into individual gpx files that I imported into National Geographic Topo when I got home. It’s a quick and painless process, all I did was add the campsite labels and run the elevation profile over the tracks, then exported the jpg image of the route. Hmm, maybe I should also link the tpo file, or lay it over google maps….ooh, plugin ideas!!
Rebecca,
Super trip! Great write-up and fantastic photos! I would love to do that trip, but my bum ankle probably couldn’t handle it. . .for now!
The High Sierra Trail has to be one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done, anywhere.
I like the idea of sleeping by Precipice lake, we kept going on and slept on that ledge near the plaque at Kgap. That was a pretty area too, sunset on the Black Kaweah was on of my favorite evenings on trail.
Either way, great writeup and awesome pics, it brought back all the great memories of that trip. Would that cabin possibly be one of Shorty Lovelace’s?
Some 30 years ago we did this approximate loop in the reverse direction. My slides are buried somewhere and I haven’t looked at them for years. I do remember it being one of the most impressive and scenic Sierra trips I’ve done. Thanks for letting me relive a bit of it through your photos.
Thank you for writing your trail log, that is one of the best and most interesting ones I have encountered. Interestingly, a small group of us were climbing Mt. Tyndall at exactly the same time you were on trail, so I know at least part of the weather you experienced. We hope to draw permits for Mt. Williamson next year, but I have fired up my group of friends to hike the HST.
I have packed quite a bit, but not on anything covering the mileage of the HST. I am curious what your packing list, particularly the food, looked like. I am not asking for any trade secrets, but anything you can do to help a fellow fan of the high sierra’s would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again for the wonderful trail log.
I am particularly interested in the details of trail conditions on the approach to Franklin Pass. I looked at your beautiful photographs but was not really sure which ones depict that ascent. Can you help?
The pictures from the last day show our ascent to Franklin Pass from Rattlesnake Creek and descent into Mineral King. The photos are here:
http://calipidder.com/zenphoto/sierra-nevada-south/aug08hst/hstday7/
If you take a look at the map (the first photo in the album), I traced our route. The trail going up to the pass from the east side is very moonlike and open, but the trail is easy to follow on either side. Enjoy!
I’m interested in doing portions of your trip, but the links to the trail maps don’t work. Is it possible for you to post/send the tpo file?
Hi Joe – Links should be updated now. I was in the process of moving photos to Smugmug. Let me know if something doesn’t work for you!
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