Rae Lakes Loop,  Kings Canyon National Parkp     

(July 2 - July 6th 2005)

5 Days      40 miles      

 

 

 

After celebrating my brother's wedding it was off to the hills of Kings Canyon National Park.  This backpacking trip would be our longest to date at 40 miles and 5 days with an elevation gain beginning at 5000ft at the trailhead to the top of Glen Pass at 12,000.  I was curious how we would hold out over the days and what this foreign national park had to bring.  Before leaving on the trip I read about this loop from a multitude of sources saying how it was an amazing and one of the most acclaimed loop trails in the Sierras.  Certainly, we were not disappointed.  Anyone that wants to experience a little bit of everything the Sierras has to offer should backpack this loop.  Kings Canyon National Park is a backpackers dream come true.  No roads to access it.  Only large mountain passes that separate the weekend backpackers from the rest.

Day 1- We packed up the car camp at Sheep's creek and headed for the trailhead.  We ate a quick breakfast and talked with the ranger as he wrote our permit.  It was a bit smokey that morning from a nearby fire and I was nervous that a portion of trail might be closed.  I got the permit months before and I could not imagine having to cancel.  Thankfully we were "ok".  I then looked at the bulletin board an read the posted notes to backpackers.  Listed as:   1) Treacherous river crossing at Paradise Valley  2) Mosquitoes are blooming with the flowers, don't be a blood donor  3) 50% of Glen Pass is under snow, boots with gaiters advised.  Reading this was not encouraging, but I thought, "hey adventure is what we are here for." 

                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first two miles of the trail reminded me so much of Yosemite.  The huge granite walls rising on both sides with a forested floor.  My backpack was quite a load ( bear can and 5 days of food is not light!) but my new backpack thankfully carried the weight like an extension of my body. My new camel back is also wonderful- allowing me to sip cool water as I hike.  I find I drink more water with it too because it is so convenient.  About a mile later  the trail split in two and we headed left towards Paradise Valley to begin the loop.  In the car the day before Sam said, " I am not putting that chemical (Deet) on my body."  Soon later we were in a marshy section and were then swarmed with mosquitoes.  In Less than 30 seconds........Sam was lathering her arms and legs with the stuff.  I must say 35% Deet lotion by 3M does work really well.  Really really well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  The trail then started its ascent upwards.  It was a peaceful trail running along the violent river.  Then we arrived at mist falls.  The mist blown up into the air was like a gift from the Gods cooling down us hot hikers.  We headed up to the top of the falls and found a slab directly above where it drops off to have lunch at.  It was a dangerous spot.  One slip forward and see you later alligator.  We were low on water so I pumped out a liter with my feet at the edge.  Smiling as I thought this is probably the most dangerous spot to pump water in the whole Sierra Nevada, but the view was worth every once.  The PB and J's did the trick and we continued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Mist Falls taking a break as the trail ascends one of the deepest canyons in the Country

 

 

   Knowing we would be doing a total of 1900 ft of elevation gain total for the day I knew it would mellow out soon.  And it did.  A crystal clear river surrounded by trees and mountains on all sides appeared.  It was so calming after the falls and steep rocky trail.  We we at Paradise valley.  You must stay at designated camp sites and we set our goal at upper Paradise valley.  We took another break at a little pebble beach and got snacks and a bit more water.  Running into a couple on the trail they asked how long to middle paradise.  I gave them an estimate and then asked how far to upper paradise.  He said about 1 hr 45 min.  Sam and I were starting to feel the days burden and continued on the trail.  About a half hour later we ran into a ranger.  After asking about the fire and thunder storms he commented that upper paradise was about 8 minutes ahead while we were thinking we had an hour to go!  Those other hikers must have been hot/tired. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Camp at Upper Paradise.  A nice spot among the trees and a quaint river flowing by the doorstep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After pumping water from the creek we made our new creation for dinner.

 

 

2 pks ramen, 1 pk sealed chicken, freeze dried veggies.  Good but a bit salty.  It is now 8 PM as I write.  Looking out the tent their is 2 deer that are like 20 ft away checking things out.  We were tired and did not have a fire and got ready for bed.  My shoulder is a bit sore from the hike for some reason and I hope it feels better in the morning for tomorrows hike.

Total days miles- 9 Mi    Elevation Gain- 1800ft    Time 8:30-3:30

 

Day 2  Paradise Valley to Woods Creek

We slept in and were in no hurry to hit the trail.  I felt good and ready to explore further up the valley.  For breakfast we had oatmeal, but added freeze dried strawberries and they were amazing.  We were the last ones to break camp from the 3 other groups at upper paradise.  No rush, it would be one of the shorter days.

 

 

 The first thing we had to do from camp was cross the river.  It was no big deal, with many logs piled high.  It was nothing like the picture the ranger had on the wall showing the early season crossing.  On the trail we talked to another couple doing the loop. Most Everyone at these backcountry camps seem to do be doing it, but most were doing it in more days, taking their sweet time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The hiking was steep gaining elevation at a steady rate from our camp below. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  We then reached a strange gate in the middle of the trail?  The views then opened up looking deeper into the valley to a beautiful Sierra valley with the domes on the left.  Meadow on the bottom, with a crystal clear river flowing through.  And big mountains in the distance. That's where we were headed.  Sam had a bee incident.  The damn thing kept buzzing around her for about a quarter mile.  I would hear her yell, turn around, and then see her try to karate chop the bee no no avail.  It was quite funny until he came after me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you find me?  I told Sam, I am going to walk down to that fine piece of trail then snap the shot ok.  We continued through the Castle Domes Meadow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked along the side of the Castle Domes seen here.  A massive chunk of overhanging granite rising 3000 feet above the valley floor. Once you see it after coming out of the forested woods you think, "damn thats some piece of rock!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the meadow the trail once again headed up, I knew we were close after meeting up with the John Muir trail marker.  From here we   would follow it south for the next 2 days.  Soon after the "Golden Gate of the Sierra Nevada" spanned above.  We crossed one person at a time as it bounced up/down with each step.  We set up camp just up stream within sight of the bridge.  We were the last group to leave Paradise, but the first group up so we got to pick out a good spot.  Getting in early in the afternoon we had the rest of the day to enjoy doing whatever.

 

 

While pumping water I saw that it would make the perfect little pool for a dip.  I stripped down and took the plunge and boy was it cold.  It did feel good to get the dirt/deet off.  It felt great having time to just hang out at camp after the and we did some reading in the tent.  As the sun started to set I walked around a bit to take some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made the perfect fire as we ate tuna noodle casserole.  It got the thumbs up from me.  Our meals were turning out fantastic. We were surrounded by peaks and the sound of the river and had a relaxing evening as the sun went over the surrounding granite walls.

 

Time hiking 10:30- 2:15 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 3  Woods Creek to Rae Lakes      Miles- 7  2250 ft Ascent

today we got up a t 7AM so we could reach Rae  Lakes early and enjoy it for most of the day.  It felt good to be on the trail by 8:30 with the air being so crisp and cool.  It was a steady climb, but a well groomed trail.

 

Following the JMT south towards Rae Lakes.

 

 

We had another group of older men take this photo of us looking back into the valley we just came up.  We had a snack and took our time taking in the views of waterfalls with snickers and trail mix. 

 

 

After a short steep section we arrived at Dollar Lake and saw our first look at Fin Dome in the distance.  This mountain was a good marker knowing that Rae Lakes was just past it.

 

 

Just above Dollar Lake their was a meandering stream through a green meadow.  It was a heavenly welcome to the valley.  I can imagine that this is some of the best scenery the JMT has to offer, and even the world.

 

 

Looking back at Arrowhead lake

 

 

Painted Lady stood at the end of the valley and was a magnificent sight.

 

 

 

 

We made it to the 1sst Rae Lake at 12:00 noon after 31/2 hrs of hiking.  We had lunch at the shore and could not keep our eyes off the peaks.  The lake was nestled at the end of a beautiful Sierra valley.  This valley was a place hard to describe and one of those places where you just sit back and take it in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At about 1:00Pm  we made it to upper Rae Lake.  The setting was perfect below Painted Lady.  We found a small, but great views for our camp site.  Sam was hanging out just enjoying the sun when I decided that the day was young and I wanted to climb up the sixty lakes basin trail.  It was still early and I had plenty of energy.  I know that it would only be about a mile up to the ridgeline and then be able to see into the basin.

 

 

Stairway to Heaven

 

 

 

 

 

Near the top of the the ridge I turned around and  their was a lake with dramatic views looking over to Dragon Mt.  Sixty Lake basis was a large basin and it looked like their was not a soul to be seen. But  I was definitely happy we were staying back at Rae Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

Our tent is down there along the shore.  Its the color in the rocks that make the mountains around Rae Lakes so special.  I have never seen such shades of orange veins swirled through the granite.  I really enjoyed the hike because I got a whole different perspective on Rae lakes and a fantastic view of the mountains surrounding it.

 

 

  Once the sun started going down the blood-suckers came out in droves.  Head net, gloves, down jacket, all came on to combat these ferocious mosquitoes. For dinner we devoured the mountain house chili mac, one of my favorites. I noticed to the east some dark clouds moving in.  Wasting no time Sam and I covered the tent.  It only rained a few drops, but we were ready.  We were excited to climb Glen Pass first thing in the morning and also a bit worried that the fires would bring lots of smoke for the next 2 days.  I look forward to step out of the tent in the morning - the view is insane, probable the best ever at camp. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night I stuck my head out of the tent and was blown away.  The milky way draped across the sky as millions of stars reflected in the waters of Rae Lakes.  I just laid their outside the tent on a slab of granite looking up and felt that overwhelming feeling of the universe and our insignificant perspective within it.  " Hey Sam you might want to come out and see this," she was tired but I got her to at least poke a head out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4   Rae Lakes to Junction Meadow

It was early the next morning, I got out of the tent to take a stroll with my camera during that "magic hour" with dramatic lighting.  I am always laying there in my bag thinking I need to get out and take a look around as the morning rays always provide a show (probably why John Muir named this The Range of Light).  It is always a wonderful welcome to a new day and provides the motivation to get out of your warm/cozy bag.  I took a few pictures near the tent then walked towards the other lake.  This picture is one of my favs from the trip and is looking North back at Fin Dome back down the valley we hiked up the day before.

 

 

 

We wanted to get an early start on Glen Pass, but for some reason didn't get on the trail till 9:00.    Once again we were on the superhighway of the JMT.  As the trail headed up towards Glen Pass, it was abound of flowers and streams of water.  Sam crossing here at the outlet of Rae lakes on the way to the pass.

 

 

 

 Flowers and small streams abound along the trail to Glen Pass.

 

 

We got over one rise and then were greeted by at least a thousand foot wall of granite.  Where is the trail?  Sam kept a ferocious pace up the unyielding switch backs and we got to the top in 1 1/2 hrs.  I could not believe how she flew up the thing like nothing was in her path.

 

 

We did have a short snow crossing at the top of the pass, the trail traverses that small strip of snow.  We could see lots of people already at the top.

 

 

 

 

As soon we crested the pass a whole new world appeared in 360 degrees of peaks covering the horizon.  One peak in the distance caught my attention and I want to climb it someday. (Mt Brewer)  There was lots of people on the top and most were doing the whole JMT.  Everything from an old man doing it in 10 days to a family in 27.  Two teen girls explained how good our PB Js sounded after having salami and crackers for 20 days. We had lunch and enjoyed our surrounding views and the accomplishment of reaching the highest point of our trek.

 MOVIE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mt Brewer to the south

 

 

 

 

As we headed down the other side of the pass we noticed some dark clouds forming- and it was still only 11 in the morning.  We were worried to be caught up in an exposed area in a lightning storm so we picked up the pace.  The blues of a deep mountain lake that we stopped for water at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sam saved the day at a trail junction.  For some reason I thought we would continue to Charlotte Lake and into that valley.  "No we go this way," Sam said and she was right as we pulled out the map.  We headed on.

 

 

 

 

Our lunch break was overlooking Vidette Peak and meadows just about where this picture was taken. We were both surprised because by this time we thought the best scenery on the loop was over.  This side was just as impressive as Rae Lakes.  It was like a bonus valley that we got to see and check out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We followed the river through some more really impressive terrain and down to camp a few miles below.

 

 

 

 

Day 4 was my favorite day on the trail of the trip.  It felt like we accomplished the crux of the trek, both scenically and litterally would be back at home tomorrow night.  As we walked into Junction Meadows the weather got worse.  After setting up camp at we were just in time before it begun to rain.  It didn't bother us much, but we found out one of our neighbors forgot their rain fly for their tent and were waiting/preying for it to stop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I built a warm campfire in the damp woods. We were the first group of the day to roll in to this camp area so we had first pick on a spot.  We picked this one close to the river with a great fire ring.  We spent the rest of the evening around the fire, pumped water, and ate dinner. and are now setting the alarm for a 6:00AM wake up.  We knew we had 10 miles of hiking left and a drive back to San Diego.

 

 

Day 5

 

 

 

Our last day of hiking took us 10 mi down Kings Canyon.    It followed the river and through woods.  It was the least enjoyable day of the trip, but still a good cruise down a the valley. Lots of mosquitos from the damp morning I think and DEET again was a godsend. This picture is me towards the end of the hike.  The trail abruptly drops down here in switchbacks to the canyon floor.  Our car is down there.  We left camp at 7:30 and made it to the car at 11:45 (20 min per mile) Another reason why we did not stop much was because the mosquitoes were the worst on this section of trail than anywhere else on the trip.  It was funny when our permit was checked for the first time about 1 mi from the parking lot.  A ranger told us at the beginning that this last day would be the fastest 10mi our life being a steady descent all the way to the car. It did pass rather quickly, but my feet loved getting those boots off.  I gave Sam a big hug for a fantastic trip, we were done.

 

 

The trip as a whole blew away our expectations.  The scale of the mountain passes, peaks, rivers, falls and mosquitoes were all huge.  It was cool because the whole during the whole trip you are essentially following these huge sierra valleys, then over Glen Pass with amazing views, then back into another massive valley back.  We felt like we stepped it up a notch with this trip and am now very confident in multi-day treks.  After talking to quite a number of people on the trail doing the JMT as a though hike, I was inspired.

 

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