[pct-l] Kings Canyon.

[freehueco at yahoo.com (Michael Deitchman)]

 Well, I am back in town after my hike of the Rae
Lakes loop up in Kings Canyon. My legs are a bit sore
from yesterday's sprint down the infamous Bubbs Creek
switchbacks, but it's nothing a little vitamin I can't
help...

 My original plan was to hike the loop in 4 days, but
the last weather forecast I saw scared me just a bit.
They were calling for a weak system to hit the Bay
Area on Friday, and the Sierra on Saturday. Not
wanting to get trapped, I decided to see if I could
walk a bit further each day.

 I drove up to the park on Tuesday after work, and
slept in my car in a Forest Service picnic area. In
the morning I woke up around 6am and headed to the
trailhead. After filling out my wilderness permit, I
hit the trail at 7:15, in moderately cold temperatures
(probably around 40, which in California is considered
cold). After two miles or so, the trail turns and
heads up into the canyon of Woods Creek and towards
the popular Mist Falls. Amazingly, there were no
dayhikers around. It sure is nice to have a place like
this to yourself (a recurring theme on this trip!).

 At lower Paradise Valley there were three other
hikers, but they were chatting up a storm amongst
themselves, so I passed by with a quick 'hello'. Past
Paradise Valley, the trail leaves the Kings River to
follow Woods Creek. The aspens in the valley were in
full fall color (pictures will be posted some time
this week). The weather turned out to be absolutely
amazing, allowing me to walk in shorts and a t-shirt.
The views of Mt. Clarence King and the other peaks
made me want to just climb them. I wish I had more
time. 

 Where the Woods Creek Trail meets the PCT, there is a
monstrous looking bridge (what were they thinking,
building this in a Wilderness area?). I sat on the
bear box eating a little lunch, pondering what to do.
My permit said I was camping here, but there were
still a few hours of daylight to kill. So I decided to
walk a bit more, hoping to make it to Dollar Lake
before sunset. By this point I was getting tired, but
I was psyched to just be out there. When sunset was
threatening, I wasn't at the lake yet, so I found the
best place I could. I placed my bear cannister about
50 yards away and went to sleep. 

 After a fitful night's sleep (I kept imagining that
bears were trying to get at my food) I woke to a cold
Sierra morning. My thermometer was registering in the
upper 20s, so I packed quick to get on my way. Once on
the trail, I was warm in no time; and about 5 minutes
later I came to Dollar Lake (you have to love that
sort of irony). I filtered water there and continued.
The Rae Lakes area is as beautiful as I had heard, and
seems to be the kind of place that I could stay for a
week. Next year, I will stay longer...

 At the uppermost of the lakes, I paused to eat and
wash off a bit before the climb up Glen Pass. Perhaps
halfway up the pass, I came across two hikers going
downhill. Since they were the first people I had seen
in over 24 hours, I stopped and talked for a few
minutes. They were going to fish the Rae Lakes for a
few days before heading back into the Owens Valley.
After sweating my way up the crest, I sat down to
enjoy the view. Off in the distance, you can see as
far as the Palisades. But the peaks were almost
entirely snow free. The Sierra look a little too
desolate with no snow.

 From the top, I flew down the trail enjoying the
downhill. Once I got past the cutoff to Charlotte
Lake, I ran into a couple from Mammoth who were doing
the 'easy chair' (their term for it) approach to the
hike. They were on their second of nine days out.

 After talking to them I headed down into Vidette
Meadow, where I sat and ate a late lunch. Then I
walked down to Junction Meadow. I had a bit better
campsite there and was actually able to get a decent
night of sleep. In the morning I headed down, walking
the last 10+ miles in 3 hours.

 Coming down the switchbacks, I met a guy with a dog.
My first inclination was to hate him for having a dog
out here, but the dog was friendly enough, so I didn't
say anything. I asked the guy where he was headed for
the night, and he replied 'probably Tyndall Creek'
(for those who don't know, that's about 31 miles with
8000 feet of climbing followed by a 3000 feet decent).
This seemed a little insane to me, but he said he was
in pretty decent shape. It turns out that he had just
finished hiking the PCT and came back to see what the
area looked like with no snow. So I wished him a good
trip and continued on my way. 

I finally saw a bear, about 200 yards from the
trailhead.

The final tallies from the trip:

A few dozen deer (including one 8 point buck)
One bear
And unfortunately, one dead squirrel on the road out
of Cedar Grove.


  -Mike D

=====
Don't panic!

" The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing."
http://www.freehueco.com


		
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