September 5, 2007

• Backpacking the Rae Lakes Loop

  Originally the plan was to leave LA at 3pm on Friday before some of the traffic started but we
  didn’t actually end up leaving until about 4:30pm. 
  We were further delayed by a flat tire and with stopping to grab dinner at
  Subway and making a short stop to gather last minute supplies, we didn’t arrive
  at King’s Canyon until around 11:30pm. 
  We camped at a walk in site at Moraine in Cedar Grove which was surprisingly
  not too crowded for a holiday weekend.

  The next day we got up early to be at the Road’s End permit station by 7am to pick up our permit.  We didn’t have
  a reservation (you have to get them at least 2 weeks in advance) but we got
  lucky and got some of the last spots available.  Bear canisters were
  mandatory as there had been high activity within the area.  We ended up doing the clockwise loop that
  started out along Wood’s Creek.  I was
  worried that it would be too hot but at a starting elevation of about 5,000 ft…the
  weather was definitely cooler.  Plus
  there were plenty of trees along the well marked trail as well as nice cold
  pools of water to cool off in. 

  
  The group near the
  trailhead.

  
  Mist Falls where we cooled off

  
  Paradise Valley

  
  Castle Domes at sunset

  We got to our destination at the John Muir trail junction
  around 7:00pm which was about 16
  miles from the trailhead.  We were pretty
  exhausted by this point and were extremely happy to put our packs down.  Washed up in the creek before dinner which
  was salmon and mushroom fettucine…yummy! 
  We went to bed early and got up for an early start but somehow we ended
  up taking two hours to pack up and didn’t start hiking until 8:30am. 
  Most of the time we carried less than 2 liters of water since there were
  plenty of spots to stop and use the water filter.  Also the bugs weren’t as much of a problem as
  I thought they’d be.  Barely had to use
  my mosquito net although I did get a few bites. 
  There were plenty of bear boxes at the established campsites so we could’ve
  brought less bear canisters to save on weight (we had 3 canisters for 5
  people).  There were a lot of stream
  crossings along this part of the trail.

  One of the members of our party started getting sick around Rae
  Lakes which was a little past the
  halfway point.  Luckily one of the fitter
  guys hiked up to Glen pass and dropped off his pack and came back to us and
  carried her pack or else we probably wouldn’t have made it.  The switchbacks leading up to the pass were
  pretty steep and strenuous but we were rewarded with amazing views at the
  top.  It was pretty windy at that
  elevation and with thunderclouds on the horizon, we didn’t stay there
  long.  Going downhill was much easier,
  however our feet really took a pounding. 
  After hiking for about 14 miles on the second day my feet were aching
  pretty bad and I was starting to question myself about how fun the trip really
  was.  It would have been nice to have had
  an extra day to do some side trails and have more time to enjoy ourselves.  Dinner tonight consisted of spaghetti and macaroni
  with cheese.  I really like the
  backpacking food packages from Mountain House…they’re extremely lightweight at
  4.5 oz and compact.  Plus it’s very
  convenient since you only have to boil water and mix and you can eat right out
  of the pouch so no dishes to clean.

  
  Suspension bridge by Woods Creek Crossing

  
  Dollar Lake
  (the fish were jumping here…wish we had brought our fishing poles)

  
  Rae Lakes
  where we stopped for lunch

  
  Glen Pass
  at 12,000 ft

  
  Campsite at Vidette Meadows

  On the third and last day of our backpack we again got a
  later start than planned at 8:30am.  Along this part of the trail we start
  following Bubb’s Creek.  The canyon walls
  are really quite amazing and there were lots of great climbing areas.  We actually ran into two climbers who had
  done the approach to Charlotte Dome the day before…definitely something I’d
  like to go back and climb one day.  There
  seemed to be a lot more backpackers going the counterclockwise loop that we ran
  into today.  Around Sphinx Creek we saw a
  bear cross the trail just a few feet ahead of us.  I’ve seen bears before but that was probably
  the closest I’d ever gotten. 
  Unfortunately I was too slow to take a picture but my friend got a good one.  There were plenty of bridges by where the
  loop closes and the last two miles back to the car seemed to take forever.  The 14 miles on the last day though didn’t
  seem as bad and I was surprised by how great I felt considering…I guess my body
  had finally gotten used to the physical strain. 
  

  We washed up by the creek and changed into some clean
  clothes and started driving back at around 4:30pm.  There was a quick stop by Boyden Cavern but
  we had just missed the last tour.  Also
  decided to make a stop at Grant Grove where we did a quick 0.6 mile loop hike
  to check out General Grant which is the third largest tree in the world.  There is also the Fallen Monarch which is a hollowed
  out sequoia which you can actually walk through.  For dinner we stopped at Visalia
  at a restaurant/brewery.  I shared a tri
  tip steak and their ultimate hamburger…so good! 
  We also sampled their beers…my favorite was their double buzz which was
  a stout with hints of chocolate flavor. 
  Ended up getting back to LA at around 11:30pm.  Overall, the trip was amazing.  The scenery was beautiful (the pictures don’t do it justice) and although my
  body was sore from the tough pace, it was definitely worth it.

  
  Bubb’s Creek

  
  Near the end of the trail

  
  Bear

  
  Fallen Monarch

  
  General Grant…this is actually the widest tree in the world…I’m in the picture so you can see the scale

  • 9:09 pm
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