Rae Lakes Loop/East Lake/Lake Reflection, Kings Canyon NP

[lambertiana]

Last summer I planned a six day loop trip out of Mineral King. The day before our entry, I checked and everything looked good. So we drove to the trailhead at Mineral King, only to be told by the ranger at the permit station that they had decided the previous night to not allow anyone to enter because a fire was threatening the Mineral King road and they didn't want anyone trapped. They told me that I could get a permit to enter via the High Sierra trail, which is normally a very difficult permit to get. So we drove down the Mineral King road, then up to the permit station at Lodgepole near Giant Forest. There I asked if we could instead get a permit for the Rae Lakes loop, which is also very difficult to obtain. The answer was yes, so we drove down to the permit station at Road's End, where we were issued the permit. Total time from leaving our house to getting the permit was nine hours, most of that time spent on winding mountain roads. We started on the Wood's Creek trail at 2 PM, and the smoke from the fire was causing visibility issues. We stopped for the night in Paradise Valley. Here is a view looking down the canyon halfway to camp, plenty of smoky haze in the air:

The next morning we continued up, crossing the Middle Fork Kings River at upper Paradise (fortunately the water flow was manageable, the bridge was washed out a few years ago and hasn't been replaced). We stopped for the night at the Woods Creek crossing, where we met the John Muir Trail. Some views going up that day:

And the view from camp that night:

 

[lambertiana]

The next morning we continued up to Rae Lakes proper. After a while I got this shot looking back down the canyon:

Dollar Lake:

Nice spot above Dollar Lake:

Looking back down the canyon from above the lowest of the Rae Lakes:

This is where we camped, at the top lake of the Rae Lakes:

Can you beat this campsite?

After setting up I took a walk over the divide to look at Sixty Lakes Basin. Since it had already been a long day, I didn't feel like dropping down to the basin and then climbing back out. First, from the top looking at Sixty Lakes Basin:

Views along the way:

 

[lambertiana]

The next morning we went up over Glen Pass (11,926'). If you look you can see people on the top, that dark ridge is the pass:

From the pass, looking toward Mt Brewer:

On the descent toward Vidette Meadow, looking up Bubbs Creek drainage:

Looking down Bubbs Creek:

We stopped for the night at Junction Meadow. A few shots to show the general area at camp:

 

[lambertiana]

The next day I wanted to go up to East Lake, which is one of my all time favorite locations, but others in the group wanted to keep camp at Junction Meadow and just day hike to East Lake and Lake Reflection. East Lake and Lake Reflection are just a few miles off the very popular, heavily traveled Rae Lakes loop, but almost everyone is focused on the loop and miss this gem of a location. First view of East Lake, note the persistent smoky haze that plagued us the entire trip:

Then on to Lake Reflection (no trail, but easy off trail travel, only a mile and a half above East Lake):

On the way back down, saying goodbye to East Lake:

On the way back down to Junction Meadow, Mt Bago in the background, camp is at the base of that cliff:

The next morning we walked the eleven miles back down to the trailhead. It was an outstanding trip. One last picture, looking at the canyon at the very bottom, where the Bubbs Creek and Woods Creek trails meet:

As an aside, I am planning on that original six day loop out of Mineral King this summer. Still have spaces available on the permit...just sayin.

 

[Don M]

Well I wanted to spend the night at East Lake

 

[Mistwalker]

Very enjoyable post, thank you for sharing! Such beautiful images of such an alien-to-me landscape, it was like taking a vacation at my desk

 

[lambertiana]

Very enjoyable post, thank you for sharing! Such beautiful images of such an alien-to-me landscape, it was like taking a vacation at my desk

I still have spots open on a permit for a six day Sierra loop in August. Just sayin...
My brother and one of his aquaintances are coming from Tennesse to join me.