Lake Basin High Country, Kings Canyon National Park, California
Sierra Club Outings Trip | Backpack
Highlights
- Hike a challenging cross-country route
- Visit spectacular, secluded Lake Basin
- Explore or relax on two planned layover days
Includes
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Tasty meals for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike
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Group cooking gear and commissary equipment
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All permits and pre-trip campsite
Overview
The Trip
“To anyone with a practiced eye it was apparent from the very outset that this year’s outing was to be one of the finest.”
Thus began the report on the 1935 Sierra Club High Trip to Lake Basin and the Kings Canyon high country (Sierra Club Bulletin Vol. 21, 1936). This year we plan a return to secluded Lake Basin and the Middle and South Forks of the Kings River. We again plan one of the finest outings, although our route and group will be much different than the 1935 High Trip
The Trip
“To anyone with a practiced eye it was apparent from the very outset that this year’s outing was to be one of the finest.”
Thus began the report on the 1935 Sierra Club High Trip to Lake Basin and the Kings Canyon high country (Sierra Club Bulletin Vol. 21, 1936). This year we plan a return to secluded Lake Basin and the Middle and South Forks of the Kings River. We again plan one of the finest outings, although our route and group will be much different than the 1935 High Trip.
Located far from established trails and surrounded by dramatic peaks, Lake Basin is home to dozens of clear, peaceful lakes, including Marion Lake, one of the most strikingly beautiful lakes in the Sierra. On the 1935 outing, over 100 people plus stock entered the basin from the south and west. Remnants of the path they constructed (and of the old John Muir Trail, which traversed Lake Basin until the route over Mather Pass was completed in 1938) are still visible today. Our group will be considerably smaller than the 1935 outing, and we will experience far greater solitude than on that early High Trip. We expect to spend one of our two planned layover days exploring the basin.
We approach the high country from the north and east, entering beautiful Dusy Basin over Bishop Pass and finishing nine days and 45 miles later on the often-faint path over spectacular Taboose Pass. In between, the highlight of the trip is the challenging cross-country route over three high passes connecting Amphitheater Lake, Lake Basin, and the South Fork of the Kings River. Altogether, roughly a third of our 45 miles will be on cross-country routes. The off-trail hiking and scrambling is not technically difficult, but there will be enough challenging sections to add some adventure. In addition to the three cross-country passes, our route includes two trail crossings of the Sierra Nevada Crest. All camps but one will be above 10,000 feet.
Join us if you’re looking for the adventure of hiking a challenging route—both on and off trail—through some spectacular scenery. Trip members should schedule flights home for no earlier than the day after we conclude our hike.
Itinerary
Our hiking schedule is not rigid. How far we get each day and where we camp depends on how we feel, the weather, and other factors outside of our control. Likewise, our precise route is not rigidly set since we will be hiking off trail for much of the trip. Flexibility is important. The itinerary described here should be taken as a general plan, and the actual route and schedule may well depart from this plan.
Day 1: We will meet in the afternoon at a reserved campsite near our entry trailhead at South Lake, so that we can begin adjusting to the altitude and get a prompt start on our first hiking day. If possible, we’ll also want to station some cars at the exit trailhead. Usually, this can be done if some participants arrive early enough – it not, we will do it early the next morning
Our hiking schedule is not rigid. How far we get each day and where we camp depends on how we feel, the weather, and other factors outside of our control. Likewise, our precise route is not rigidly set since we will be hiking off trail for much of the trip. Flexibility is important. The itinerary described here should be taken as a general plan, and the actual route and schedule may well depart from this plan.
Day 1: We will meet in the afternoon at a reserved campsite near our entry trailhead at South Lake, so that we can begin adjusting to the altitude and get a prompt start on our first hiking day. If possible, we’ll also want to station some cars at the exit trailhead. Usually, this can be done if some participants arrive early enough – it not, we will do it early the next morning. Participants are responsible for their own dinner, but there is a restaurant nearby or you can bring your own food for dinner at the campground.
Day 2: We will serve breakfast, make final preparations for hiking, and then drive the short distance to our entry trailhead at South Lake (9,775 feet). On this, our first hiking day, we will cover a total of about seven miles and climb about 2,200 feet. We will have our heaviest packs of the trip and we won’t be fully acclimated to the altitude, which will make this one of the more difficult days. We begin by ascending past a series of lakes along Bishop Creek. Eventually, we’ll climb more steeply to Bishop Pass, crossing the Sierra Crest into Dusy Basin, where we will spend our first night in the wilderness.
Day 3: We’ll spend a layover day in Dusy Basin, which offers many opportunities to explore peaks, passes, or lakes. Some may choose to climb 13,000-foot Mt. Agassiz, with magnificent views of the neighboring Palisades. Others might hike off-trail to Rainbow Lakes or over Knapsack Pass to explore a portion of Palisade Basin.
Day 4: On our next hiking day we will continue on the Bishop Pass Trail, descending to the Middle Fork of the Kings River in Le Conte Canyon (8,700 feet). Here we meet the John Muir Trail, which we will follow downstream to the confluence of the Middle Fork with Palisade Creek. We then continue on the Muir Trail upstream along Palisade Creek, stopping for the night somewhere before Deer Meadow.
Day 5: At Deer Meadow, we will depart from well-established hiking trails and spend most of the next five days on cross-country routes and historic unmaintained trails. We start by following Cataract Creek upstream to a camp at spectacular Amphitheater Lake.
Day 6: Our next day is short but rugged. We will cross 11,500-foot Cataract Peak Pass (adjacent to Observation Peak) to camp near Dumbbell Lakes. If we make good progress, we should have much of the afternoon to enjoy these peaceful lakes.
Days 7-8: We will cross Dumbbell Lakes Pass (11,600 feet) to Lake Basin, where we plan to spend our second layover day. This beautiful basin offers many wonderful opportunities for exploring, scrambling, swimming, or climbing.
Day 9: We begin our final two days by exiting Lake Basin over 11,700-foot Cartridge Pass, the route followed by the John Muir Trail until 1938. We should find remnants of the old trail, which will greatly simplify the traverse of this rugged, rocky pass. The summit of Cartridge Pass offers a wonderful view across the gorge of the Kings River’s South Fork to Arrow Peak and Bench Lake. We will descend nearly 2,000 feet to the South Fork and most likely camp somewhere along the river.
Day 10: On our final day, we will follow a faint trail over alpine terrain to the gentle, broad saddle of Taboose Pass (11,350 feet). Here we enjoy final dramatic views down the South Fork of the Kings River and the Muro Blanco before descending nearly 6,000 feet to the high desert and the Taboose Creek trailhead.
Trip members should schedule flights home for no earlier than the day after the trip ends.
Logistics
Getting There
Our trip starts at a campground near our South Lake trailhead, which is located about 20 miles south and west of Bishop on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. We finish our trip at the Taboose Creek trailhead, about 53 miles away by road.
For improved acclimatization, participants are encouraged to arrive earlier and do some day hiking at altitude. An extra day or two also makes it easier to recover from events such as a missed connection and still make it to the trailhead in time
Getting There
Our trip starts at a campground near our South Lake trailhead, which is located about 20 miles south and west of Bishop on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. We finish our trip at the Taboose Creek trailhead, about 53 miles away by road.
For improved acclimatization, participants are encouraged to arrive earlier and do some day hiking at altitude. An extra day or two also makes it easier to recover from events such as a missed connection and still make it to the trailhead in time.
Bishop is located on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, about 200 miles from Reno, 265 miles from either Las Vegas or Los Angeles, and 300 miles from San Francisco. Trip members arriving from other parts of the country should explore the option of flying to one of these major cities and sharing a rental car or arranging a ride. (As of this writing, Eastern Sierra Transit offers bus service from Reno to Bishop on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please check online for current information.)
We will send a trip roster to all participants well before the trip in order to help facilitate ride-sharing. Specific driving directions will also be sent before departure.
Please do not make travel arrangements until the leader has confirmed you as a trip member.
Accommodations and Food
We will plan a diverse and appealing menu to accommodate both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Responsibility for cooking will be shared among the trip members. Our first meal provided as part of the trip will be breakfast on Day 2, and our last meal will be lunch on the final day.
Trip Difficulty
The overall difficulty of the trip is rated 5 on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 denotes the least difficult and 5 the most difficult trips.
Altogether, we will hike about 45 miles, roughly a third of which will be off trail. We plan to hike 4 to 11 miles on travel days, and we intend to take two layover days. We will cross three high passes off trail. We also cross the Sierra Crest, once on a major trail and once on a rough lightly maintained trail.
Off-trail sections of the trip include some difficult hiking on rough terrain with loose footing. These sections can be tiring and demanding. Cross-country hiking requires good balance, stamina, and a patient, tolerant attitude, all of which are requirements for the trip.
Our elevation gains will be greater than 1,000 feet on most moving days. On the first day, we will ascend 2,300 feet to cross the Sierra Nevada Crest, and we will again climb about 2,300 feet on the third moving day. The total elevation gain summed over seven planned moving days will be about 9,400 feet. Our greatest elevation loss will be on the final day, when we descend 6,000 feet. All but one of our planned camps are above 10,000 feet.
Participation in this outing requires that you be experienced, in shape, and have reasonable expectations for the trip. Recent backpacking experience and very good aerobic conditioning are essential.
Our objectives are to enjoy some spectacular country and to complete the trip safely as a group.
Equipment and Clothing
A list of suggested personal equipment will be sent to all participants. If you would like the list before signing up, just ask the leader to send you a copy. Each person should keep the weight of personal gear below 20 to 25 pounds so that, with the addition of approximately 15 to 17 pounds of commissary equipment and food, total pack weight will be less than 35 to 42 pounds at the start.
We will provide all food and cooking equipment, but you must bring your own cup, bowl, and eating utensils. Some of the group equipment is relatively bulky, particularly pot sets and bear canisters. Your pack should be sufficiently large to carry an item about the size of a full paper grocery bag (alternatively, four or five one-gallon milk jugs) in addition to your personal gear.
Although Sierra summers are generally relatively dry, you still must be prepared for rain. For shelter, tents are strongly encouraged, and lightweight waterproof tarps are the required minimum. Where possible, we will help participants contact other trip members who want to share shelters. For clothing, you should bring a waterproof jacket and rain pants rather than a poncho.
References
Please plan on bringing your own map and compass -– not only is this a matter of safety, but you will have a better appreciation of where we are going and where we have been.
Maps covering our route include:
- Four USGS 7.5-minute quadrangles cover all but the last few miles of the exit trail -– Mt. Thompson, North Palisade, Marion Peak, and Mt. Pinchot.
- The combined Mono Divide High Country and Kings Canyon High Country maps published by Tom Harrison Maps (www.tomharrisonmaps.com). (The first of these -– Mono Divide High Country -– would be used only for the first few miles on trail the first day; a photocopy of this section of trail would likely suffice.)
- The two-sheet map set for the John Muir Wilderness and Sequoia/Kings Canyon Wilderness published by the U.S. Forest Service.
Books of interest include:
- Secor, R.J., The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails (published by The Mountaineers). An excellent general reference to trails, cross-country routes, and climbing routes in the Sierra Nevada.
- Laws, John Muir, The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada (published by Heyday Books). An excellent field guide to the plants and wildlife of the Sierra.
Conservation
The Sierra Club is an environmentally focused entity. We are concerned about conservation and sustainability of resources, both locally and globally. Our work is accomplished by volunteers and aided by a salaried staff, encouraging grassroots involvement. Our outings seek to empower participants toward greater understanding, advocacy, and participation in the goals of the club.
After the first week of the 1935 outing, George Wright of the National Park Service spoke to participants about the proposed new “Kings River National Park.” Today, most of our trip will be in Kings Canyon National Park -- which, with the help of efforts by the Sierra Club, was established in 1940 -- and within wilderness areas established by the Wilderness Act of 1964.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 defines “wilderness” as “an area where the earth and its community are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor.” This important act first established the National Wilderness Preservation System, originally protecting nine million acres of national forest lands. Today some 106 million acres are encompassed by the system, including the Sequoia-Kings Canyon and John Muir Wilderness, where we will be “visitors” during our nine-day trip.
Although this wilderness is now protected from logging and mining activities, this has not always been the case. In fact, until the 1960s, storage reservoirs were planned that would have drowned valleys near our route. Furthermore, much of the surrounding public lands still do not receive the same level of protection. We will examine and consider the level of protection that wilderness designation provides, appreciate how this land compares with other types of “protected” areas we are familiar with, and discuss how we should protect these areas for future generations.
This outing is an excellent opportunity to consider the impact our own excursion has upon the land and to compare this both with the 100-person outing of 1935 and with the ideal that we would like to achieve.
Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.
Staff
Important Notes
- Carbon Offsets
- Carpooling
- Electronic Billing and Forms
- Electronic Devices
- Equipment
- Essential Eligibility Criteria
- How to Apply for a Trip
- Leader Gratuities
- Medical Issues
- Non-discrimination Statement
- Participant Agreement
- Seller of Travel Disclosure
- Single Supplements
- Terms and Conditions
- Travel Insurance
- Trip Feedback
- Trip Price
- Wilderness Manners