Hiking the John Muir Trail Through Kings Canyon National Park, California

The Trip

Our trip explores some of the most magnificent scenery that Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Trail (JMT) have to offer. We will visit the Rae Lakes, Bench Lake, Twin Lakes and many more. 

We enter on the east side of the Sierra by way of Kearsarge Pass (11,823 feet) into the Bubbs Creek drainage, a tributary of the South Fork of the Kings River. The view from the pass is impressive, and as we descend to our camp at Charlotte Lake, we walk along the shores of the very beautiful Bullfrog Lake.  At the meadows we have a layover day to rest or explore the surrounding area.

We will begin our trek north on the JMT crossing over Glen Pass on our way to camp at Rae Lakes. This is such a beautiful area to explore we plan on having two layover days* to immerse ourselves in the region. 

Continuing north on the JMT we leave Rae Lakes and head to Twin Lakes. There is much to see in this region that we will have another layover day, possibly exploring Sixty Lake Basin or Woods Creek & Sawmill Pass.

Our next moving day will take us over Pinchot Pass to our next camp site. We will have another layover day to hike out to Bench Lake. We will hike out the following day via Taboose Pass Trail to our pickup point at the trailhead where we will be shuttled back to our cars.  

A total of 10 days will be spent on the trail. Half of these are planned as layover days. During the five moving days, we will cover a distance of about 45 miles, climbing to peaks as high as 12,000’. The trip should be considered moderate to strenuous in difficulty. Although several days are fairly strenuous, the layover days help to make the trip more moderate in nature.

Refer to the Itinerary section of this brochure for a more detailed day-by-day account.

The packer will furnish delicious meals, with a cook to handle all the kitchen chores, including cleanup. Chairs are furnished to relax in camp. In case of rain, the wranglers will put up a large tarp to sit under. A sit-down toilet with a privacy tent will be provided at each camp. Mules will carry all equipment and food except what we require during the day and carry in our day packs.

Sierra Club respects and recognizes that the land on which we will be visitors is the ancestral home and territory of the Paiute, Mono, Shoshone, and Timbisha Peoples.

The Project

Day 1:  Onion Valley to Charlotte Lake (8.8 miles, 2,750’ gain, 1,550’ loss). The trail rises steadily through sage and then open forest and follows the shoreline of several lakes leading to switchback out of the trees to the barren, talus slopes of Kearsarge Pass. The trail contours along the hillside above lakes, passing through trees and small meadows. The trail drops down a series of switchbacks to Charlotte Lake with the stock camp at the far end of the lake, 1.3 miles from the John Muir Trail Junction.

Day 2:  Layover Day: Options include day hikes (TBD), swimming, relaxing in camp, fishing, exploring the general area, scouting for flora & fauna, or seeking solitude.

Day 3: Charlotte Lake over Glen Pass to Baxter Meadow (10.1 miles, 1,800’ gain, 2,750’ loss). The day will start in forest, but soon climbs out of the shade to rocky slopes as the trail approaches Glen Pass. We will pause at the top to celebrate the climb and enjoy the spectacular view. Eventually, drop down from the pass for lunch at the beautiful Rae Lakes. We will plan to spend some time enjoying the magnificent scenery surrounding the Rae Lakes basin before starting down the canyon another two miles toward camp. 

Day 4:  Layover Day: Options include day hikes (TBD), swimming, relaxing in camp, fishing, exploring the general area, scouting for flora & fauna, or seeking solitude.

Day 5: Layover*

Day 6: Baxter Meadow to Twin Lakes (7.3 miles, 2,250’ gain, 1,100’ loss). The trail follows Baxter Creek down the canyon for three miles through forest and occasional meadows to Woods Creek. We will keep an eye out for one of Shorty’s cabins off to the right just before the Woods Creek bridge. Crossing a suspension bridge at 8,492’, the path turns right and starts back up through mostly forested slopes to 10,600’ in almost four miles. The views and sounds of cascading creeks surrounded by rocky canyon walls make this a great day in the Sierra.

Day 7: Layover Day: Options include day hikes (TBD), swimming, relaxing in camp, fishing, exploring the general area, scouting for flora & fauna, or seeking solitude.

Day 8: Twin Lakes over Pinchot Pass to the South Fork of the Kings River (8.0 miles, 1,600’ gain, 2,200’ loss). The Twin Lakes camp is near tree line, so most of this day will be walking in open alpine meadows and rocky slopes surrounded by multicolored rock walls along the way to 12,130’ Pinchot Pass. The easy descent down the north side passes a series of lakes before entering the forested area above the South Fork Kings River. The Lake Marjorie shoreline, at about mile 4.6, and the stream crossing in another ¼ mile are two great possible lunch spots. The Kings River camp is a very comfortable camp with great bathing pools, good stream fishing, and ample firewood for an evening of storytelling.

Day 9: Layover Day: Options include day hikes (TBD), swimming, relaxing in camp, fishing, exploring the general area, scouting for flora & fauna, or seeking solitude.

Day 10: Exit Taboose Pass Trailhead (10.0 miles, 820’ gain, 6,160’ loss) From the JMT, the trail climbs gently up the southern slope of the broad valley draining from Taboose pass. The initial climb is through forest, but then opens up to a landscape of meadows and wide expanses. The trail continues a gentle ascent to the pass at 11,418’. The decent begins crossing a stretch of beautiful tarns. This is a well-built trail that traverses through talus fans, two creek crossings and desert vegetation. We will pass through a section burned in a 2019 fire. The final mile is down a broad alluvial fan at the canyon’s mouth. 

*NOTE: This layover day is subject to approval by the National Park Service. If we do not obtain permission for two layover days in the Rae Lakes area, we will have two layover days elsewhere during the week.

Please note that this represents the planned itinerary. Weather or other factors may affect the choice of campsites and daily travel. All decisions are made by the Head Packer with attention to the safety and comfort of guests and stock.

Getting There

Our trip will begin in the town of Bishop, where you will leave your personal vehicle. We will meet at 7:00am where the packers will load up our gear while we enjoy breakfast and get acquainted. We will then be driven to the trailhead at Onion Valley. We will be heading directly out into the backcountry, so please be on time and acclimated to high altitudes.

Sierra Club leaders are not allowed to make carpool arrangements for participants, but a list of trip

members to contact for possible ride-sharing arrangements will be provided before the trip. If you are flying in from outside of California, the nearest large airports are Reno, Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles. There is also a smaller airport in Bishop.

Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

We will use our individual tents and sleeping bags for accommodations at wilderness campsites. At each camp, a latrine will be dug and a sit-down toilet and toilet tent will be set up by the wranglers. Folding chairs will be provided for comfort in camp. A large tarp will be set up in camp in case of rain. All meals will be prepared and served by an experienced cook beginning with breakfast on the first day and ending with lunch on the last day. The cook will also handle the cleanup after meals. A food preference sheet will be furnished for trip members to fill out so that the food provided can more closely meet trip members’ needs. If you have special diet requirements, please complete this form for reasonable accommodations to be met.

Trip Difficulty

Hikers should be able to walk 10 miles, 2,500’ elevation gain/loss. You should acclimate to at least 8,000’ to 10,000’ for 1-3 days prior to the trip. The overall trip rating is moderate to moderate-strenuous. The rating would be higher for those trip members doing significant hikes on layover days. The relatively light day pack and layover days make the trip suitable for most people in good health who follow a good conditioning program for at least a couple of months before the trip. Be aware of the effect of the relatively high elevation on your hiking ability. Refer to the itinerary for the individual day’s hiking requirements. The most difficult day involves an elevation gain of about 2,750 feet in a distance of almost nine miles. Endurance is much more important than speed. Our travel on moving days is all on trails, but exploring on layover days may involve cross- country routes over a range of difficulty. These excursions are optional for trip members.

The weather is usually quite good at this time of the year in this area, but we should be prepared for wet and cold just in case. Most likely it will be fairly dry with temperatures in the 60-75 F range for highs, and the 35-45 F range for lows, but be prepared for considerable variation from these ranges. Most summer precipitation comes in the form of afternoon thundershowers, usually with a clearing sky by evening.

Group Travel

Traveling in a group invariably involves compromise to accommodate the diverse interests, travel goals, personalities, and physical abilities of all participants. Leaders may be required to improvise and exercise good faith, use discretion, and/or make decisions based upon weather conditions, trail/route conditions, group fitness level and group consensus. These decisions may not always please each individual, but they are intended to satisfy the desires of the group and comply with the intended goals, safety and spirit of the trip.

By joining a group there are inherent compromises. So please come prepared to enjoy group comradery while we explore this wonderful region. Your patience, humor and flexibility will make this be a fabulous trip. If you feel you do not have such flexibility then perhaps solo travel may be the appropriate alternative.

Equipment and Clothing

A couple of months before the trip, those signing up for the trip will be furnished with a detailed checklist of required and optional personal items, they should bring on the trip. These items will be very similar to what you would bring on a backpack trip, except that the generous 30-pound limit means that you can indulge in a little more luxury. You need only a day pack to carry gear since the mules will carry everything except what you will need during the day on the trail.

Every participant must carry a warm jacket and high-quality rain gear with them at all times. The gear to be carried on the mules should preferably be placed in one large duffel bag. However, it is okay to split your gear into two bags. A sturdy pair of boots — broken in but not worn out, with good quality lug soles— is needed. Your sleeping bag should be comfortable to about 25 F in case we get a cold spell. You can get by with a higher temperature rated bag if you are willing to wear your warm clothes to bed.

A quality tent is recommended since we are camping at relatively high elevations and need to be prepared in case stormy weather catches us in an exposed location. The packer will furnish stoves, cookware, cooking utensils (including eating utensils and plates for trip members) and food. You will also have a camp chair provided. You might want to bring a mug or an insulated beverage container for your hot drinks and a plastic container for lunch sandwiches. The Sierra Club will furnish a group first-aid kit and carry a satellite phone in case of emergency. You are expected to furnish your own basic first-aid supplies such as band-aids, blister material, headache relief, etc. You will also need to have the ability to filter your own drinking water.

References

There are many sources of information on the Sierra Nevada in general, and also some that relate more specifically to the area we are visiting. The same is true of maps. We will list a few of each and leave it to you to search online if you want to find others. The trip leader will provide detailed topographical maps of our route generated from the CalTopo online tool. You will be able to download and print PDF files that contain maps of our route.

Maps to consider:

• National Geographic Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Map (Trails Illustrated Map, 205)
• Tom Harrison https://tomharrisonmaps.com/shop
• Kings Canyon High Country and Bishop Pass
• John Muir Trail and Bishop
• Halfmile PCT Maps California Section H (Pages 4-11A). Download free from https://www.pctmap.net

Books:

• Wenk, Elizabeth; John Muir Trail.
• Arnot, Phil; John Muir’s Range of Light.
• Storer and Usinger; Sierra Nevada Natural History.
• Secor, R.J.; The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes and Trails.
• Horn, Elisabet; Sierra Nevada Wildflowers.
• Muir, John; My First Summer in the Sierra
• Tweed, William, Dilsaver, Lary; Challenge of the Big Trees: The Updated History of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
• Blehm, Eric; The Last Season.

Conservation

Since we are hiking in wilderness, one conservation focus will be on wilderness. This includes how wilderness is defined, designated, and preserved. Our contribution to wilderness preservation will be to follow Leave No Trace principles. We will be presenting one or two conservation topics of relevance to the area we are visiting, and everyone will be welcome to contribute to the discussion.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and will operate under permits from Kings Canyon National Park and Inyo National Forest.