piute pass to evolution valley
I sat down on a boulder near my gear and got out some snack. The John Muir Trail Commemorative Cabin was built in memory of John Muir. I see no real advantage to hiking one way vs. the other. Amazing. This is a popular trailhead for approaching the Palisades. I could see both up and down the canyon, and there was no shortage of glaciated granite in evidence. Pick up the trail on the eastern edge of Upper Lamarck Lake. 11/10/2022 - Expect winter conditions. 110 Piute Pass Trail junction, 17 mi. Day five Leave the JMT, taking the switchbacks above Evolution Lake to access Darwin Canyon and a class 2 scramble up and over Lamarck Col to Upper Lamarck Lake, 2,100-feet below. The fourth day we packed back to the Florence lake JMT trail junction. Turn left and cross the South Fork San Joaquin River. Recommend to everybody. The Sierra Peaks Section was established in 1955. Those first four and last four miles are always the hottest. The first day of hiking is over moderate terrain with meadows and the occasional company of the South Fork of the San Joaquin River. Campsite 4: Darwin Canyon. lots of water sources so no worries there but u must have enough water to go by as you will drink alot. Backpacking Has Changed a Lot Over the Past 50 Years. some forest floor. . to North Lake Road, 20 mi to Pine Creek 856 110 to 114 SEKI - Goddard (28) Aspen Meadow & Goddard Creek Junction 851 to 855 114 to 121 SEKI - McClure Meadow (33) Evolution Valley, McClure, and Colby Meadows 845 to 851 121 to 127 SEKI - Evolution Basin (34) Evolution Lake, Wanda Lake, to Muir Pass 838.5 to . Others seemed to have no issues on the regular crossing. Id have the trail to myself for a while. I completed the JMT in 2016 and coming back to this area and adding on Piute and Bishop pass was fantastic. Edit Last Edited by tomripley30 Sights to See North Lake Campground Stock Camp Summit Lake I was breathing so hard I started to suspect my companions might have embraced some trail humor and stashed their heavy items in my pack when I wasnt looking. Thousands upon thousands of happy people enjoying the wilderness. Camp, or finish the last 2.7 miles to the trailhead. Wheres there a low altitude pass that brings me out East of the Darwin Glacier? Darwin via the class 3 West Ridge. Thats what happens when you go to sleep at sunset! $4,395: August 13-21. John Muir Wilderness sign in the Sierra National Forest good-bye Kings Canyon National Park! may have been made. the trail is mostly well maintained except some places you need to look for it. Such a memorable backpacking trip! The route my two amigas and I traveled lies in the trio of Kings Canyon National Park, Inyo National Forest and Sierra National Forest. Day four Rest and explore. Turn left and descend to Upper Lamarck Lake. There was a traditional wide and shallow ford. Id see how I felt when I got to the the trail junction. Nineteen miles from the nearest trailhead, Evolution Valley is a two-day hike for most backpackers. The uphill miles to reach John Muir Pass gave quite a different landscape than we had seen so far. Join Outside+ to get access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. The stars up there were surreal. Head out on this 30.7-mile out-and-back trail near Lakeshore, California. September after Labor Day was a great time to make this trip, as the crowds had thinned but the mild climate lingered. Next time will have to aim to go under 30 pounds. The ferry is $25 roundtrip, or $13 one way. Humphreys to the north, Goethe Glacier to the south and an unobstructed western vista that gifted us with a goodbye sunset during dinner. Quite a few creek crossings which were hard to avoid getting feet wet, but easily done. Pingback: Tahoe hiking: Bay View to Azure Lake. Bear canisters are not required, but food must be stored in a safe way, e.g. After that, I was down on the floor of Evolution Valley. Note: Bishop Pass hikers will encounter dozens deer skeletons on the steep slope below Bishop Pass. It took us a little over five days (as schedued) to complete the hike. Next came McClure Meadow and the Ranger Station. I wasnt enjoying this as much as I would have liked. Multiple Ascents Grid: Click for a grid showing all of Chris Land After lunch was finished, I reluctantly put on my pack and continued hiking in the roasting sun. 3 trip report day 5-8: Lyell Canyon/Tuolumne Meadows to Red's Meadow Resort. Awesome views and an incredible variety of terrain. Id get my chance eventually. The air seemed to be getting a bit cooler, so I packed up my stuff and headed out. I went down to the water and splashed some on my head. The traditional route goes over Piute Pass and down through Humphreys Basin, taking a long time before turning the corner and climbing up to Evolution Valley. Absolutely beautiful. This is high country and we had a brief hail & wind storm as well as our coldest overnight stay (mid 20 degrees Fahrenheit). my 21-year-old daughter. Roundtrip mileage to the McClure Meadow Ranger Station from the south end of Florence Lake is about 15.5 miles and 1500 feet of elevation gain. Its about half way down Dusy basin. We passed more than a dozen lakes some of which I will mention when I upload photos. It was cloudy for much of the way, but it only rained briefly. this trail is definitly one of the top 5 trails in sierras. When we finished our descent and arrived at the ranger station in the deep forest of Le Conte Canyon we also reached the junction on which the trail merges with the Pacific Crest Trail(PCT)/ John Muir Trail. What a sight! kelly e. No matter how heavy my pack is I always leave room for some whiskey. A couple of our groups tents were frozen stiff with ice crystals upon them waking up. No smoke from the California wildfires. The log cabin is located on the right side of the trail as you hike south a short distance before the Piute Creek bridge. This will bring you onto the PCT north of Evolution Valley, a distance of about 16 miles. The latest gear, trips, stories, and more, beamed to your inbox every week. I am now a retired academic, so I was able, in all three trips, to exploit my college timing to hike in early September before the start of classes. Always confirm information with the service provider and check for any recent changes that may have been made. This is an excellent report on a great hiking trip. Most of the fellas caught small California Golden trout in the lake. Wonderful backpack but challenging for us 60-75 year old hikers. I hiked along this stretch of river for almost three miles, and sweated profusely the entire time. There was no bridge. contour 80 feet UTM zone 11 Customers Like You Also Purchased USA Highways Wall Map $10.95 Custom Radius Maps $175.00 Island Visions $39.99 Rides of a Lifetime: Southwest by MAD Maps $16.95 Day 2: Continue on Piute Pass to reach the JMT (and enter the national park). At Muir Pass base, if the snow looks significant above, take the first stream crossing at the very bottom of Muir Pass because the stream only gets deeper going up. Inside the hut, I swear I felt intensely connected with the energy of the many hikers who entered tired, cold and grateful. Best seasons: Mid-summer to fall Conditions are continuously changing and wilderness hikers need to plan for inclement weather. Conditions were great! Then I hiked north, paralleling the water. Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ Campsites: Lake Georg, Long Lake, descent down from Dusy Basin, Helen Lake, McLure Meadow, Puite Canyon Trail, Summit Lake. We parked 3mi down from the trailhead in the overnight parking and caught a ride in the construction workers truck bed (thank you!). Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 12 h 41 min to complete. Was it this heavy yesterday? Golden trout present. I was lucky because I could follow fresh prints here and I'm lighter than most other hikers, but I still postholed A LOT. There was still quite a bit of snow on the surrounding mountains and still ice in the lake. Slept like a drunken sailor. Started at North Lake Trailhead and ended at South Lake. Now I cant breathe for another reason. Lots of mosquitos in some areas. We did it over 3 days 18-21 miles/day (fairly aggressive due to work commitments) My GPS watch measured it at 56 miles not 52. Day 2 Evolution Valley 17.18 2977 AEG Emptied our packs and hiked down to the Muir Trail Ranch to pick our resupply. Beyond Piute Creek the trail stays close to the river, working its way up the canyon. Great camping along the creek once you cross the several streams in Hutchinson Meadow (night 1). Western States Climbers Emblem Peaks Showing Kimberly Berg's first ascent dates for climbed peaks (0 out of 129, or 0%) Driving times may vary based on conditions. Entire trip is so memorizable, it has everything: lakes, forest, canyons, rivers, waterfalls and alpine meadows. This trail really had a lot of history behind it, and I wondered just how many horses and people had travelled through here in the past. Darwin/Bench. Great trail, not all of it is technically dog friendly since you enter Kings Canyon NP for the 2nd half. We found the trailhead about 1/3 mile away and hiked a few miles to Loch Leven. The best hike of my life. The lake is 53 miles east of Prather. Maybe if I waited a bit the sun would be at a lower angle as I headed north, so that the trees would have longer shadows for me to rest in. Ouch! There were only 2-3 times where I needed to use my AllTrails app to figure out the correct way to continue. Heres how I did it: Day one Take the Piute Pass Trail from North Lake Campground, 20 miles west of Bishop, and hike six miles gaining 2,000 feet to make camp near Upper Golden Trout Lake (no camping within 400 feet). Actually now that we've gone to North to South, I'd hope to go the opposite direction someday, as the ascent to Muir Pass via LeConte Canyon would be thrilling. Just finished the loop from south lake to north lake. The metal bridge over Piute Creek marks the border between Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. The Florence Lake Store carries basic food and camping supplies. Though ruled by an evil mosquito king that keeps his troops busy, Big Pete Meadow (the meadow part should have been our clue) was a delight. My AllTrails recording showed 59.4 miles at the termination point (South Lake overnight parking lot) with over 10,000' elevation gain. Another 1.5 miles up the canyon is the turnoff to Evolution Valley. Then it is violently opposed. After the narrows, the valley widened and there were many hot and sunny meadows that I trudged through, at least according to the map. Only a portion of our journey would actually be in Evolution, but the areas we passed through to reach and retreat from our intended destination were just as amazing. It was a very long day. I have to say, however, that descending into Le Conte Canyon from Dusy Basin, and not the other way around, seemed like the more fortunate direction for my legs and backside. Pictures posted. 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