5 June 2022 Twin Lakes to Lodgepole (7 miles, +300/-3,000 feet). Today was an easy last day. We packed up our beautiful site at Twin Lakes and then headed into the woods for a three thousand foot descent back to civilization. About halfway down we entered a burn zone from the KNP Complex fire (we…
Tag: ChiaGlyph
Day 3: Little Lakes
4 June 2022 Crescent Lake to Ranger Lake to Twin Lakes plus a day hike to Little Lakes (11 miles, +3,000/-3,300 feet). Crescent Lake was absolutely gorgeous this morning, and of course being so far off trail we had it to ourselves. After breakfast we made our way cross country to the north, dropping to…
Day 2: The Kings-Kaweah Divide
3 June 2022 Pear Lake to Tablelands Pass then Kings-Kaweah Divide to Crescent Lake (12 miles, +3,000/-2,800 feet). Wow! I mean, wow. Today was one of those days that I have been looking forward to for a very long time. I always knew I would love doing cross-country through the Tablelands after the snow melts,…
Day 1: Pear Lake
2 June 2022 Congress Trail to Alta Trail to Trail of the Sequoias, then Lakes Trail to Pear Lake(14 miles, +4,400/-2,200 feet). My backpacking buddies were not going to arrive until this afternoon, so I started this morning with another day hike in the Giant Forest, this time starting at the Sherman Tree and doing…
Last Little Bit
Cora Lakes to Isberg Pass Trailhead (5 miles, +200/-1,700 feet). Today was pretty simple: a downhill hike back to the car. But it still had its moments. Here’s a map of the whole trip:
Isberg Pass
Switchbacks above Lyell Fork to Cora Lakes (15 miles, +1,900/-3,100 feet). We awoke to beautiful light on the Clark Range in the distance. And below we could hear the Lyell Fork rushing down to the Merced over steep, vast, and impossibly smooth granite slabs. Soon we packed up and headed into the woods. Today we…
Lyell Fork
Lake 10217 to Lake 11311 and back then downstream to Isberg Pass Trail (10 miles, +2,300/-2,700 feet). Today we started with a day hike to explore the upper Lyell Fork. I’ve mapped it on caltopo, along with our trip yesterday through Bench Canyon: For the most part route finding was straightforward, except the path from…
Bench Canyon
Hemlock Crossing to Lyell Fork of the Merced (10 miles, +4400/-1800 feet). I was hoping a cold morning would reduce the bug pressure, but we didn’t really have one. The temperatures only dropped into the high 50s so the little bloodsuckers were more than happy to greet us as we exited our tents. We had…
Hemlock Crossing
Isberg Pass Trailhead to Hemlock Crossing (9 miles +2400/-1900 feet). Ever since we had to alter our Sierra High Route section hike last year, MixMaster and I have wanted to go to Bench Canyon and Lyell Fork. It is supposed to be one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Sierra. This summer,…
The JimmyJam Hiking Club 