TL;DR
See some of the best the high Sierra have to offer in this 40 mile loop out of Kings Canyon National Park to Rae Lakes. The three Rae Lakes sit under Glen Pass (12,000 ft) along the John Muir Trail. Enjoy a myriad of streams, meadows, and alpine lakes as you go through 7500 ft of elevation gain. This loop can be broken down into as many days as you need. We did this hike in the counter clockwise direction in 4 days in the late summer.
Thoughts
Its not very often that I return to a spot I've already been before but sometimes certain locations just kind of stick with you. Rae Lakes was one of the spots we had camped at during our JMT trip. We didn't get a ton of time to enjoy it so I had always wanted to go back. Obtaining the permit itself can be a bit difficult, it is after all, one of the more popular routes out of Kings Canyon. Right around when everything shut down for COVID I had sent entered the SEKI lottery for this permit. It ended up being something to look forward to while sheltering in place.
Unlike Yosemite, Kings Canyon doesn't offer backpacker campgrounds. I realized this about 2 months out, freaked out, and luckily was able to book a campsite at Sunset campground for the night before. There are campgrounds that are closer to the trailhead at Road's End but they were either full or not open this year. From the park entry to Road's End you still have another solid hour of driving. Having a campsite in-park enables you to have just that much more sleep prior to starting. We set out somewhat early the next morning from Sunset and made to drive to the trailhead, Bubbs Creek. We had a long (14 mi) day ahead of us.
Doing the Rae Lakes loop counterclockwise is the least popular direction of the two. Clockwise enables you to slowly gain elevation over a couple days before tackling Glen Pass. I chose counterclockwise, and now having done it, am glad I chose this direction. This enabled me to put a ton of miles in on day 1 and then have a shorter day 2 and more time at Rae Lakes. I will also say despite being steeper, Bubbs Creek is much more pleasant to do going up than Wood's Creek. We were for the most part in shade and had frequent access to water from Road's End to Vidette Meadow. Compared to the epic dry exposed slog that Wood's Creek is from Upper Paradise to Dollar Lake. The only reprieve being the bridge across Wood's Creek. We were on the descent while along Wood's Creek and it still sucked, I can't imagine ascending on that trail.
That being said, it was still a very long and tiring day to Vidette Meadow. We rolled into camp around 5pm, giving us ample time to leisurely wash up and have dinner. Day 2 wasn't going to be long but we still needed to go over Glen Pass. Upper Vidette Meadow was a beautiful camping spot next to the stream. We watched as the moon rose from behind the high peaks, tinted red from the forest fire near Mineral King. It was probably the reddest moon I had ever seen and reminded me of Breathe of the Wild. So ominous in appearance that you almost didn't want to look at it. Perhaps it was foreshadowing of the larger fires that were to come in September.
Day 2 started with immediate switch backs. We passed Charlotte Lake in good time and made it a goal to have lunch at Rae. Time always slows as you climb in elevation. For me at least, my body just doesn't like what I'm putting it through. Could also be because I had done this bit before. Retracing steps I had taken 2 years prior. The southern side of Glen also isn't the most interesting trail. We crested Glen without much hurrah but it is a site to behold to see those little alpine lakes sitting in the vast wasteland of rock. Lunch and relaxation were waiting so we hurried down.
We were bit worried how crowded it would be at Rae. We had our hearts set on camping somewhere around middle Rae Lake. We managed to find a pretty private spot off the trail that cuts in between the upper and middle lakes. It was a wonderful bug free relaxing afternoon with enough time to soak and swim (if you could bare the cold).
One day hopefully I'll have enough free time to start taking zero days. These lakeside spots always make me yearn to take it easy. All too quickly it was time for dinner and then to sleep. We resumed our higher mileages the next day. The back half of trips makes me antsy to get home and since Rae was the main goal of the trip, I wasn't super enthusiastic about the other half of the loop. Its hard to leave of views like this.
Day 3 was Wood's Creek. I would say this is one of my least favorite trails. I remembered doing the eastern part of this stream on the JMT and it was ingrained in my mind how hot and dull it was. The western part lived up to those negative expectations. It was just as hot, if not hotter. Its amazing what a few degrees increase in temperature and no breeze will do. Plus psychologically you're always a few hundred feet or so above the creek and you know your destination is going to be next to the creek so it just taunts you the entire time.
I will say there was one beautiful view as we passed through an open meadow. You could see down and up canyon making for some wonderful depth perception. It was almost like the rust dry grass was announcing that autumn was here. For the briefest of moments I forgot how hot and dry this trail was. With it being 2020, I was just happy to be able to be outside, doing something that I do normally every year. I've been blessed that COVID hasn't had too severe an impact on my life but it nice to still be able to do something as I normally would. Some things are still there for us.
Upper Paradise ended up being a pretty nice campground as well. With the ironic permission to make a campfire, we did, and celebrated another successful trip and hopes for more to come.
Comments