Courtright or Wishon Reservoir for Blackcap Basin?

[michaelzim]

Sorry...bumping this up as am still waiting for Rough Fire and smoke conditions to "chill out" a bit before I consider going. Geeeez...delay, delay, and looking more like a September trip, but time to ask another question on this regarding general Blackcap region for those who know the area.

Taking a closer look is seems to me that the initial idea I had of going to the lakes, etc. between Blackcap Mountain and Mt. Hutton (the Bench Valley area) may be a bit less scenic compared to further south in the Blackcap Basin proper...in other words the lakes south-east of Blackcap Mountian, towards Finger Peak and Crown basin. Photos available online are much better than the imagery from Google Earth (which makes everything look like rock and scrub bush) as they show more big trees and semi-timberline at a lot of those lakes. I definitely like base camping under trees with morning sun and afternoon shade, v. out on bare rock with full exposure to sun and weather.
Any comments appreciated. And I could still go out of of Courtright or Wishon as trailhead.

P.S. Thanks to those who have posted recent "smoke reports" too, and how variable it can be at present!

Michaelzim

[Mtbski]

I like to start from the Maxson TH but go XC toward the the North Fork Kings River and follow it to the trail at the junction of Fleming Creek, then all trail to BCB.

I have looked at this on the map and Google Earth. At appears one can easily hike to Anderson Creek, then descend to the N.F, How difficult is it?
Route finding? River Crossing?

Thank you,

Mtbski

[michaelzim]

Mtbski... First up, wondering if you have some info on being able to park at the trail-head without "Coronavirus" hassles (or fines)? I have been wanting to get up there before mosquitoes, but am figuring there will be fines on multi-overnight parked car owners due to travel restrictions. [I live well over the '50 miles radius OK' some counties have in effect].

On the X-country to the N.F. Kings River...maybe Bluewater will reply as I have been up that trail from Courtright towards Portal Lake and such a number of times and it is a bit of a bust (70 years old this year and live near sea level) due to the extreme distances it takes to hike in and get to the nice mountains way back in. It's a LONG way with a full pack! So yes, I have considered X-country routes to cut the corner, but did not see any obvious clear-ways through all that stuff to the Kings River. Elevation changes/contours looked rather steep too with little open granite. From bushwacking in other locations in the area with much gentler gradients (up near Hobler Lake, etc.) it lost appeal as the forest brush can get pretty thick in places.

Sorry, not a lot of help...though I guess admitting that so far I have stuck to the never-ending long trail says that a shortcut has not jumped out at me as worth it - yet I generally spend most of my high Sierra trips off trail, so am very familiar with and prefer finding overland routes not marked.
Good luck, and hope at least the mountains are appreciating the break from us humans for a while.

Michaelzim

[SSSdave]

Reads like you never did that trip 5 years ago?

The shortest route is from the obscure Hoffman Mtn trailhead but that won't be for you as that requires considerable cross country route experience through deep forest and mosquitoville. Three of we members herein have done that and you can search for it on this board and it took our group 2 days. I also took a large group cross country via the NF canyon, but that requires going late enough to be able to ford the river. The cross country is moderately difficult due to usual glacial scoured irregular bedrock that requires careful topo work to minimize effort. Note that route was in Sierra South, WP editions. The easiest route is the long boring trail from the dam that would be at least 3 days for an old pack mule.

[richlong8]

Mtbski... First up, wondering if you have some info on being able to park at the trail-head without "Coronavirus" hassles (or fines)? I have been wanting to get up there before mosquitoes, but am figuring there will be fines on multi-overnight parked car owners due to travel restrictions. [I live well over the '50 miles radius OK' some counties have in effect].

On the X-country to the N.F. Kings River...maybe Bluewater will reply as I have been up that trail from Courtright towards Portal Lake and such a number of times and it is a bit of a bust (70 years old this year and live near sea level) due to the extreme distances it takes to hike in and get to the nice mountains way back in. It's a LONG way with a full pack! So yes, I have considered X-country routes to cut the corner, but did not see any obvious clear-ways through all that stuff to the Kings River. Elevation changes/contours looked rather steep too with little open granite. From bushwacking in other locations in the area with much gentler gradients (up near Hobler Lake, etc.) it lost appeal as the forest brush can get pretty thick in places.

Sorry, not a lot of help...though I guess admitting that so far I have stuck to the never-ending long trail says that a shortcut has not jumped out at me as worth it - yet I generally spend most of my high Sierra trips off trail, so am very familiar with and prefer finding overland routes not marked.
Good luck, and hope at least the mountains are appreciating the break from us humans for a while.

Michaelzim

On the government website, it says hiking is allowed, so if they hassle you for parking at trail-heads, then hiking really isn't allowed! Look, during this time, folks have to make their own decisions about how seriously they take these endless regulations. I have doing a fair amount of hiking in the last couple of months, and usually have the trails and the trail-head to myself. However, the High Sierra snowpack is not really melted yet, so I have not been over 9000' yet. But all campgrounds and offices are closed. I hiked in last year via Wishon to Blackcap Basin, and the distances are understated. It is very nice once you get up to the higher country, but a little monotonous hiking the trail. Me and the dog were able to hike out from Portal Lake to my car in one day, but it was a long day.

[kdemtchouk]

To add another data point to the conversation (however small it happens to be ), I did an overnight to Tehipite Valley from the Crown Valley TH two weekends ago and my car did not get ticketed.

[wildhiker]

richlong8 wrote: » Tue May 19, 2020 1:56 pm

I hiked in last year via Wishon to Blackcap Basin, and the distances are understated. It is very nice once you get up to the higher country, but a little monotonous hiking the trail. Me and the dog were able to hike out from Portal Lake to my car in one day, but it was a long day.

Wow, I'm impressed that you made it from Portal Lake to the Wishon trailhead in one day! I hiked in there from Rancheria Creek in 2018 and took two days each direction.

-Phil

[michaelzim]

richlong8 wrote: » Tue May 19, 2020 1:56 pm

I hiked in last year via Wishon to Blackcap Basin, and the distances are understated. It is very nice once you get up to the higher country, but a little monotonous hiking the trail. Me and the dog were able to hike out from Portal Lake to my car in one day, but it was a long day.

Wow, I'm impressed that you made it from Portal Lake to the Wishon trailhead in one day! I hiked in there from Rancheria Creek in 2018 and took two days each direction.

-Phil

SSSdave... Yes you are correct I did not make it to BCB in 2015 due to fires, but have been 3 times since then - and it for me, it is a helluva long way in (and out) to get to those bigger mountains and lakes along the White Divide.

I am severely impressed with richlong8 being able to hike out from Portal in one day!!! My 32 year-old daughter and I took two very long days coming down from Pearl Lake and we were flying. We did not realize how fast we were going until we zoomed past other hikers en route and my daughter commented that it looked like they were standing still in comparison. Going along the upper North Fork of the Kings is gorgeous but by the time Long Canyon comes along, I had a strong wish for a shortcut - and going over Crown Pass sure was not it! (Did that route one trip and had to spend second return night at Woodchuck due to being rather wiped out).

On the "Backpacking with CA Coronavirus regulation"...I agree with you richlong8 that backpacking must be one of the safest activities out there and I have zero concerns of spreading CV to anyone else. I live alone and isolated. Would drive alone to trail-head. Would snack alone in car. Would be backpacking alone. So hard to imagine any possible 'contagion' anywhere along the line with thorough alcohol "sterilizing" after pumping gasoline. However, the question I have not been able to get a clear answer on is the difference between "hiking" and 'backpacking".
So far I have seen reports of people hiking (which is and approved activity) or spending an overnight. What happens though if my car is parked at a trail-head for 12 days??? Any law enforcement agency (CHP, USFS, Sheriff) can just run my plate in a few minutes and see that I live over 400 miles away, which is way outside the leisure travel limit. No way my vehicle would pass as an official car on "essential business", etc.
I'm sure a night two two could be fairly no hassle, but almost 2 weeks? Ummmmmmmmm, not sure about that. And there is this from the Sierra National Forest website: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO ... 739160.pdf

This Order is effective from May 15, 2020, through May 21, 2020.
Entering or using a Developed Recreation Site or portion thereof, except trailheads.
36 CFR 261.58(b).
A violation of this prohibition is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or
$10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. 16 USC 551 and 18
USC 3559, 3571, and 3581.
Executed in Clovis, California on May 14, 2019.

Not sure if this means "just trail-heads" are OK (like for day hikes) or if leaving a vehicle there for a long time is OK, or if something changes on May 21st. Anyone know for sure? Heat wave forecast for late May so would be an open invite!

Thanks ~ michaelzim

[nhrpolitic13]

First up, wondering if you have some info on being able to park at the trail-head without "Coronavirus" hassles (or fines)? I have been wanting to get up there before mosquitoes, but am figuring there will be fines on multi-overnight parked car owners due to travel restrictions. [I live well over the '50 miles radius OK' some counties have in effect].
Michaelzim

Per the Governor Newsom's Order and the Related Forest Service regs, facilities are closed, but trailheads remain open and hiking is permissible, as is trailhead parking. Indeed, as I'm planning to go out this weekend, I've already confirmed that the USFS *IS ISSUING* overnight wilderness permits (though I will admit that when I called the other day to confirm, the Ranger definitely hesitated and asked me where I was coming from - I'm local, but I wonder if she'd have said "no" if I told her I was a trek away).

The biggest issue with Maxon is that it doesn't appear the road to Courtright is open yet. I was up there last weekend and can confirm that the gate was still locked as of then; and the forest service's website still shows it as closed. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sierra/h ... rdb5399344 . I suppose it's possible that PG&E has opened (or will open) the road sometime this week and USFS hasn't quite caught up, but they're usually pretty up-to-date. Best you can do is call USFS in Prather and ask -- sometimes they can put you in touch with PG&E's administrative office up there to give you a more specific estimate if USFS doesn't know.

[nhrpolitic13]

richlong8 wrote: » Tue May 19, 2020 1:56 pm

I hiked in last year via Wishon to Blackcap Basin, and the distances are understated. It is very nice once you get up to the higher country, but a little monotonous hiking the trail. Me and the dog were able to hike out from Portal Lake to my car in one day, but it was a long day.

Wow, I'm impressed that you made it from Portal Lake to the Wishon trailhead in one day! I hiked in there from Rancheria Creek in 2018 and took two days each direction.

-Phil

Funny, my buddy and I did 6 days going in Courtright, out Wishon last September. We walked ALL the way out from Pearl in a day: started walking at 6:45, I hit the car right about 5:15 on the nose. I fully agree the distance is understated: I think by map I calculated it at about 21 miles, but my own math says it's somewhere around 26 -- based both on my own intuition of how bloody long of a walk it was from Half-moon lake to Wishon, and based on a few observations where I was running down trail and the GPS tied to the map said I'd moved ... 0.1 miles in 15 minutes.

To those debating access points, I VERY, VERY much prefer the Maxon TH. It's just a nicer walk. The trail between Wishon and Half-moon was, IMO a brutally dry, hot, grind -- and I was going *down* it. lol. Going in from Maxon, I typically spend the first night somewhere around the gauging station ~12-13 miles in, and then from there it's a lovely walk the second day into the basin. At even a moderate pace, you're in the basin by mid-afternoon on day two.