Ok thanks Maverick, I'll stop overthinking this and just go with my original plan. I'll be too late to pick up my permit before the MK ranger station closes the day ahead, so I'll be starting late morning on my first day at altitude and might not make it as far as I'd like. I've planned that layover day to be a safety in case I need it to slow down on the way up (I probably won't need to though).
Hi Jack: I'm heading out starting Wednesday Sept 6. Hoping everyone will have cleared out after Labor Day so I get the mountains to myself, and I'm take extra bags to clean up the trash I expect people will leave for me.
I'll have spikes in the car with me just in case I want to add them to my pack when I get up there, but I don't think they'll be needed where I'm going. Has anyone been over Black Rock lately? Any issues with snow at the pass?
I'm pretty excited about this trip after the wet winter. Hoping for green meadows, full creeks, and zero mosquitoes ;-) Thanks to everyone for keeping this forum going. It's a great resource and a fun place to lurk around and daydream.
TR Mineral King Loop - Franklin to Timber via Kaweah Gap
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sdchesnut
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maverick
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Re: TR Mineral King Loop - Franklin to Timber via Kaweah Gap
Will not need them.I'll have spikes in the car with me just in case I want to add them to my pack when I get up there, but I don't think they'll be needed where I'm going. Has anyone been over Black Rock lately? Any issues with snow at the pass?
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer
I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.
Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.
Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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kpeter
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Re: TR Mineral King Loop - Franklin to Timber via Kaweah Gap
My trip was August 1-August 7.
You won't need any snow gear by the time you go in September, and the Mosquitoes should be much subdued as well.
Black Rock Pass is reputedly very beautiful, and I regret missing it. With a five day trip, however, I would not want to do a loop as big as the one I did--Black Rock is the logical connector for a somewhat shorter loop.
I would have liked to get to Little Claire on day 1, and had fantasies about doing so. However, there is a huge amount of elevation gain on that first day and given my own lack of conditioning and coming from sea level--I just could not have done it. And so the first two days (day 1 Franklin day 2 Little Claire) were short on mileage.
I'm pleased that my report has been useful to you Webdweeb! I imagine that the lower Middle Fork crossing gets a little easier each day and the snow that troubled me in Kaweah Gap is probably trivial by now. That assures that each person has a different experience. Just having blue skies every day would have dramatically transformed my trip. Good to know you got good use out of Redwood Meadows. I found a tap behind the second cabin--it was next to the stock tub. The water came out pretty rusty. I filtered it twice. I did have a nice rest in the metal chair on the porch of the main ranger cabin while I snacked!
My original plan was to stop at Nine Lakes, but I had been making relatively slower time around the circuit than I had originally planned, and so ultimately it was a choice between having a short day at 10410 or some extra time at Nine Lakes. I have decided I need to go back--probably over Black Rock to Nine Lakes one day, or maybe as part of a longer trip to visit Kaweah Basin and Picket Creek. It is always nice to have a spectacular trip to look forward to....
You won't need any snow gear by the time you go in September, and the Mosquitoes should be much subdued as well.
Black Rock Pass is reputedly very beautiful, and I regret missing it. With a five day trip, however, I would not want to do a loop as big as the one I did--Black Rock is the logical connector for a somewhat shorter loop.
I would have liked to get to Little Claire on day 1, and had fantasies about doing so. However, there is a huge amount of elevation gain on that first day and given my own lack of conditioning and coming from sea level--I just could not have done it. And so the first two days (day 1 Franklin day 2 Little Claire) were short on mileage.
I'm pleased that my report has been useful to you Webdweeb! I imagine that the lower Middle Fork crossing gets a little easier each day and the snow that troubled me in Kaweah Gap is probably trivial by now. That assures that each person has a different experience. Just having blue skies every day would have dramatically transformed my trip. Good to know you got good use out of Redwood Meadows. I found a tap behind the second cabin--it was next to the stock tub. The water came out pretty rusty. I filtered it twice. I did have a nice rest in the metal chair on the porch of the main ranger cabin while I snacked!
My original plan was to stop at Nine Lakes, but I had been making relatively slower time around the circuit than I had originally planned, and so ultimately it was a choice between having a short day at 10410 or some extra time at Nine Lakes. I have decided I need to go back--probably over Black Rock to Nine Lakes one day, or maybe as part of a longer trip to visit Kaweah Basin and Picket Creek. It is always nice to have a spectacular trip to look forward to....
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maverick
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Re: TR Mineral King Loop - Franklin to Timber via Kaweah Gap
Include Red Spur Lakes Basin into your itinerary KP, rarely visited, beautiful place, and if your that close to it you should visit it, you never know when you will get the opportunity to get that far into the heart of the Sierra again.maybe as part of a longer trip to visit Kaweah Basin and Picket Creek.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer
I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.
Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.
Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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webdweeb
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Re: TR Mineral King Loop - Franklin to Timber via Kaweah Gap
We went over BRP on 12 August-a smallish snow patch we were able to mostly bypass by walking on the screen next to the trail. Views from the pass were superlative, not to be missed if it is an option on your itinerary. The descent into the Cliff Creek drainage was very scenic but strenuous (4700 feet in ~6 miles), with a couple of miles of talus-paved trail which beat our feet into submission, but the views along the way of Columbine, Cyclamen and Spring Lakes made the abuse all worthwhile. I highly recommend a east-west traverse of BLP-despite the tough descent, it was still better to descend 4700 feet than climb it!
Kpeter, we also filtered the water out of the tap, since its provenance was unknown, but it was still more convenient than filtering it from the nearby stream (and much clearer since it did not have sediment from the stream bottom). The spigot was also nice for access to water to extinguishing our campfire (the only one we had on the trip since all the other camps were high elevation). NLB was one of the highlights of our hike-I still marvel at its raw beauty and isolation, especially being so close to the HST. I've already planned a return to NLB in late September (out and back from Crescent Meadow) for a day or two to explore the area. Because we got a late start that day, we only had an hour of daylight in the basin and had to break camp early the next day, so we only got a taste of its beauty, but what we got was scrumptious!
Kpeter, we also filtered the water out of the tap, since its provenance was unknown, but it was still more convenient than filtering it from the nearby stream (and much clearer since it did not have sediment from the stream bottom). The spigot was also nice for access to water to extinguishing our campfire (the only one we had on the trip since all the other camps were high elevation). NLB was one of the highlights of our hike-I still marvel at its raw beauty and isolation, especially being so close to the HST. I've already planned a return to NLB in late September (out and back from Crescent Meadow) for a day or two to explore the area. Because we got a late start that day, we only had an hour of daylight in the basin and had to break camp early the next day, so we only got a taste of its beauty, but what we got was scrumptious!
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