TR: Copper Creek Trail Out of Roads End July 2018

[Memento Mori]

We were scheduled to leave out of Mineral King on the Eagle/Mosquito Lake trail for our annual father/son backpacking trip on Tuesday, July 24 (7 dads, 7 boys) to Mosquito Lakes. I checked for weather, trail, and fire conditions on Friday, July 20, and learned of the Horse Creek fire in Mineral King. I spoke with the rangers at the Mineral King station at length about the fire on Friday and Saturday. Our trailhead was still open as of Saturday, but based on the ranger's description of the air quality/smoke conditions in the Mineral King valley, I decided that the prudent thing to do was to call an audible for our group and change plans at the last minute.

After feverishly checking trailhead availability on the SEKI website, and doing my best to research prospective trails, my best option (given our numbers) seemed to be Copper Creek out of Roads End in Kings Canyon. More frantic texts to all dads in our group followed, and being flexible and good natured, none objected.

I was able to speak with a ranger at the Wilderness Office after trying several times throughout the day. There were 10 available reservations for Copper Creek, so I had my permit transferred over to that trail, with the hope that we would be able to secure 4 more walk up permits from the Roads End ranger station. Luckily, we were able to get those spots, too. (There were a lot of Mineral King and Yosemite refugees trying to get permits because of the fires. I bet the SEKI rangers are certainly earning their pay in dealing with this.)

I clearly made the right decision. All trailheads in Mineral King were closed on Monday, July 23. We would have been screwed if we showed up that Monday only to learn that we could not go out on the trail. I guess the moral of the story is use common sense, respect mother nature, and be flexible and willing to change plans at the last moment given trail conditions. It paid off for us. Read on.

My son and I were up early Sunday morning and made great time to Grant Grove from San Diego. From there we shot down to Sheep Creek Campground in Cedar Grove. After years of trying, I was able to grab sites 62 and 64 after making friendly conversation with an gentleman in site 66. He had reserved sites 62, 64, 66, and 68, but his group size changed, so he offered 62 and 64 to me. Just goes to show that it pays off when you're polite and courteous, and treat others with common decency. Sites 62 and 64 are big, open, and right next to Sheep Creek. Awesome!

After setting up our camp kitchen and tent, I put up the hammock and was soon visited by this little guy who came scampering across the open field. Amazing.

Little visitor in Sheep Creek Campground Cedar Grove SEKI.jpg

Half of our group soon arrived and we headed down for a crowded, but satisfying, dip in the river at Roads End and jump off of Muir Rock. Always a great time. Rain came late Sunday afternoon and cooled things down a bit, lasting for about an hour. No big deal.

The rest of our group arrived on Monday, and we strolled around Zumwalt Meadows before heading down to Roads End again for more swimming and to get in line at the ranger's station for our desperately needed 4 walk up permits, which we were able to score. Ranger Emily was very pleasant, informative, and helpful.

Grand Sentinel -- Zumwalt Meadows.jpg

Having read in Mike White's Kings Canyon National Park, A Complete Guide, that the Copper Creek Trail was challenging, it was our intent to get on the trail early. But of course with a group our size, that's always tough. So we hit the trail at an ill-advised 1000.

Hiking up Copper Creek Trail.jpg

It was our tentative hope to make it into Granite Basin by late afternoon, but we soon realized that doing so wasn't a realistic possibility. As the Guide states, the trail is sandy, steep, and exposed, so starting at 1000 was a big disadvantage. We therefore quickly recalibrated our expectations and slowly made our way up the trail to inspect "Lower Tent Meadow" for campsite options. After about 4 miles and approximately 3,000 feet in elevation gain, we stopped at a creek crossing just before Lower Tent Meadow. I jogged ahead to scout out the terrain and found a nice knoll big enough for our group at the northern end of Lower Tent Meadow with a nice little fire ring. We gladly set up camp there.

The next day we struck out for Granite Basin and made it up to "The Lip" at 10, 347' to see a stunning view into the basin.

Top of The Lip 10,437 feet overlooking Granite Basin.jpg

Several of us were too tired from the hike up to go over the lip into the basin, so they headed back to the campsite. I thought that they would miss out big time on the trip down into the basin, and in my opinion they did, but they had their own great experience back at the camp. More on this later.

The half that went down into the basin bushwacked cross country to one of the bigger, more inviting tarns. The water was deep enough for a cool, refreshing dip, and we enjoyed the water and scenery for the afternoon.

tarn 1.jpg

tarn 2.jpg

tarn 3.jpg

It was hard to leave, but we made our way back up over The Lip and started back down to the campsite.

Looking back at a tarn in Granite Basin.jpg

We radioed to the other half of our group to check in, and were greeted with whispers of "there's a bear trying to get into our bear canisters." "Well, shoo it away," came our response. And they did.

bear 1.jpg

But not after Yogi tried his best to open those suckers. Here's a cool little memento of this encounter.

Bear canister.jpg

I was expecting him to come back in the night, but he didn't seem to. At least we didn't hear him.

We cut our trip one day short for various reasons and packed out the next day. We made a bee line for the river at Roads End to enjoy another refreshing dip in the cool waters. Wow did the temperature rise. It was about 96 degrees at Roads End, and rose to about 102 degrees at Convict Flat. Half of us were hoping to snag a site in one of the campgrounds in Cedar Grove, but they were all packed. The temperatures at Convict Flat were too stifling to endure, so we just made our way home, having still had a great and memorable trip.

Copper Creek/Granite Basin is definitely on my list for a do-over. I'll probably hit it solo so that I can be on the trail early in the morning and travel lighter and faster, and make it up to the basin by mid-day to explore the area off trail, and then make my way up to Granite Lake. Can't wait. It's incredibly beautiful and rewarding scenery up there.

The Copper Creek trail was a real butt-kicking challenge for us, but we had a fantastic week with stunning scenery, great weather, a bear encounter, and phenomenal swimming in Granite Basin and at Roads End. Kings Canyon National Park -- what a treasure!

[maverick]

Sounds like a fun outing!
Yeah, Copper Creek and Lewis Creek require an early start, you did not mention any black flies, which sometimes can be quite aggressive on that trail.
When you do visit again, keep Glacier Lakes, Kid Lakes, and Volcanic Lakes in mind. Volcanic Lakes can be accessed by a class 2 pass over ridge, placing you down at Lake 10284, once you get over Granite Pass, instead of hiking all the way around using the trail to the entrance of the basin at West Fork Dougherty.

[Memento Mori]

Thanks for the recommendations Maverick. Much appreciated. We ran into a couple on their way down who had gone to Volcanic Lakes and they spoke highly of them, so they’ll definitely be on the itinerary when I go back.

Black flies and mosquitoes weren’t too bad. We did need our bug nets from time to time, but the bugs weren’t a problem at all.

[xcountry rider]

Thank your for the TR. It reminds me of when I was a kid and started backpacking with my dad at 11.

This is an area I have had my eye on for several years. It is definitely on my list!