High Sierra Topix

I posted a trip report about my trek to Tehipite Valley from Yucca Point up the Middle Fork of the Kings River. You can read the trip report here:

http://www.damienf.com/tehipite-loop-2010

I don't know if it is bad form to just link to another site here, but I hope other people enjoy it and find it useful.

-Damien

I will never do what you did and probably couldn't even if I wanted to. Glad you made it back in one piece. You saw and did things many of us can only dream of. Great trip report and pictures. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks so much for the report! I've been down to the confluence from Yucca Point, but the farthest I got up the Middle Fork was about half a mile. That's some tough trailless country down there. I too will probably never be able to make that trip, so I appreciate the vicarious experience I get from reading your report and seeing your pictures.

Matt

Welcome to HST Damien, and thanks you for an interesting TR to any are very
rarely visited.
To bad about the smoke, it can be annoying to say the least, luckily it was not so
thick that it made your breathing difficult, otherwise climbing "The *****" would
have been just that.
It is cool you visited the old sheep herders camp at LTV, or what's left of it.

damien wrote:I posted a trip report about my trek to Tehipite Valley from Yucca Point up the Middle Fork of the Kings River. You can read the trip report here:

http://www.damienf.com/tehipite-loop-2010

I don't know if it is bad form to just link to another site here, but I hope other people enjoy it and find it useful.

-Damien

Since it is your own site you're linking to, it's considered good form here to reciprocate a link back to HST.
Nice report, and cool site you have there.

Very interesting report. I have never attempted a river trip on that scale.
"Stupid ??"- Swimming the river- how do you use your pack as flotation without getting everything wet? Were there any rapids in that 7 mile stretch to Tephite? How deep was the water where you swam?

Richard

Great report. I've always wondered about the middle fork and assumed there were no trails in for a reason. I chatted with someone back in 1989 in upper Goddard Ceek and he said there was a place called "the wedge", that was only passable in lower water conditions. I had dreams for many years of hopping through a wedge and landing in an open valley surrounded by mountains. It wasn't until recently that I found someone who actually hiked in from the confluence. You're TR is the second.

I went over the "B!tch" in '89. My buddy and I entered Goddard Creek from Wishon Reservoir, down to Simpson Meadow, then over the Monarch Divide to Road's End. All three forks of the Kings River. Moving down Goddard Creek to Simpson Meadow consisted of two days of, well, let's just call it "difficult terrain", to keep the "G" rating. That evening at Simpson Meadow, we spiked the canteen water with Wild Turkey and supped on it all evening. When morning came, we topped off our bottles, but neglected to recall that the canteens were still spiked. Headed over Monarch Divide, was the dryest, dustiest trail I can recall being on. The water was difficult to drink because of the whiskey impregnation. Topping the ridge, we became desperate for water. We discussed the option, several times, of offing the packs and going full bore for Dougherty Creek, then returning for the gear. We persevered and eventually, the creek came into view. We offed the packs, ran to the creek and face planted to drink our fill. Your camp spot sounds identical to the one we stayed at, including the wood stock.

hi damien,

just got back from my loop trip.
i'm that "big guy" you met just shy of simpson meadow.
i enjoyed your reading though your trip report and will be posting mine shortly.
i'm going to read yours again tomorrow - such an awesome trip through the middle fork.

tehipite valley was awesome and i did just whatyou had done... use my arms as windsheild wipers to clear the knats. the funny thing is that the knats stopped bugging me whenever i stopped moving... and so i stayed in tehipite for 2 days. i saw the pictographs and they really resemble oak leaves.

from tehiphite, i climbed out and didn't even touch any of the poison oak on the lower 1000 feet of switchbacks. i did brush up against some stinging nettle down in the valley and had the weirdest tingling sensation for about 24 hours on my hand and leg. it was located near the area with the ferns in that spot where you cross through some mud and log (between the main campsite and the climb) out trail.

anyways, glad to hear you made it up the b*tch without keeling over from dehydration.

-lc
aka hidey

p.s. i missed the blonde botanist at simpson... but i didn't stay very long either. crossed the river on the east end of the meadow...and i saw no snakes in tehipite - but i didn't go looking for them either.

What a cool trip. I have looked at the maps and been curious about that route. Were there any stretches where you had to walk in the river? Did you have a backcountry permit? (I bet you have one of those seam sealed Arc'teryx models, huh?)

Coral snakes don't range here - you saw a king snake of similar colors (red on black, venom lack). A very neat siting. I haven't ever seen one of those myself.

Damien
I've been thinking of doing the same hike you did and was excited to see your post, but the link doesn't load, wondering if your website is still working? If not maybe I can get some more details later on the adventure.
Nate