Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

If you've been searching for the best source of information and stimulating discussion related to Spring/Summer/Fall backpacking, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada...look no further!
User avatar
sekihiker
Founding Member
Posts: 956
Joined: Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:47 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Fresno
Contact:

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by sekihiker »

Awesome trip and report. Great photos. Great fishing. What more could you ask for? Thanks for posting.
User avatar
cgundersen
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1338
Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 1:07 pm
Experience: N/A

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by cgundersen »

Robert,
Thanks again for the great post and amazing photos. Obviously the guys you met deep in the backcountry have not chimed in yet; frankly, I like your route better than theirs! Your shots from atop Arrow have me re-thinking spending all my spare time collecting porcini (mushrooms). Like you, I'm not an obsessed peak bagger, but the views can be stupendous (and were!). Cameron
User avatar
Dwwd
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:24 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by Dwwd »

Nice trip report. I noticed the air was particularly clear in your photos on the passes for those very long distance views. Out of curiosity, what is your favorite memory of this trip compared to all the other ones your have done?
User avatar
c9h13no3
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1323
Joined: Tue Sep 18, 2018 1:19 pm
Experience: Level 1 Hiker
Location: San Mateo, CA

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by c9h13no3 »

This trip is fake. Fish the size of whales, great destinations. Someone check Snopes, can't be real.
"Adventure is just bad planning." - Roald Amundsen
Also, I have a blog no one reads. Please do not click here.
User avatar
windknot
Topix Fanatic
Posts: 1934
Joined: Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:07 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Contact:

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by windknot »

Another great report! Thanks for taking the time to write it up and share -- I appreciate your perspective and understanding of all of the different elements that go into making a trip work.

I'd actually like to echo Dwwd's question -- when one has traveled so extensively through the Sierra as you have, what sorts of things tend to stand out now in current and subsequent trips that make you itch to go back? I've wanted to ask Wandering Daisy this question as well, as both of you are retirees who have already been to so many places yet don't seem to have any waning energy or excitement for planning and executing future creative and exploratory trips.
User avatar
oddtiger
Topix Regular
Posts: 134
Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2018 5:45 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by oddtiger »

Thank you for sharing! What a great trip! I saw a bighorn sheep last year above the Window Peak lake, so I guess they are wandering around in the area.
User avatar
robertseeburger
Topix Expert
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:53 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: San Mateo Ca

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by robertseeburger »

I had meant to reply to a couple of the responses...but then I got busy and had another backpack trip to the winds.. now catching up..
windknot wrote: Thu Aug 15, 2019 9:51 am Another great report! Thanks for taking the time to write it up and share -- I appreciate your perspective and understanding of all of the different elements that go into making a trip work.

I'd actually like to echo Dwwd's question -- when one has traveled so extensively through the Sierra as you have, what sorts of things tend to stand out now in current and subsequent trips that make you itch to go back? I've wanted to ask Wandering Daisy this question as well, as both of you are retirees who have already been to so many places yet don't seem to have any waning energy or excitement for planning and executing future creative and exploratory trips.
Well, to both Gary and Matt...what was my favorite moment? Obviously catching big fish is a great moment, but I would say there is even more of a feeling of euphoria when bagging a peak.. especially at my advanced age. There is some inertia to do this..(i.e... should I really do this solo, can I really get around the cornice, etc..), but after I am done I really feel good! Plus there is just a "feel" about certain areas that call to come back. I haven't even come close to seeing all the areas that I want to see. Never been to Kaweah Basin, Tablelands, Grinnell Lake, Red and White Lake, Edna Lake, the Sierra High route between Devils Postpile and Tuolumne Meadows...enough places that I haven't been to keep me busy planning beyond my physical capability.
I haven't been close to the number of places as Wandering Daisy, Maverick, Rouguephotonic and many more.
cgundersen wrote: Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:23 am Robert,
Thanks again for the great post and amazing photos. Obviously the guys you met deep in the backcountry have not chimed in yet; frankly, I like your route better than theirs! Your shots from atop Arrow have me re-thinking spending all my spare time collecting porcini (mushrooms). Like you, I'm not an obsessed peak bagger, but the views can be stupendous (and were!). Cameron
Cameron, I was hoping the other guys would sign on to HST, but it looks like they didnt. On your advice to stay over the night before in Owens Valley, that would add to my "day count" I give my wife!!! There is a "spousal negotiation" on the number of days for every trip, which I take quite seriously.
I do agree that probably makes sense...and probably will do more and more.
SSSdave wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2019 8:52 pm To get over Sawmill Pass would take this person 3 days with 2 nights. I do like how one can enjoy Sawmill Lake on day 2. Quite a challenging effort, well done. And congratulations on catching those large rainbows. I've never caught any trout larger than 17" in the backcountry though have seen some over 20". To make measuring trout easier in that situation, you might use a black marker to mark inch lengths on your rod.

Purple (actually pink) flowers are kalmia microphylla, aka alpine laurel, and appear just after snow melts atop soggy turfy areas. Most mature male salmonids have orange to red meat. Mature sea run steelhead rainbows can be as red as any goldens. With any larger salmonids with red flesh, we bake in a frying pan. Use aluminum foil to cover the pan top as the flesh of those mature fish contains oil that can cook itself without using extra oil.

I was supposed to go over Shepherd in about a week and would have done that on the third morning. Litle me at 135# carrying over 60# for a 10 day trip. Of the 4 passes, Shepherd would also be the most difficult for this person due to the hot 2300 foot waterless switchback section climbing out of Symmes Creek. The way I had planned to deal with that was late pm in heat do the one mile and 500 feet from the 6450 foot trailhead to the creek crossing at 6900 where I'd take a dip and fill up with extra water. Then at sunset try and add another 900 feet to the 2 mile point at 7.8k. At dawn the next day would start the 1300 feet of switchbacks and make it over 9020 foot saddle early. From there would be able to reach Anvil Camp at 9900 feet another 1400 feet and maybe The Pothole that would stage another early effort over the pass. But alas I now don't expect that to happen as my heel still gets sore where the large plantar ligament attaches that has bothered me since last fall when I'm carrying such a heavy load.
Dave, thanks for the input on the flowers..always good to know what the flowers you are looking at are!
On doing Shepherd Pass, I really struggle for how to do it myself. You mention 3 days. I have tried to do it in 2. The problem with 2 for me is that if you make it to Anvil Camp and start early the next morning you have to deal with the snowfield potentially before it gets soft. This happened to me a couple of years ago, and crossing was nerve racking. Hope your plantar issues got resolved.
sekihiker wrote: Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:27 pm Awesome trip and report. Great photos. Great fishing. What more could you ask for? Thanks for posting.
Sekihiker...thanks for the kind words. I see that you have reposted your Kaweah Basin trip from long ago. That is on my list as a place I gotta get to.
Love all your posts. Actually to some extent, your old posts have in some cases been a model for where I go. ( Last year going over pass connecting Kern/Reflection ).
User avatar
Mike M.
Topix Expert
Posts: 647
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 10:50 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Portland, Oregon

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by Mike M. »

Robert, great trip and report. Nice hairball!

Mike M.
User avatar
robertseeburger
Topix Expert
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:53 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: San Mateo Ca

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by robertseeburger »

Mike M. wrote: Tue Sep 10, 2019 1:05 pm Robert, great trip and report. Nice hairball!

Mike M.
To Mike M.. I glad someone noticed the hairball!! I thought it was a classic move from the cat!
User avatar
kylekuzma
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 72
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2018 1:30 pm
Experience: Level 3 Backpacker

Re: Trip Report Sawmill Loop Kings Canyon 7-26-19 to 8-4-19

Post by kylekuzma »

Wow, beautiful TR. The pictures were inspiring. I will add this to my list basins to visit.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: gtw_smooth_ambler, islandmeadow and 132 guests