General Route Info
GPS Tracking
Day 1 - Mineral King to Pinto Lake: 9.1 miles, +3440' / -2530'
Day 2 - Pinto Lake to Nine Lake Basin: 12 miles, +4300' / -2560'
Day 3 - Nine Lake Basin to Kaweah Basin: 6.6 miles, +2480' / -2050'
Day 4 - Kaweah Basin to Kern Hot Spring: 14.9 miles, +750' / -4720'
Day 5 - Kern Hot Spring to Franklin Lakes: 18.6 miles, +5780' / -2030'
Day 6 - Franklin Lakes to Mineral King: 6.4 miles, +100' / -2950'
Video
Trip Report
Day 1:
We hiked from the trailhead in Mineral King up via Timber Gap and camped at Pinto Lake area. Pretty normal first day of hiking with 5.5 days worth of food in the pack.
Day 2:
Went over Black Rock Pass, headed down to Big Arroyo and followed north via the High Sierra Trail and camped at the lower part of Nine Lake Basin. Black Rock Pass was a little tiring with all the food and gear, but not too challenging... when looking back at the rest of the trip.
Day 3:
We left lower Nine Lake Basin for Kaweah Basin via Pyra-Queen Col. Pyra-Queen Col was a beast. Going up via the west side took some time because the terrain was quite rugged, but manageable. I enjoyed the challenge, but you may notice in my video that one of my friends did not enjoy it as much.
As we were coming down the couloir, we came across a group of older gentlemen from Colorado who were approaching the couloir from the east side. I remember thinking how it was already the afternoon, and they still have some ways to go on tough terrain. Very inspiring to see them out there in one of the most remote areas in the Sierra Nevada. I hope that I too can keep fit enough to go deep into the mountains as I approach the latter part of my life.Day 4:
Navigated our way to the neighboring basin that is north of Kaweah Basin to reach Colby Pass Trail. Colby Pass Trail seemed to be pretty unmaintained, but I'm not surprised because it doesn't seem like many people take this trail. We finally met up with the High Sierra Trail in Kern Canyon and hiked south to Kern Hot Spring. I visited the hot spring when I hiked the HST in 2016, so it was nice to see it again (along with Big Arroyo on Day 2). Biggest difference now is that the surrounding areas experienced some wildfire back in 2020. Thankfully, the actual camping area did not get burned much.
Day 5:
We wanted to shorten our final day, Day 6, by going farther than originally planned, which was to originally camp at Forester Lake. Thankfully, we did not follow through and went for the big push to get over Franklin Pass and camp at Franklin Lakes. That was a massive day of elevation gain since we started at the bottom of Kern Canyon. That was over a mile of elevation gain!! I felt like every step was a slog at the last mile before the pass.
Day 6:
Final day! Short few miles out to the trailhead in Mineral King, and we're done! Nothing of significance to note except that we came across friendly trail workers and their train of mules.
Pictures Sunset near Pinto Lake
Figuring out which way to go as we leave Pinto Lake
Lower Nine Lake Basin at t he northern end of Big Arroyo
Approaching Pyra-Queen Col from the western side
Looking back towards Nine Lake Basin from halfway up Pyra-Queen Col
Closing in on Pyra-Queen Col
Looking down at Kaweah Basin from Pyra-Queen Col
Upper lake of Kaweah Basin
Looking for camp at Kaweah Basin
Nice little area for camping in Kaweah Basin
Looking south down Kern Canyon while hiking up Rattlesnake Trail towards Franklin Pass
Looking back down Rattlesnake Trail near the top of Franklin Pass with Kern Canyon in the background
