Kings Canyon High Basin Route

[andrewskurka]

Anyone have a geological or ecological explanation for why Goddard is "like Paradise" versus Enchanted?

[alpinemike]

I participated in the misery that was mentioned last year with Rogue when we traveled down the Enchanted Gorge in 5 hours of pouring rain. As many have said earlier I will never recommend the route nor do I have any intention to ever go back.

In terms of paradise in Goddard versus Enchanted Gorge. I think WD was referring to travelling up Goddard Creek and not down it to Simpson Meadow as being more paradise. The section that travels up from the confluence of Goddard Creek and Disappearing Creek is not nearly as brushy as the section that travels down towards Simpson Meadow. Rogue mentioned to me that there were beautiful cascades and falls in the upper section and eventually the lake right before the final climb into Ionian Basin.

[Bluewater]

I have been working on a version of the Big Seki Loop for this summer that includes a mix of trail miles and cross country passes. A friend sent me a message a few days ago when the pre-edition became available and I could tell from the overview map that the route covered many of the areas I have been working on. I could appreciate the work that went into the SHR data and map set and considering Andrew Skurka's resume I was very interested in the route. I bought the pre-edition (which also includes the final edition).

I was excited to go through the maps and other info in the pre-edition. Seeing some of Rogue's unofficial passes on the route was cool. I have experience on much of the route and it was interesting to see how the areas that I have not been through yet were linked together (Gardiner & Arrow basins). The data sheet with the mileage and elevation data have already been helpful in fine tuning my own ideas for this summer.

After reading the many negative reports about the Enchanted Gorge here on HST over the past few years I was surprised to see it included. I assumed that if it was included that he must have had a better experience. To say that I was surprised to read that it was part of the route without the personal experience of the author would be an understatement.

If Andrew Skurka is still following this thread would it be possible to confirm if there are other sections of the route that you have not been through yet? I am especially interested in the route up to Arrow Basin from Woods Creek.

I have been through Ionian Basin, down to Lake 10,232 and over Finger Col. Blue Canyon Pass looked easy from what I could see on the north side and the route to Dykeman Pass and Alpine Pass might be a good way to access Tunemah Lake while staying below the higher route described earlier. I read a post recently about following the outlet of Tunemah Lake east down into Goddard Canyon. This might be a good alternative to EG although it still leaves the bushwhack down to Simpson.


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[RoguePhotonic]

Anyone have a geological or ecological explanation for why Goddard is "like Paradise" versus Enchanted?

Well most of the route down is typical easy cross country terrain. It's not till your much lower and getting ready for the final drop down to the bushwhacking that you encounter any serious problems with brush or talus or pretty much anything too difficult. I also did not run into any stinging nettles while there.

[andrewskurka]

After reading the many negative reports about the Enchanted Gorge here on HST over the past few years I was surprised to see it included. I assumed that if it was included that he must have had a better experience. To say that I was surprised to read that it was part of the route without the personal experience of the author would be an understatement.

If Andrew Skurka is still following this thread would it be possible to confirm if there are other sections of the route that you have not been through yet? I am especially interested in the route up to Arrow Basin from Woods Creek.

Will be taking a 5 day break from this thread in about 10 minutes.

I really did not find EG to be as terrible as everyone says. Not easy and hard enough to make looking at alternates worthwhile, but not something that cannot be part of such a l a route.

The only section of the route I have not done is Bubbs to Woods. Pre Edition explains such and alternate route given, though this appears to be a straightforward section -- Gardiner Pass and then King Col.

The climb from Woods to Arrow can be rough if you do not pick the right ascent path. I have been over White Fork Pass too but overall I like Arrow better. Explorer Pass is another option but I have not been over it yet.

[Wandering Daisy]

Yes, I meant upper Goddard Creek north of the confluence with Disappearing Creek is very scenic.

My "day-hike" was not even intended to be the loop it turned out to be. This highlights the fact that under some conditions, it is difficult to back out of Enchanted Gorge! I got a late start and just intended to go to the upper lakes but once down that icy snowfield, I was committed to do the entire route and ended up spending the night at Lake 9787. I met two fellows at the confluence who were on their third day from Chasm Lake, both with big packs and one fellow having sprained an ankle. That section took me about 6 hours with a small day pack. The confluence of Disappearing Creek and Goddard Creek is a hell of a place to be with a sprained ankle.

One thing I appreciate about Roper's High Route, is that he sought a route with the highest scenic benefit and close to the Sierra Crest for the least misery or risk. Sometimes that criteria simply puts you on a major trail, even the JMT. His objective never was simply to stay off trails or make the route gnarly and macho. Additionally, Roper devised his route after years of exploring the Sierra. Rogue- if you were to write a guide, you would not make much money from it anyway. I just think that you have paid your dues and earned the right to be the off-trail guru of the Sierra. And thanks for all the great photos! Your photos are almost as good for checking things out as Google Earth.

If the goal is to get from the Evolution area to Simpson Meadow (not quite sure why Simpson Meadow is a route goal) there are other
ways that achieve a better balance of return for your efforts. I do think a jaunt through Ionian Basin is worthwhile, although trying to make it a "straight line" does not produce the best route. Enchanted Gorge looks like a good line on the map but is a lousy route. At least go down Goddard Creek so you only have to deal with the part below the stream junction, although I will say that I have not personally done that lower section. Another factor is that when the Middle Fork of the Kings is at peak flow, you are not going to safely cross it to get to Simpson Meadow. Minimally, you should have an alternate route to use early season or in high snow years, keeping in mind river crossings as well as snow conditions. Read the PCT journals for 2011 - these folks describe high snow year conditions that make crossing streams, even on the PCT, quite dangerous. Le Conte Canyon and the trail to Simpson Meadow have bridges and honestly, scenery as good as you get in Enchanted Gorge. You can still loop over Wanda Pass into Ionian Basin and return to the JMT via Black Giant.

[jenreyn]

Yes, Goddard Creek above the confluence of Disappearing Creek is "paradise" compared to Enchanted Gorge and especially the lower Goddard Creek Section. Its much easier walking that takes you back towards Lake 10232. I also second that Arnot must have done the route when he could criss cross this section in a low snow year or in the fall. This makes the route much more navigable when obstacles arise; just cross the river or walk in it. When I went down it in 2011, that was my strategy as I have used this to get down say, the Muro Blanco and other river routes overgrown with alders and such. Boy was I in for a surprise when this wasn't possible. Also, as others stated above, once you get into the Gorge, it kinda sucks to think about turning around and retracing steps if you had to. My partner and I had some of the same thoughts, especially when we had to climb up a "class 4" grass and rock cliff band with a class 5 move to gain a ramp system 300ft above the creek as we were committed to the right side of the creek heading down. There was no way we wanted to repeat those moves. There was another section of fresh rockfall below the confluence of Disappearing Creek and Goddard Creek on the right side that was somewhat precarious walking over it. And before dropping into Simpson Meadow, if someone is on the right side and gets hung up in the willows and decides to drop down to the creek, there is a cascade that was also very risky when trying to circumnavigate around as a fall into the water would have been deadly. I have a really good friend and previous roommate who has done this route as well, however he said he did it in the Fall when the water was low and there wasn't any trouble. He laughed when I told him about my birthday trip.

I also forgot about the crossing at Simpson Meadow as well until Wandering Daisy mentioned it..... We crossed on August 29th and the river was barely doable. It was scariest crossing I have done. And I have crossed rivers in Alaska. The water was still incredibly high and powerful at the safest place. We lost a camera in the process and swam the last section. We met a couple other hikers coming from the confluence of Palisade Creek who expressed that they couldn't even ford that crossing onto the JMT and that they had been searching for a log crossing. They were average experienced hikers. When we reached the ford, it was 1/4 as bad as the Middle Kings at Simpson. People could potentially become stuck at the mouth of Lower Goddard with no way to go but down towards Tehipite Valley in this case. Just food for thought as well.

All in all, as delightful as this route may be in the Gorge in the lowest of the two previous snow years, I believe it would be truly the opposite in an average to above average snow year, unless later towards September. I myself enjoy going to these wild places in this range I call home. However, I would have some apprehension repeating my route unless I was skipping that lower section. I would probably go down the outlet of Tunemah, down into Goddard Creek and across to climb up to Wheel Mountain and Devils Crags to drop over down to Rambaud Lakes.

[Bluewater]

"Will be taking a 5 day break from this thread in about 10 minutes.

I really did not find EG to be as terrible as everyone says. Not easy and hard enough to make looking at alternates worthwhile, but not something that cannot be part of such a l a route.

The only section of the route I have not done is Bubbs to Woods. Pre Edition explains such and alternate route given, though this appears to be a straightforward section -- Gardiner Pass and then King Col.

The climb from Woods to Arrow can be rough if you do not pick the right ascent path. I have been over White Fork Pass too but overall I like Arrow better. Explorer Pass is another option but I have not been over it yet".

Thank you for the additional information about the climb from Woods to Arrow.

[SweetSierra]

The thought I had about the route was the same as Wandering Daisy mentioned. Roper's High Route was created and advertised as a Class 2 route that an average hiker could manage. Calling this a "High Route" may seem to many to be the same kind of route, if they don't read any qualifiers too closely, just because Roper's "High Route" is so well known. I like the Kings Canyon High Route idea, just had a thought about perception. Copper Mine Pass isn't difficult and I thought it was a thrill to find the old miner's trail at the top, but it's not easy to find from Glacier Lake. In a guide, though, specific markers (like Roper's) would help quite a bit in locating it.

[RoguePhotonic]

though this appears to be a straightforward section -- Gardiner Pass and then King Col.

Although Gardiner is easy enough there is nothing straight forward about King Col other than getting to the top from the West. It's the sort of pass that after I did it I wont ever do it again and as I noted in my write up of it I don't recommend anyone else do so either.

From a guide stand point this certainly can be a blocking point. King Col with any sort of cornice would be impassable without ropes. It's just too narrow and steep.