Routes into/out of Kaweah Basin and 9 Lakes basin

[tnhgmia]

Hi All,

I've been doing a lot of research for an upcoming mid sept trip in SEKI. I'm an experienced backpacker (~20yr here and there) with some off trail experience. I'm comfortable with class 2 usually, and don't like class 3 or lots of exposure. For me it's a heights issue. I'm tolerant and can power through it, and to be honest I think canyon country has shaken my nerves more than the sierras, but I enjoy trips best when I'm not on cliffs edges staring down or climbing with a pack on all 4s. I know this trip will push my boundaries a bit, but I've been to the tablelands area once before and fell in love so wanted to plan a longer trip around the GWD and Kern-Kaweah.

I am planning a 7 night 8 day trip with a friend who is more experienced and brave than I, and had some questions about specific routes. The tentative plan is to go Mt. Silliman (got the permit) across the tablelands, but if we could get the lakes trail permit walk-in we'd go pear lakes route into tablelands. From there it would be pterodactyl pass to Horn Col presumably. Copper mine pass sounds a bit dicey to me just reading descriptions, but the alternatives I'm seeing are pants pass which is no better(?), or perhaps going south to Hamilton lakes (or starting HST instead of tablelands)> 9 lakes basin and then Pyra-queen col. Lastly there would be a big loop heading in via Kaweah Pass which likewise people complain about the loose steep descent. It's hard for me to tell reading about it online versus being there, but each one people have either expressed fear/complaining. Any opinions on the best route into the basin?

Thanks!

[Wandering Daisy]

How much time do you want to spend in Kaweah Basin? Or is it just an end point and the journey in more important?

If Kaweah is the main reason the easiest (mostly trail) but not shortest mileage route is to drop down to Roaring Fork from a number of trailheads such as Marvin Pass then follow the trail over Colby Pass down to about 9675 on the Kern Kaweah and diagonal se uphill to lowest lake on Picket Creek, up the drainage and over a small saddle and down to the lowest lake in Kaweah basin. From there you can day-hike or move up-basin and camp. With your permit, you would instead go up from Lodgepole over Silliman Pass and go north to intersect the route above. Or if you could take two cars, park one at Lodgepole and go to Marvin Pass or Sugarloaf trailhead to enter. I doubt you would have any difficulty getting these permits as walk-ins.

The other straight-shot and shorter but not easy route into Kaweah Basin is via Hamilton Lake, Nine Lakes, Pyra-Queen. I am not sure you would like Pyra-Queen. It has lots of talus and is very steep up top with some loose rock. You do get a feel of exposure. If you choose this route I would do it on your way out, not in when packs are heavy plus the west side of Pyra Queen is easier to descend than ascend. Of course the most efficient route into Hamilton is on the HST, which you may have trouble getting a permit. You could go over Peterodactyle and drop down the drainage from Lonely Lake and then drop down to the HST (a lot of elevation loss) to Hamilton Lake.

As for other passes mentioned, Peterodactyle-Horn Col are easy. Cooper Mine pass is tricky to find (at least for me- I missed it before). But where would you go from there? I would not head south to Pyra Queen because there are much more direct routes to that pass. You could head down Cloud Canyon and go via Colby Pass. But you do loose a lot of elevation that way.

Pants pass is hard and quite miserable. I do not see much sense in this- if you are up for this you are better off doing Pyra Queen. Again, I think Pants Pass is easier to do north-to-south (a route to do on your way out). Others may disagree.

Another thought- go in from the east; New Army or Cottonwood Pass, up to Wallace Creek, down to Junction Meadow and up the Kern Kaweah. I have never taken the "standard" route that heads straight up from lower on the Kern Kaweah directly to the lowest lake in Keweah Basin.

Given the time you have, I personally would try to make Kaweah Basin your objective and go in and out as efficiently as possible. You really need a few days to fully explore and enjoy this basin.

We had a meet-up in Kaweah Basin a few years ago and I think there are many trip reports on the various ways members got in. I did the High Sierra Trail to Junction Meadow, then up the Kern Kaweah. A round-about route; I had planned on Pyra Queen, but the weather was bad so choose the long trail route where I could walk in the rain without endangering myself.

[tnhgmia]

Very helpful! Thanks!

How many days in the Basin? Not sure yet. I'm mostly just researching to have more info as we plan it together. It's her first time in SEKI actually if I remember right. We're both big fans of the high country and probably she more even than I (I also love the steep lush canyons of SEKI). I could easily see us get stuck in any number of spots along the way because of the beauty. Given what I've been hearing/seeing your suggestions of spending some days there seem worth it.

I saw the Marvin pass route on Bill Finch's site and it looked intriguing. It would also have an added bonus of getting to see more of the canyons on the way in. The downside would be the long trek in vs the beauty of the tablelands and staying high more or less?

The route I was thinking from Horn Col>Coppermine Pass would be Triple Divide Pass then over to Colby Pass. Basically just going East. Then I would exit either via Pyra-Queen or back to HST via Chagoopa. All things being equal that was the route that looked most appealing to me (tablelands, due east across deadman, cloud, into Kaweah Basin, back out through 9 lakes basin more or less and out HST or different route via tablelands).

I had thought about cottonwood lakes though Inyo Permits are nuts this year. For me anyway part of the goal is just to be around the Kern-Kaweah divide which we'd sort of miss out on coming from that direction. (I'm also going to spend a long weekend there earlier this year and do a route including Mt Langley).

[Wandering Daisy]

Mid September can have a day or so of bad weather, so it is good to plan a route with a few "bail out" or "detours" in case you have the bad luck to be going over a difficult pass on a stormy day. Fortunately, there are several all-trail loops into the Kern Kaweah leaving only the short x-c up to the basin itself. So you can easily change your route from x-c to trail if needed.

I did a late season trip Sept 17-26, 2006 (a low snow year). The trails were quite dusty, It froze hard at nights and unfortunately there was a bit of smoke in the air from fires. That is one problem with late season trips - more likely to have smoke and my photos of Kaweah Basin were not very good. I went in from Roads End over Avalanche Pass - two long days to Colby Lake, third day camped high in Kern-Kaweah on the bench above the drainage, easy day 4 into the basin. Came out Pyra Queen (horribly windy), Nine Lakes Basin, Lion and Lion Lake passes to the head of Cloud Canyon, up Cunningham Creek over Longley Pass, down to Reflection Lake, East Lake and out Bubbs Creek.

On the Meet-up trip I allowed enough time in the basin to really enjoy it. So although there are dozens of creative routes to get to Kaweah Basin, best to get there quickly, spend as much time as needed to really enjoy it, and have several choices of return routes depending on remaining time left. The meet-up trip was 7/20-29, 2015, also a very low snow year. I spent 2 and a half days in the basin and I preferred the late July conditions and got some really good photos.

[TheFool]

I completed a 9 day backpacking loop trip route yesterday similar to what you describe that may give you some more options to consider about entering/exiting Kaweah Basin:

D1 Wolverton/Lakes Trail -> Pear Lake
D2 Table Lands->Pteordactyl Pass-> Lonely Lake
D3 Horn Col -> Copper Mine Pass/Copper Mine Peak -> Lion Lake Tarn -> Glacier Lake
D4 Triple Divide Pass (leave pack) -> Triple Divide Peak -> Triple Divide Pass (pickup pack) -> Lake 11,650' above Colby Trail
D5 Colby Trail -> Picket Creek Lake 10,560'
D6 Picket Creek Pass -> visit Pyra Queen Col to check out from east side -> Kaweah Basin Lake 11,530'
D7 Kaweah Pass -> Arroyo
D8 Arroyo -> Mehrten Creek
D9 Wolverton.

Ascending Kaweah Pass was the most difficult part of this loop route. I would not descend Kaweah Pass to enter Kaweah Basin due to the steepness, length, and loose scree.

Coppermine Pass and Peak to me were Class 1 from the west side. Starting at the ridge above the abandoned copper mine and heading East there is a well-worn trail that is not difficult to follow. About 10 to 20 people had signed the register so far this year on Copper Mine Peak. Descending on the east side of Copper Mine Pass is more difficult and Class 2. Secor and others contend that the USGS 7.5' map is wrong by identifying Copper Mine Pass in the West-East direction of the Great Western Divide and not labelling this Copper Mine Peak. To me this is intentional and makes sense because the least difficult route from Deadman Canyon to Cloud Canyon includes climbing over Copper Mine Peak.

The route from Triple Divide Pass down to the Colby Trail I read about in Bill Finch's 1992 "High Route South" trip (http://www.sierrahiker.com/HighRouteSouth/index.html). It was difficult for me to locate the point to descend even with a UTM but there was a duck that I eventually found. Does anyone know if this has a name? Bill admits he wasn't the first to find the route but unless it already has a name I would propose to call it the "Finch Route".

Bill Finch's 1991 trip "Triple Divide Loop II" (http://www.sierrahiker.com/TripleDivide ... index.html) gave me the confidence to climb Triple Divide Peak. It appeared 3 or 4 people had signed the register so far this year.

This route above was inspired by the numerous Tablelands, Triple Divide Pass/Peak, and Kaweah Basin trips that Bill Finch has posted on his site.

[sekihiker]

If you want to get in and out of Kaweah Basin with the least amount of exposure, it's best to do it from the Kern-Kaweah River. Most hikers go up via Picket Creek, but I have done it up the outlet stream from the Kaweah Basin. Some claim that route is Class 3 but I never found anything but Class 2 and I'm not particularly fond of Class 3, especially with exposure.
So, the planning centers on, how do you get to the Kern-Kaweah River? I would choose Marvin Pass, to Roaring River, Colby Pass, and voila.
I've done the passes from the west, Pyra-Queen Col, Pants Pass and Poop Your Pants Pass, and all of those are steep, difficult, and involve exposure.
So, pairing 9 Lakes Basin with Kaweah Basin may not be the best fit for you.

[zwoij]

I just did sekihiker's outlined route. Marvin Pass - Roaring River - Colby Lake - Picket Lake (those are the places we camped)- and continued on to Whitney. I have also done Pants and Piss Your Pants passes. The route in from the Kern-Kaweah is much easier. But the Tablelands is a lot of fun. I looked for a way in like what you are thinking, but it looked like it would take more time than I had. Colby Lake is also beautiful and the area between Colby Pass and Picket Basin is wonferful, in my opinion. The route outlined by TheFool looks like a good way to get the Tablelands but avoid the passes from Nine Lakes.

[Wandering Daisy]

I went through Tablelands last week it it is less "fun" now in the drought. All the streams are dried up and the vegetation is a bit worn out and dry.

How did you return??

[SSSdave]

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