TR: Sequoia-Kings Canyon Loop 8/24-9/1 Onion Valley TH

[mckee80]

Wow. What a trek. Thanks for sharing!

[stevet]

Your report had me walking along with you. Thanks for putting in the effort to make it personal. Great photos, too.

Thanks Bill. Your trip report archive was inspiration for solo adventure and though I use more words, a model for writing reports of my hikes.

[jimmyjamhikes]

What a great report! I spent the last two days following your route in detail and reading about all these places I now want to go!

[stevet]

What a great report! I spent the last two days following your route in detail and reading about all these places I now want to go!

You too...I've spent many an hour looking at trip reports with maps, and books like Secor's and Colorado's Fourteeners. My "want to go there" list far exceeds my time to go there.

[Wandering Daisy]

I am glad you delayed this trip report since things are pretty slow right now. You had an interesting route.

I also wilt in heat. I have a 6 oz. "sunbrella" that has been quite useful to provide shade while on the trail. Trails end can be brutally hot. Starting up the Copper Creek trail in the afternoon sounds pretty grim. There is significant elevation gain just to get to Lower Tent Meadow. When I did the SHR I started at 4:30 AM to beat the heat.

I suspect that the excessive heat caused loss of salts and electrolytes, in addition to dehydration. Lots of soups work well for me when it is really hot- easy to digest and another way to get salty fluids. My favorite is Kikoman miso soup. I also like the Emergen-C drinks - usually take two for each day - one for lunch and one immediately when I am done backpacking. Gatoraide also works but I do not like all the sugar in it. There are also drinks specifically designed for electrolyte replacement. It also helps to simply submerge in a creek or lake at rest breaks as well as wetting your shirt and hat in water at every rest stop before walking again.

[stevet]

Wandering Daisy, thanks for your insight and suggestions. Indeed, I'll be using my trekking umbrella on future hikes. Would have been a game changer down in Kings Canyon. Additionally I plan to bring electrolyte something or other to both flavor and supplement the water.

[robertseeburger]

Great trip report. I went down Little Joe Pass last summer 2018, and I too had difficulty with the descent about half way down. I did a TR last August. I was naive enough to think I would be able to go over Little Joe and Longley Pass in the same day. I pooped out at Lake Reflection. The descent is tough. I do believe I was able to keep it at class 2 by exiting the middle of the chute and clambering around the south side for a while and then re entering. But this was not easy either. Just a way to keep it from class 3.

[stevet]

Robert, thanks for the kind word. In researching my route I read your trip report and my takeaway on Little Joe's was "doable" the challenging section didn't register. And as to being "done" upon reaching Lake Reflection...I am right there with you.

[Bishop_Bob]

All the talk about the difficulty of Little Joe's is making me want to give it a try, especially since it seems relatively safe.

[stevet]

All the talk about the difficulty of Little Joe's is making me want to give it a try, especially since it seems relatively safe.

Little Joe's (west side) is just a long way down. It does require about 2000' of attention span which may be more exhausting than the physical challenge.