R08 TR: Silver King Creek 6/29-7/1 2023
Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 3:19 pm
Heyo, long time lurker, first time poster. I took a trip this weekend I thought others looking to avoid the snow might be interested in. I live on the eastside but with the crazy year all the local trail are still snowed in. I'm just not a big fan of postholing, so most of my usual spots were out. Casting around, I remembered an idea I had years ago about an early season trip up the east fork of the carson river. After reading some trip reports (see viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14586&p=108679&hili ... ne#p108679) I decided to go in via Ramirez Flat and the Little Antelope Pack Station.
https://caltopo.com/m/210BD
The basic plan was to take a looping path in day one, camp near the Silver King Creek crossing, dayhike down to the East Fork of the Carson day two, then hike out day three. I had been warned by a ranger the week before that the road was washed out, so I budgeted some extra miles of road walking. Luckily when I got up there it looked like someone had done some work with a backhoe and I was able to get all the way to the trailhead after all. There were a couple of creek crossings that I wouldn't want to do in a prius, but my subaru didn't have any trouble. I was somewhat surprised to meet a guy hanging out at the trailhead. He would turn out to be the only person I saw until I got back.
Another thing I didn't realize until late in my planning was that the Slink fire had burned part of this area in 2020. I mainly stayed south of it but the first mile from the trailhead was blackened. It was filled with a bright green carpet that I at first took for moss but on closer inspection saw was some small leafy plant. Made for an interesting contrast.
Nearing the pass, there were a couple of snowfields but nothing too bad.
Since I didn't have to do the road walk, I took the longer path in to my intended camp, going up past Corral and Coyote creeks, over a couple of small passes, before following the Silver King back down through Upper and Lower Fish Meadows.
Crossing Corral Creek (the picture is just a small tributary) was easy, only requiring a quick doffing of my shoes but it was a harbinger of what was to come. Going over the Corral/Coyote pass there were some more burned trees on the north side but a trail crew had been through at some point and cut most of the deadfall. Descending the south side of the pass I ran into some huge junipers, pack for scale.
I eventually made it to Upper Fish Meadow. Apparently this area is home to one of the rarest fish species in the world: the piute cutthroat trout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paiute_cutthroat_trout, which were separated from their downstream cousins by a series of waterfalls allowing them to evolve alone.
I had hoped to spend more time here but it was starting to get late so I turned downstream, passing Llewellyn Falls, one of said barriers. The falls itself is somewhat off the trail and you can't see it so you just have to follow your nose, or rather your ears. At least in the current high water conditions, it was easy to locate by the racket it was making. Sadly the sun was too low at this point to get a good picture of it deep in its gorge.
As I got closer to the main creek crossing/trail junction I was nervously keeping an eye on the creek for a decent spot to cross. All of these trails appear to have been built with horses in mind and there are no bridges, just fords. The smaller creeks I could manage in various states of undress, removing just my shoes for some, pants and even my shirt for the deep ones. But Silver King was clearly too deep and fast for even that. I could potentially swim it but there would be no way to keep my pack dry. I thought about camping on the east shore of the creek but didn't see any good options. Eventually I found a decent log a few hundred yards downstream from the ford (pictured on my way out).
It required some finagling to get onto and there was a messy bit in the middle getting around a tree. Then on the far side it didn't quite reach so I had to make a jump for the shore. I came up short and dunked one leg in the water but managed to stay upright and not soak my pack. The trail makes a roundabout detour here, going over some rocks, so I just picked my way up to the top of a small butte just to the south to set up camp. It was a great spot with the small downside of being a ways above the creek so I had to carry water. There was another small creek closer but as the area is literally called "Poison Flat" I didn't want to trust it. If nothing else, I would hate to have to explain why I drank that water to a doctor in the ER. View of my camp the next day.
In the morning I headed west across Poison Flat to the geological oddity called the Soda Cone. It's some kind of volcanic vent and the water was constantly bubbling but was not hot.
I then dropped down into the East Fork of the Carson River. All of the trails I was on were fairly faint, often fading out in meadows but you could always find them on the far side. Here the trail was overgrown with wildflowers. Often the best markers were several well built but now defunct waterbars that attested to the fact this trail was once properly maintained. Some "heinous" bushwhacking:
Once I reached the river I had originally planned to turn right, head down to the confluence with the Silver King, then follow that back up. But seeing the devastation of the fire in that direction, I decided it was better to turn left and go up to Carson Falls. First though I had to cross the river. It was running high and fast and I was somewhat doubtful I would find any good way across. About a quarter mile upstream from the ford, the river appeared to branch out, giving me slightly better odds. I forded the first branch, hopped over a few small ones, then found a lucky log across the main fork. It was several feet above the water and slightly wobbly but I knew I wasn't going to find anything better so I went for it.
Once on the side I rejoined the trail and followed it upstream. Near the Murray Canyon trail junction I surprised a small black bear but, like every bear I've met in the Sierra other than Yosemite, he turned tail and ran before I could even get a picture. Carson Falls is again not visible from the trail itself, but it is obvious where to detour if you're paying attention. I climbed out to a small outcropping below it that had a lovely mist blowing that felt great on such a hot day.
(split into two parts for length)
The basic plan was to take a looping path in day one, camp near the Silver King Creek crossing, dayhike down to the East Fork of the Carson day two, then hike out day three. I had been warned by a ranger the week before that the road was washed out, so I budgeted some extra miles of road walking. Luckily when I got up there it looked like someone had done some work with a backhoe and I was able to get all the way to the trailhead after all. There were a couple of creek crossings that I wouldn't want to do in a prius, but my subaru didn't have any trouble. I was somewhat surprised to meet a guy hanging out at the trailhead. He would turn out to be the only person I saw until I got back.
Another thing I didn't realize until late in my planning was that the Slink fire had burned part of this area in 2020. I mainly stayed south of it but the first mile from the trailhead was blackened. It was filled with a bright green carpet that I at first took for moss but on closer inspection saw was some small leafy plant. Made for an interesting contrast.
Nearing the pass, there were a couple of snowfields but nothing too bad.
Since I didn't have to do the road walk, I took the longer path in to my intended camp, going up past Corral and Coyote creeks, over a couple of small passes, before following the Silver King back down through Upper and Lower Fish Meadows.
Crossing Corral Creek (the picture is just a small tributary) was easy, only requiring a quick doffing of my shoes but it was a harbinger of what was to come. Going over the Corral/Coyote pass there were some more burned trees on the north side but a trail crew had been through at some point and cut most of the deadfall. Descending the south side of the pass I ran into some huge junipers, pack for scale.
I eventually made it to Upper Fish Meadow. Apparently this area is home to one of the rarest fish species in the world: the piute cutthroat trout https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paiute_cutthroat_trout, which were separated from their downstream cousins by a series of waterfalls allowing them to evolve alone.
I had hoped to spend more time here but it was starting to get late so I turned downstream, passing Llewellyn Falls, one of said barriers. The falls itself is somewhat off the trail and you can't see it so you just have to follow your nose, or rather your ears. At least in the current high water conditions, it was easy to locate by the racket it was making. Sadly the sun was too low at this point to get a good picture of it deep in its gorge.
As I got closer to the main creek crossing/trail junction I was nervously keeping an eye on the creek for a decent spot to cross. All of these trails appear to have been built with horses in mind and there are no bridges, just fords. The smaller creeks I could manage in various states of undress, removing just my shoes for some, pants and even my shirt for the deep ones. But Silver King was clearly too deep and fast for even that. I could potentially swim it but there would be no way to keep my pack dry. I thought about camping on the east shore of the creek but didn't see any good options. Eventually I found a decent log a few hundred yards downstream from the ford (pictured on my way out).
It required some finagling to get onto and there was a messy bit in the middle getting around a tree. Then on the far side it didn't quite reach so I had to make a jump for the shore. I came up short and dunked one leg in the water but managed to stay upright and not soak my pack. The trail makes a roundabout detour here, going over some rocks, so I just picked my way up to the top of a small butte just to the south to set up camp. It was a great spot with the small downside of being a ways above the creek so I had to carry water. There was another small creek closer but as the area is literally called "Poison Flat" I didn't want to trust it. If nothing else, I would hate to have to explain why I drank that water to a doctor in the ER. View of my camp the next day.
In the morning I headed west across Poison Flat to the geological oddity called the Soda Cone. It's some kind of volcanic vent and the water was constantly bubbling but was not hot.
I then dropped down into the East Fork of the Carson River. All of the trails I was on were fairly faint, often fading out in meadows but you could always find them on the far side. Here the trail was overgrown with wildflowers. Often the best markers were several well built but now defunct waterbars that attested to the fact this trail was once properly maintained. Some "heinous" bushwhacking:
Once I reached the river I had originally planned to turn right, head down to the confluence with the Silver King, then follow that back up. But seeing the devastation of the fire in that direction, I decided it was better to turn left and go up to Carson Falls. First though I had to cross the river. It was running high and fast and I was somewhat doubtful I would find any good way across. About a quarter mile upstream from the ford, the river appeared to branch out, giving me slightly better odds. I forded the first branch, hopped over a few small ones, then found a lucky log across the main fork. It was several feet above the water and slightly wobbly but I knew I wasn't going to find anything better so I went for it.
Once on the side I rejoined the trail and followed it upstream. Near the Murray Canyon trail junction I surprised a small black bear but, like every bear I've met in the Sierra other than Yosemite, he turned tail and ran before I could even get a picture. Carson Falls is again not visible from the trail itself, but it is obvious where to detour if you're paying attention. I climbed out to a small outcropping below it that had a lovely mist blowing that felt great on such a hot day.
(split into two parts for length)