Aug 23 - 28, 2024 (6 days, 46 miles)
This was the second trip in a “Two for One” permit from Onion Valley. On Day8 of the Upper Kern Loop I camped at Flower Lake with an afternoon run down to the trailhead to resupply and wash on Aug 22. The permit and plan was to do a 34-mile loop over Glenn Pass, into Gardiner Basin, and out Gardiner Pass to Charlotte Lake. A trip into Gardiner Basin in 2011 was cut short by a miserable severe storm which prevented no more than two nights in the eastern part of the basin. The purpose of the 2024 trip was to really spend some time fishing, exploring and enjoying better weather. As documented below, the plan went out the window when again, foul weather hit while I was at Rae Lakes.
Day1 8/23: Flower Lake to Rae Lakes
(8.0 miles, 6.8 hours, 2820 feet elevation gain, 2770 feet loss)
I left Flower Lake early, ahead of the crowds and had a peaceful walk back up to Kearsarge Pass. I descended to the High Trail and began to run into people. Once on the JMT to Glenn Pass there were a few more people, but not too crowded which was thankful. The upper lakes below the pass (south side) are hard to reach but have a few bivy sites where you have to walk through talus to get water. Making good time I had no need to camp yet. I kept looking up towards the pass and wondered where it would get up the last cliffs. The last switchbacks were difficult for me with huge steps up and the slope so steep that a fall would be serious. The wind was strong and cold as ice! I had three layers and my rain jacket with hood tightened. I thought it was far harder than Forrester Pass, probably due to the combination of wind and the trail being poorly maintained. I was glad I did not have to share the trail with anyone else!
Once on top, walking the knife-edge ridge in the wind was another adventure I could do without. I was mighty glad to reach the flat with all the melt lakes where I took a rest stop and ate lunch. I had done this pass before but did not remember it being so freaky. I gathered water from a gushing “spring” which probably was melt from the lakes buried in the talus. It was about 1PM and now there were lots of backpackers coming up the trail, some who did not look prepared for what they were to encounter.
I was not the only person confused at the 60 Lakes trail junction. I had time to continue but wanted the option to fish. The search for campsites on the west shore failed. The few that were marginal were already taken. I went back to the trail junction and headed to the plethora of campsites on the land mass between the upper and lower lake. I would set my pack down and claim stake at a site, then walk around, finding a better one. I wasted way too much time at this activity and by the time I set up the only thing I wanted to do is take a bath.
Later a group of young fellows came by and I pointed out a very nice campsite just below mine. After dinner I went over and chatted; they were on the Rae Lakes Loop and were sitting on camp chairs eating dinner. It always amazes me that backpackers with ultra-light gear will also bring tons of electronics and those new light weight camp chairs. One fellow noticed the NOLS logo on my jacket and said he had also taken a course. The wind picked up and I retreated to my tent. Although there were many campers nearby, everyone was polite and quiet.
I regret not taking photos this day. The scenery was totally photo-worthy and the weather fine until evening. Not being sure how long the camera battery would last I “saved” photos for Gardiner Basin. I did not even take a photo until Castle Domes the next day.
Day2. 8/24: Rae Lakes to upper end of Paradise Valley
(11.0 miles, 5.8 hours, 260 feet elevation gain/ 3765 feet loss)
I awoke to cloudy skies and a howling wind. I decided to get up and cook breakfast before things got bad. After breakfast I went back into the tent to contemplate what to do. The In-Reach forecast was not good. Light sort-of-snow hit the tent and immediately blew off. It was bloody cold! I was gun-shy from my previous trip to Gardiner Basin and absolutely did not wanting to go back over Glenn Pass in the wind gusts of 40 mph and wind-chill of 30! If I sat out the storm here at Rae Lakes I would have little time to enjoy Gardiner Lakes and get over Gardiner Pass.
By 10AM I had made up my mind and packed up. Given a weather forecast, I headed for lower elevations via the Rae Lakes Loop. Had I known that the forecast was a bit overblown (no pun intended) I would have been wiser to wait out the day at Rae Lakes and continue on the original plan. Without the maps I guessed at the distance for the Rae Lakes Loop, knowing that it had been done in 3-4 days from Roads End. The trail is obvious so you really cannot get lost and I would be back on my maps at Charlotte Creek confluence with Bubbs Creek. Then I could also add a side-trip to East and Reflection Lakes for the section of the last trip that I missed.
The section down to the outlet of Arrowhead Lake was new to me. The rest I had done in bits and pieces in the past. I reached the Dragon Lake trail junction at 11AM. There were few on the trail but the fellows I chatted with caught up with me as we leap-frogged with each other for some time. Although they hiked faster than me, they stopped a lot identifying flowers. About half way to the Woods Creek Bridge quite a few people were coming up the trail. I stopped for a late lunch at the bridge, waiting while many folks went across one at a time. Come my turn, I was amazed by the bridge as it bounced with each step.
I thought I would camp at the lower end of Castle Domes Meadow but was early enough to continue. I wanted to get as far as possible so I could reach the Sphinx Creek trail junction the next day. I had forgotten how far it was down to the established campsite at the head of Paradise Valley! There were a few campsites along the way that I checked out but they were too close to the trail. I reached the river at 5PM, waded across and found a site. I could not get stakes into the rocky ground on my first site so moved a bit. There seemed to be people camping all around. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be reasonably quiet and polite. Once set up I went back to the old bridge abutment, hid behind bushes to take a bath, in the process slipped on a rock and hit my tailbone- ouch! Sleeping was now more complicated; with an injured left shoulder, right hip sciatica, and now bruised tailbone there was no comfortable position.
- Castle Domes
- Castle Domes
- Castle Domes
- Castle Domes
Day3. 8/25: Paradise Valley to Bubbs Creek at Charlotte Creek Camp
(11.1 miles, about 7.8 hours, 2275 feet gain/ 1905 feet loss)
Logistically I needed to get through the lower part without being noticed. Being only two miles from the ranger station at Roads End I was worried about getting busted since my permit was not valid. Unfortunately I was in such a hurry I did not even take any photos.
I left at 7:30AM, finding a route out of the rat’s maze of use-trails at the large campsite. I was totally wrong in my memory of Paradise Valley. It is mostly timber, not a meadow and it, like Castle Domes, seemed to go on forever. Faster hikers on their way out to a real meal and beer passed me. As the trail dropped down, it got crowded with clean smelling day-hikers. The trail is quite amazing as is the South Fork of Kings River with falls after falls and steep cliffs above and below the trail. When I hit the jungle like lower part with all the reeds, I remember that this was close to the trail junction and bridge, which I reached at 11AM. It was pleasantly warm but not hot. There were bridges when needed to cross the braided Sphinx Creek. The switchbacks were shaded and cool. I stopped at the Sphinx Creek camp area near the bear box for lunch, found a nice tent stake on the ground, and grabbed it to make up for the one I stupidly left in the ground at Rae Lakes.
The trail signs with mileage really were helpful. I decided I could make it to Charlotte Creek. There were a few campsites along the trail, one where an older couple was resting. They were not sure if they would stay or continue. Bubbs Creek was often visible from the trail as it transitioned between rapids, falls and pools. It is a beautiful creek. The trail crossed the braided Charlotte Creek high above Bubbs Creek. Downhill from the crossing I found a site at 3:30PM in the established area with a bear box. I gathered water from Charlotte Creek and warmed it in the sun and set up the tent. A brushy use-trail dropped to Bubbs Creek where I bathed and watched fish in a pool. Later a young couple joined me and set up.
I had heard climbers’ calls up in the area of Charlotte Dome. Two friendly climbers loaded with gear came jingling down to camp. They had a tent hidden in the trees and were base-camping and doing some high-end rock climbing on Charlotte Dome. They told me they came down one of the two climber trails from Charlotte Dome. The young couple was cooking up a wonderful smelling meal as they chatted with the climbers. As much as I prefer solitude, over the years I have found that if you are on crowded trails and camped near others you may as well engage in the social experience. On the whole, you will meet very interesting people.
Day4. 8/26: Charlotte Creek Camp to Charlotte Lake
(8.0 miles, 7.8 hours, 3550 feet gain, 455 feet loss)
Given I had an extra day I decided to go up to East Lake, picking up the planned section of the first trip that I did not do. Once to the East Lake Trail at the far end of Junction Meadow, there was a sign warning that there were more than 20 downed logs on the trail. Now I had my maps and after seeing the elevation gain and miles needed for this side trip in addition to the downed logs, I decided to go up to Charlotte Lake and perhaps spend two nights there. (Charlotte Lake was a disappointment and I now wish I spent the extra day at East Lake)
As I continued up the trail I again realized my hazy false memories. I failed to fill my water bottle thinking I would have plenty of chances to get water from Bubbs Creek. Wrong! I finally came near the creek where I could get water and stopped for a long lunch. So far I had not met anyone. Lower Vidette Meadow, west of the trail junction was a quite beautiful open grassy meadow, fringed with trees and with nice campsites. Nobody was there. Once to the junction and on the crowded JMT there were plenty of people. I noticed that, if needed, at about 10000 feet elevation where the trail crosses a creek, there is a nice campsite above which no fires are allowed. From the Bullfrog Lake junction I had again forgotten (damned those metric maps when my mind was thinking 40-foot contours) the hill one has to climb before dropping to the Charlotte Lake/JMT trail junction where there was a large group of backpackers assembled.
I turned onto the trail and dropped to Charlotte Lake, arriving at 2:30PM. I walked to the southwest shore, dropped my pack and looked for campsites. Someone was already set up on one site on the bench above the lake. Not wanting to spoil his solitude, I went over to the crowded northeast shore where there is a trail and the ranger station. After I had set up on the site I met a gal who said they had moved from it because there was a nearby bear. More people came and set up nearby. I took a discrete bath at the lake, done just as another group walked by. At about 4PM I fished. The northeast shore has lots of trees and with the stiff wind, fly fishing was not successful. I hardly got a fly out into the water. Horse packers came by twice, resupplying someone, perhaps the ranger station. I do not think the ranger was in. A few groups came in late and illegally camped 10 feet from the shoreline. I must say, Charlotte Lake is more impressive to look down on that to camp at. If I were to go here again I would camp before I got to the lake, in a nice meadow with a stream about 100 feet higher than the lake. I did not notice this area when I came in, only when I left the next day.
- south side Bubbs Creek near Charoltte Creek
- north side Bubbs Creek below Charlotte Dome
- View up to East Lake from above Junction Meadow
- Pinnacles north of trail below L Vidette Meadow
- View back to Junction Meadow
- Charlotte Lake (taken next morning)
