Okay, I need my camera again. Tiny bit of snow on bishop pass was completely avoidable. That felt great! From there, the trail traverses Humphreys Basin and reaches the splendid section of the Pacific Crest Trail known as Evolution Valley. The best hike of my life. Piute Pass Trail - North Lake Beginning in lodgepole pine and quaking aspen, the trail follows the creek at the foot of Piute Crags and Mount Emerson. The Evolution Loop is a magnificent route through some of the most inspiring terrain in the High Sierra. Every effort is made to provide accurate and up to date information, but we cannot be responsible That was about 8 miles, we had wanted to camp at the meadow but was beat so made camp a couple miles sooner. Camp at Wanda Lake along the trail to Muir Pass; no campsites after first quarter mile (night 3). Did this hike in end of June 2020 but it was one of my favorites to date so want to leave a review. This high col skips the portion in Humphrey's Basin, Piute Meadows and Evolution Valley resulting in total distance of about 35 miles. Theodore S. Solomons and E.C. Your email address will not be published. Ouch! Youll find other good campsites on this knoll. mostly exposed to the sun so take a good cover. Usually we did it in 7 days. Maybe I was oxygen-starved, but my companions said they were similarly affected. amazing. Warm days in the upper 70s and the nights werent too cool either, even up at sapphire lake. Now that the best parts of the trek were over (quite possibly), I was beginning to yearn for home. The North Lake-South Lake loop is the famous "Rainbow Trail" and includes spectacular scenery visiting such areas as Dusy basin, Le Conte Canyon, Muir Pass, Evolution valley, and Humphrey's Basin. It was only 1:30pm, and I had a decision to make: Was I going to camp near here (where the large, aggressive bear might be prowling) or was I going to continue hiking on the Piute Pass Trail, uphill for miles in this roasting heat? I ate my usual cup of hot oatmeal and packed up my gear. It often has waterfalls cascading from its outlet because of the abrupt drop off. Climbing glacier carved granite benches, the trail passes Loch Leven, Piute Lake and many smaller lakes and ponds on the way to the pass. But the Ionian Basin is a very special place for backcountry skiers, with all kinds of great slopes and skiable peaks. The best time ever, I mean. Leave the JMT, and follow the drainage up to Darwin Canyon. Day 2 Evolution Valley 17.18 2977 AEG Emptied our packs and hiked down to the Muir Trail Ranch to pick our resupply. We fell about 2 miles short of the destination endpoint with loss of daylightlesson learned, if this is a short weekend excursion, you need to get there early and push through hard. It was also one of the last areas explored by early park pioneers. My sincere thanks to the fire fairies who set this up for us. Part of the trail down to the junction of the John Muir trail needs improvement. Next time will have to aim to go under 30 pounds. Beautiful scenery, abundant water, breathtaking vistas. The ferry usually runs from early June to late September, every day at 2-hour intervals beginning at 8:30 AM at the store end of the lake and making its last run from the far end at 5 PM. I found a spot right next to the creek in the shade of a small grove of trees. Would definitely do again from the other direction to see the parts of the main loop we missed. What a sight! We slept near the shores of Evolution Lake. 10/10 would recommend! Ive seen worse, bug-wise. They came across a congregation of stunning peaks lining the South Fork of the San Joaquin River, and they altered course to the glaciated valley beneath them, finding clear lakes, dwarf meadows, and jagged sky-stabbing peaks. Rattlesnakes are always possible; but with the popularity of the trail, rattlesnakes are rarely seen. The next day we made it up to evolution valley. 11/10/2022 - Expect winter conditions. We would love to be back again sometime. Campsite 3: Colby Meadow. My [growing] Collection of Top Utah Hiking Trails, Five ways to make enemies at a public campground, Seeking Powder Hounds: Heli-Skiing the Northwest. Some hikers like to stop for a soak at the public hot springs across the river, just beyond the Muir Trail Ranch. Lunch at Evolution Lake. Perfect! So peaceful and tranquil. slightly uphill or slightly downhill, varying. It was challenging knowing exactly where to cross, we tried to find a place that looked shallow enough, however the water came up above my hips (Im 52) which was pretty scary because the current moved me quite a bit and the water was freezing! Then I continued north. The route my two amigas and I traveled lies in the trio of Kings Canyon National Park, Inyo National Forest and Sierra National Forest. Maybe if I waited a bit the sun would be at a lower angle as I headed north, so that the trees would have longer shadows for me to rest in. The lowest lakes in Dusy and Evolution basin are mostly thawed. The trail condition is great, although it get pretty rocky around Muir Pass. Good campsites can be found there also. Bishop and Muir Pass are still very snowy. Always confirm information with the service provider and check for any recent changes that Darwin via the class 3 West Ridge. Another 1.5 miles up the canyon is the turnoff to Evolution Valley. Beautiful alpine lakes, waterfalls, and my God the meadows. Then I got some water and filtered it. There were several wet crossings during the first three or four miles. Did in 4.5 days south to north. Maybe not bathing for three days has its advantages. Reach a footbridge over Jeffrey pine-lined Piute Creek, and camp on designated pads nearby. Setup camp and to our delight very few mosquitoes at 8500 feet. I wasnt thrilled, but I figured that there would be a side creek somewhere along the way, as the map showed some possibilities. The latest gear, trips, stories, and more, beamed to your inbox every week. I have done it over 4 days - 3 nights and my backpack was around 42 pounds. I was breathing so hard I started to suspect my companions might have embraced some trail humor and stashed their heavy items in my pack when I wasnt looking. Day 1: The first day held an unexpected bonus in that, inadvertently, it turned out to be Get-used-to-less-oxygen Day. A boat-taxi across the lake is available from the trailhead in the summer. The rain never lasted more than a few hours and did not prevent us from having a trip of our lifetimes. Lets take a short geography break so I can explain what a hanging valley is: A hanging valley is formed from a side valley, which has a floor at a higher elevation than the main valley floor into which it flows. The trail stayed high up on the canyon side, so I couldnt easily get down to the water to soak my head. Then it is violently opposed. You could do a quick trip, via Echo Col in both directions, in about 4 days. Glaciers clung to the northern slopes of the mountains, feeding small waterfalls. Completed hike Aug 14. This site had been used for years, and there were several flat spots. All in all, it had been another great day in the High Sierra. I have done this trail three times in all. I checked my GPS and discovered that I had hiked almost 15 miles today! We hiked up to Piute Creek the first day it was 13.1 miles since the ferry was not running on our hike up. I had descended 2500 feet and climbed another 1000 feet to get up here. We offer this guided journey in three itineraries: 3-day Ultralight 4-day Backpacking (July 23-26, 2022) 5-day Backpacking (July 16-20, 2022) I found a shady spot above the creek and took off my pack. For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page, For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page, Dawn alpenglow over Evolution Lake as I packed up all my gear for another big day of hiking, Dawn color in the clouds above Evolution Valley to the north, Waterfall on the creek that descends from Darwin Bench, after the JMT descends into Evolution Valley, Crossing the creek below the waterfall it was very wide with many small crossings, The Hermit (12328 feet elevation), standing alone and shining bright, at the upper end of Evolution Valley, View up Evolution Valley, over McClure and Colby Meadows with Evolution Creek on the right, and The Hermit, center, The McClure Meadow Ranger Station and the notices outside near the trail, View over McClure Meadow in the morning light, Still water on an curving stretch of Evolution Creek, down in the flat section of Evolution Valley, This is the lower ford of Evolution Creek, where the PCT-JMT crosses this could be dangerous in Spring, The first of several powerful waterfalls and cascades on Evolution Creek down at the lower end of Evolution Valley, One waterfall after another on this section of the creek, Wide-angle GoPro shot looking down into the worn granite where Evolution Creek tumbled downward, One last view of Evolution Creek as it churned down a granite chute on its way out of Evolution Valley, Mount Henry (12196 feet) peeking out between two glaciated granite domes above the South Fork San Joaquin River, The wooden bridge where the JMT-PCT first crosses the South Fork San Joaquin River, Aspen and pine forest at a much lower elevation it was HOT, The metal bridge where the PCT-JMT crosses the South Fork San Joaquin River, View from the metal bridge looking north (downstream), The South Fork San Joaquin River as I hiked north on the John Muir Trail in the sun, The river goes through a steep gorge down below a talus slide. As we got going again I was giving myself a pretty serious mental pep talk about taking it easy and giving myself the time needed to work my way up the 700 feet of rocky switchbacks. Fill up on gas at Prather or Shaver Lake. kelly e. No matter how heavy my pack is I always leave room for some whiskey. Our camps were very high, all above 11,300', and we took two and a half days layover, hiking and exploring . We saw a snow avalanche once at a distance. Spend up to 3 days there, then out via Evolution Valley, Darwin Basin & Lamarck Col. Julia, Megan and I were to spend 9 days accomplishing this; Trekker9, Slabwalker and JP however had work commitments and would squeeze it into 7 days - leaving us after 5-6 days and taking 2 days to exit over Lamarck. Leisurely pace over 6 days / 7 nights, This was an amazing hike! No storms. This was an epic backpacking trip and I would do it all over again to see evolution basin, and everything in between. Many hikers enjoy the week-long loop from North Lake, around through Evolution Valley, over Muir Pass, and eventually heading out over Bishop Pass to South Lake. I never made it that deep into the backcountry that summer. Mosquitos were pretty bad in the meadows, and none up at Evolution Lake, so I recommend bug spray! Ascending out of 5,400-foot Taboose Pass Trail Head in the Owens River Valley, the Goliath climbs steeply and starkly into a saw blade of 13,000- to 14,000-foot Central Sierra mountains. This famous combo-trail will be our path for the next 26.5 miles. First, it was a suggestion, and then it was an item on my Someday List. It is a hard one but worth it. Oh, yes, this was heavenly! Sawyer Water Filters are popular because of their light weight and ease of use, but the bags they provide are susceptible to developing leaks. Ascending Muir Pass from south to north was incredible. My understanding is that dogs are not allowed in the Kings Canyon National Park. The first day of hiking is over moderate terrain with meadows and the occasional company of the South Fork of the San Joaquin River. The canister is a whole lotta bulky but is worth its weight should a bruin decide hed like some chocolate with his berries. Notice that when I downsized my load I didnt ditch the tequila. Permits issued from the White . Day four Rest and explore. It was breathtaking up there. Good thing bruins dont like whiskey. We did it over 4d/3n (south lake to le conte, le conte to sapphire lake, sapphire lake to the junction with Piute pass trail, and then out to north lake on the last day). Highly recommend pushing up to lower Dusy Basin (though there are several campsites about 1200 vertical feet up from Le Conte, just prior to a bridge crossing) (night 4). Evolution Valley was about four miles long, and descended from 10,000 to 9,000 feet elevation, which was quite a mellow grade, and definitely below the treeline. Elevation gain: 2200 feet Reach a footbridge over Jeffrey pine-lined Piute Creek, and camp on designated pads nearby. . The ferry is worth it if its running. Man, people pay big money to dine with this kind of view and here we were, having only paid the price of sore backsides. Or bag flattopped Mt. I was down at 8400 feet elevation, with little to no breeze, and it was roasting! They are past the Muir Trail Ranch. Soon the trail crossed Evolution Creek, which was quite large at this point. I have to say, however, that descending into Le Conte Canyon from Dusy Basin, and not the other way around, seemed like the more fortunate direction for my legs and backside. 5.1 trip report. Before last pass go to side trail golden trout lake to spend a night. The trail skirts the northern shore of Loch Leven. Great hike to explore the backcountry and multiple parks. The tour described below is one example of a 7-day Ionian Basin tour. I jumped up and pumped them for information. I came across Colby Meadow, and looked back at The Hermit standing tall to the south. Beautiful trip! Florence Lake Store and Ferry. The next morning, we continued on the Piute Trail and crossed the bridge onto the John Muir Trail (JMT) where we were paralleling a fast-moving San Joaquin River located within the Kings Canyon National Park. Absolutely beautiful the whole time! Completed this loop South - North May 26-29. I told them to skip Oregon, because it sounded mostly like boring forest with no views, and a hiker named Strawberry told me that there was a thing called Oregon in Two Weeks which skips the lame parts. Then continue up the valley to McClure Meadow. The next morning we discovered more good sites at the west end of the lake. Privacy Policy, Learn about the Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge. Parking: A large parking lot for overnight trips is situated close to the lake. Light rain everyday around 3/4pm. however, if you are an average backpacker like me, expect some brutal acents and decents. The fourth day we packed back to the Florence lake JMT trail junction. The trail descended steeply into the forest as it left Evolution Basin. The next morning, we hiked past beautiful Wanda Lake and up to Muir Pass where we briefly went into the Muir Hut (built in 1930). It was cloudy for much of the way, but it only rained briefly. best of luck and make sure you are prepared. You have to cross a river to get to them. Truthfully, I wasnt all that worried about a bear. Anon. Up until Sep 11th there was a shuttle service that we could have used to get from South Lake to the North Lake trailhead -- running a couple of times a day and costing $20. 3 trip report day 5-8: Lyell Canyon/Tuolumne Meadows to Red's Meadow Resort. The metal bridge over Piute Creek marks the border between Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. 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