TR 2006 Loop from Road's End
Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2019 7:23 pm
Well, it is winter, and after reading sekihiker's 1992 trip report, I thought I would add an old trip of mine. I did this trip before I joined HST; if I have already posted this, I apologize. I wrote this trip report up for another backpack forum that I used to belong to. The photos are not very good; at this time I had one of the early digital cameras with very limited pixels.
Keweah Basin September 17-26, 2006
I left Sacramento early in hopes of obtaining a permit to hike to Avalanche Pass trail junction in the cool of the evening. Instead, I encountered the national park permit system! I arrived at 3:10 and they quite doing permits at 3:00! Tempted to go in without a permit, I instead drove back to the Cedar Grove store and purchased a very large beer and bag of pretzels, drove back to the Convict Flat campground and had a sparse dinner. I had not brought extra food and did not want to shorten my 10-day backcountry supply. So far I was not off to a good start.
Day 1: A Death March
Next morning I was up at dawn, drove back to the road’s end and cooked breakfast and coffee in the parking lot waiting for the ranger who was late and told me my bear canister was not approved. I was able to change out my canister for the newer model but could not open the lid! Finally the ranger let me check out the Bearikade free. I re-packed all my food and got a 9:00 AM start. I could not fit all my food inside, so wanted to make it to an above timber camp or to the Roaring Fork bear boxes. I was in good shape from my summer ramblings and well acclimated, but this did not reduce the pain of the backpack. My trusty shoes were shot, and not wanting to invest in new shoes, I used old climbing approach shoes! Ouch!
Head to the ground, I set off. Even though I had hiked the Avalanche Pass trial twice before I still got tricked into thinking I was on the top 800 feet before I was really on the top. A forest fire filled Cloud Canyon with smoke making for an unpleasant hike. I hobbled down the trail arriving at Roaring Fork absolutely beat at 6PM. It was a long 12 miles, 5,500 feet elevation gain in 9 hours. I hopped into my bivy and slept restlessly with aches and pains.
Day 2: To Colby Lake
I awoke and cooked breakfast while still in my sleeping bag and left at 8AM. I walked up the trail, noticing fresh bear footprints and spooked lots of deer. The trail is not very scenic until Big Wet Meadow, where a vista of Cloud Canyon opens. The aspen were just beginning to turn color.
I left Cloud Canyon at noon heading towards Colby Lake. I met two CCC trail crew kids who said I was the first person they had seen in a week. I thanked them for the work they had done on the trail. I had come down this trail about 5 years ago and it is much improved now. I struggled up the last 1,000 feet. Through the smoke I could remember how beautiful this place was.
I arrived at 3:15 PM quite sore with bruises on my hips and shoulders from the previous day. I had traveled 11 miles and 3,700 feet gain in 7.5 hours- a shorter day than yesterday. I camped on a nice little bench near the north shore about half way along the lake where I bathed, washed clothes, and read. I slept poorly as the smoke increased all night.
Day 3: Kern Keweah
I left shortly after 8AM and was on Colby Pass in two hours, still sore and depressed about the smoke that blocked what I knew was a great view of Keweah Basin. This day so far was a very melancholy day. The dry land seemed as tired and worn out as I was with dying grass, no flowers, dusty trail, smoke and no water! By noon I started my off-trail adventure. Although a dry summer brought an early fall, the upper Kern-Keweah drainage was beautiful.
The drainage was lush but turning color already. Most of the moss was still spongy and walking was easy on the grass. When I reached the head of the drainage, the view was not as I had expected and I did not want to camp here. It was still early so I headed northeast to an unnamed lake at 3,300 on the next bench up over grassy benches separated by rock slabs. Here I chose a view with wind over a poor view in the protection of scrub timber. It was 3:15 and the cold wind cleared most of the smoke that had given me a headache all day. It was too cold for a bath, so explored the immediate area, read and cooked dinner. It was cold and windy all night and again I did not sleep well.
My planned short day turned into an 8.2 hour hike over 7.3 miles with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. But at least I was slightly ahead of schedule. The wind subsided at night and it froze solid. The snowmelt froze and I was covered with frost.
Keweah Basin September 17-26, 2006
I left Sacramento early in hopes of obtaining a permit to hike to Avalanche Pass trail junction in the cool of the evening. Instead, I encountered the national park permit system! I arrived at 3:10 and they quite doing permits at 3:00! Tempted to go in without a permit, I instead drove back to the Cedar Grove store and purchased a very large beer and bag of pretzels, drove back to the Convict Flat campground and had a sparse dinner. I had not brought extra food and did not want to shorten my 10-day backcountry supply. So far I was not off to a good start.
Day 1: A Death March
Next morning I was up at dawn, drove back to the road’s end and cooked breakfast and coffee in the parking lot waiting for the ranger who was late and told me my bear canister was not approved. I was able to change out my canister for the newer model but could not open the lid! Finally the ranger let me check out the Bearikade free. I re-packed all my food and got a 9:00 AM start. I could not fit all my food inside, so wanted to make it to an above timber camp or to the Roaring Fork bear boxes. I was in good shape from my summer ramblings and well acclimated, but this did not reduce the pain of the backpack. My trusty shoes were shot, and not wanting to invest in new shoes, I used old climbing approach shoes! Ouch!
Head to the ground, I set off. Even though I had hiked the Avalanche Pass trial twice before I still got tricked into thinking I was on the top 800 feet before I was really on the top. A forest fire filled Cloud Canyon with smoke making for an unpleasant hike. I hobbled down the trail arriving at Roaring Fork absolutely beat at 6PM. It was a long 12 miles, 5,500 feet elevation gain in 9 hours. I hopped into my bivy and slept restlessly with aches and pains.
Day 2: To Colby Lake
I awoke and cooked breakfast while still in my sleeping bag and left at 8AM. I walked up the trail, noticing fresh bear footprints and spooked lots of deer. The trail is not very scenic until Big Wet Meadow, where a vista of Cloud Canyon opens. The aspen were just beginning to turn color.
I left Cloud Canyon at noon heading towards Colby Lake. I met two CCC trail crew kids who said I was the first person they had seen in a week. I thanked them for the work they had done on the trail. I had come down this trail about 5 years ago and it is much improved now. I struggled up the last 1,000 feet. Through the smoke I could remember how beautiful this place was.
I arrived at 3:15 PM quite sore with bruises on my hips and shoulders from the previous day. I had traveled 11 miles and 3,700 feet gain in 7.5 hours- a shorter day than yesterday. I camped on a nice little bench near the north shore about half way along the lake where I bathed, washed clothes, and read. I slept poorly as the smoke increased all night.
Day 3: Kern Keweah
I left shortly after 8AM and was on Colby Pass in two hours, still sore and depressed about the smoke that blocked what I knew was a great view of Keweah Basin. This day so far was a very melancholy day. The dry land seemed as tired and worn out as I was with dying grass, no flowers, dusty trail, smoke and no water! By noon I started my off-trail adventure. Although a dry summer brought an early fall, the upper Kern-Keweah drainage was beautiful.
The drainage was lush but turning color already. Most of the moss was still spongy and walking was easy on the grass. When I reached the head of the drainage, the view was not as I had expected and I did not want to camp here. It was still early so I headed northeast to an unnamed lake at 3,300 on the next bench up over grassy benches separated by rock slabs. Here I chose a view with wind over a poor view in the protection of scrub timber. It was 3:15 and the cold wind cleared most of the smoke that had given me a headache all day. It was too cold for a bath, so explored the immediate area, read and cooked dinner. It was cold and windy all night and again I did not sleep well.
My planned short day turned into an 8.2 hour hike over 7.3 miles with 2,000 feet of elevation gain. But at least I was slightly ahead of schedule. The wind subsided at night and it froze solid. The snowmelt froze and I was covered with frost.