Clarence King traverse

[thegib]

Has anyone tried crossing from NW to NE drainages of Clarence King? I read cgunderson's account of "Special K Saddle", but I'm thinking of the higher pass further south (but still north of King)? The slope shading feature of caltopo suggests less purple than "special K".

[wmds]

"Has anyone tried crossing from NW to NE drainages of Clarence King? I read cgunderson's account of "Special K Saddle", but I'm thinking of the higher pass further south (but still north of King)?"

I have been also looking at visiting the lakes in both of these areas this September. How was your trip? I was wondering if you completed the route and might have an update on the difficulties one might encounter.

Thanks

[cgundersen]

Hi Gents,
I too will be very curious whether that route is a go. It does look like it might work. And, just for the record, the last time I was in that area, the smoke was so thick from the fire further West in Kings Canyon that it made high elevation exertion all the more challenging. So, instead of using King col to get into Gardiner basin, my buddy and I took the detour further to the west and looped into Gardiner basin. It added distance, but was easier trucking. Either way, that area gets very little traffic! Hope you post a TR! Cameron

[thegib]

Went over "special K saddle". It was rougher than I expected, both up and down. We went east to west and descended to Woods creek. The east side of special k is steep sandy/gravel mush. Ugh. The west is a short but ugly class 2 that I had to take my partner's pack down. I went up the northeast side of the higher crossing point for fun and it's unfortunately quite steep. Sloped ledge system with lots of gravel debris, it'd be scary but doable with a pack for me. The western side looks very gentle but I couldn't see down to the moraine level below.

While we were camped in the basin the Rae lakes backcountry ranger showed up! I was just explaining how King Col was one I had no plans to ever cross when this dude comes down it. (Typical ridiculous understated ranger when pressed says "there were a couple times I wished I was somewhere else.")
The second low point north of King col looks like it'll go pretty well. The ranger said the west side was easy and the east side had an easy but exposed ledge traverse. I plan on trying this route next year or so as the view of Clarence King from the second highest lake in the basin is spectacular.

[cgundersen]

Hi thegib,
Wow; nice work. The different perspectives one gets of Clarence King, I agree, make that loop very rewarding. But, there are some "aha" moments along the way, as in, maybe this was not such a great idea. It definitely requires patience. And, that smoke I mentioned earlier only started blowing in our direction as we were doing the special K saddle and that really blunted the scenery the last couple days of the trip. But, the basin below King col is one of those choice, out-of-the-way spots that I'd love to get back to again without smoke. Hope you get a chance to post photos! Cameron