Little Kern crossing at Forks of the Kern

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sbslider
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Little Kern crossing at Forks of the Kern

Post by sbslider »

I am going up into this area in a couple of days. Plan A was to leave out of the Jerkey trail head an do a loop via Trout Meadows, Doe Meadow , Kern Flat and then down the Kern canyon to Forks of the Kern. I'm wondering if by June 24 crossing at Forks of the Kern would be reasonably safe for two active adults. I do realize this is a very above normal year for water, but hey, it never hurts to ask!

Another thought was if there is no experienced feedback here to consider starting at Forks of the Kern trailhead, and hike down to the river and camp there if we could not cross. We would then hike out the next day and resume our original trip one day shorter. How is the west side of the LK set for camping at Forks of the Kern?
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sbslider
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Re: Little Kern crossing at Forks of the Kern

Post by sbslider »

I did some more reading and found that there are camp spots on the western side of the LK at Forks of the Kern. So I guess now I'm just wondering what the likelihood of crossing the LK in the next week or so would be. Also, I imagine crossing in the morning may be easier due to several hours of cooler temps, hence less snow melt. Does that make sense?
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Busman
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Re: Little Kern crossing at Forks of the Kern

Post by Busman »

I was up at the Little Kern bridge out of Jerky Meadows last week. The water was high and fast. I wouldn’t of tried to cross there and it will be much worst at the forks. There are plenty of camp sites on the west side of the river below the Forks for a mile or so. Pack out some trash and check for ticks regularly. Fishing regulations change down river as you leave the Golden Trout Wilderness.
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sbslider
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Re: Little Kern crossing at Forks of the Kern

Post by sbslider »

Thanks for the recon Busman. I'll just go with the original plan out of Jerkey and do an out and back. Thanks for the reminder on ticks as well.
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maverick
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Re: Little Kern crossing at Forks of the Kern

Post by maverick »

Welcome aboard Sbslider and Bushman!
Bushman, if you don't mind, could you please give us a right up for the area you covered
in the "2011 Backcountry Conditions Updates" thread, it would be helpful to those
considering visiting that area in the next few week. Thank You
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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