High Sierra Topix

On what is becoming a tradition to visit King's Canyon in October, this year we decided to do an abbreviated North Lake/South Lake Loop over Lamarck Col. Weather was perfect, and the trails were predictably empty. We saw three people all day.

We hit the trail at 5am and had a pleasant hike up past the lakes in darkness. As we climbed toward the Col the sun began to bathe the surrounding peaks.


When we finally arrived, the snowfield was starting to see sun, but still plenty hard for easy travel. There was a well-defined path through the snow that was easy to follow.


Views on the other side were predictably spectacular at the early hour.


This was my first time in Darwin Canyon, and it certainly lived up to my expectations.


After stopping to shed layers and have an early lunch, we entered Evolution Valley and began the ascent to Muir Pass. We had the place to ourselves, and savored every moment of the climb.


With two climbs under our belts, we began the long descent to Le Conte as the afternoon shadows grew longer. I had hoped to visit Dusy Basin in the daylight, but we weren't quite going to make that. But perhaps even better, we got to experience it under bright moonlight, a real treat.


38 miles in all, taking our time to take it all in, we started at 5am and finished just after Midnight. GPX track and stats here:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1919006350

38 miles is hardly a "short loop"!! And in one day- that is an accomplishment. I estimate you must have been walking in 8-10 hours of darkness. So what kind of headlamps did you use that made this possible, and safe? I see the snow in your photos and ice on puddles, but was there any ice on the trails? I keep thinking of the poor deer who slid off Bishop Pass last Fall. It looked like you had really clear skies. I did a trip in Desolation same time and skies there were also very deep blue. I have always wondered why the late season skies are so blue (that is, if there are no smoky fires nearby). The moon was quite bright when I was out, so did that really help with night walking? The Harvest Moon is in a day or so, what a great time that will be for a trip like yours.

I call this one the “Short Loop” only because it’s shorter than the traditional loop over Piute Pass. It’s certainly not short

Was dark from 5am to roughly 6:30am or so, and then again from perhaps 7pm until we finished around 12:30am, so roughly 7 hours. The moon was so bright though! I didn’t even use a headlamp on the climb to Bishop Pass, only on the descent to South Lake. I use a Petzl NAO + which is typically good for 8-10 hours on a charge in reactive mode.

Not really any ice on the trails, conditions were perfect, and the skies were clear.

I have always wondered why the late season skies are so blue (that is, if there are no smoky fires nearby)

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Because of the lower angle of the sun, which allows more blue light, and less red and green light, to reach your eyes.

That is one long day! Beautiful pictures though. Would like to see some by moonlight if have any.

Impressive day! Thanks for sharing your story and pictures

Thanks for all the photos. Do go back to see Dusy Basin in the spring (much better than the fall, imho).

38 miles seems a bit long, my GPS puts it at just over 35 miles.