High Sierra Topix

The trailhead to Kibbie Lake is a bit hard to find. It starts right near the barrier on the road. Follow what looks like it might be the trail and it becomes more well defined.

I did it last June and I missed the trail. Ended up walking the road at 3:00 hotter than blazes.

In case the barrier gets moved: the trail starts at the upper end of the upper parking lot (the one without the bear box). See http://www.hillmap.com/m/ag1zfmhpbGxtYX ... IDmoZS9Cgw

We just hiked to Kibbie Lake on June 28-29. Everyone was hiking on the road to Shingle Springs. Other hikers I spoke with at the trailhead who seemed to be "regulars" said that the trail to Shingle Springs was in bad shape, so we just used the road. It is annoyingly long (probably 3 miles) but no steep sections. Has anyone hiked the actual trail this year or last? What is the condition?

I doubt the trail from a bit north of the Eleanor trailhead is in "bad shape". I hiked it June 2017 and all the post Rim Fire downed trees were alread taken care of. Crews parked at the SS trailhead were working Kibbie Ridge trail areas. There are no sizeable streams crossing that trail so any erosion damage would be trivial. Anyone using the windy road are making a poor decision as it is much longer.

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=38.0066 ... =15&b=f16a

What is probably the source of that comment is areas where the trail routes through whitethorn and chinquapin have not been pruned back so those many that unwisely hike in shorts are getting scratched. That is and has always been the situation on lightly used lower forest elevation trails. Those shrubs cover extensive areas of that hot region. And that is why we more experienced hikers don't hike those areas in shorts but rather long pants.

Another possible issue is near the Shingle Springs junction where several use paths vector off towards that area. Like most lightly used trails there are no "TRAIL >" signs along that trail that indicate which is the real trail so people may get off route. Also note how the trail drawn on the above topo shows it going straight into the parking area while my below snipping tool capture of the satellite image shows it actually bends around. That is because the old trail used to route directly towards Shingle Springs however that area in a dense grove of pines eroded out decades ago. Generally there are many incorrectly drawn trails on USGS maps throughout the Sierra Nevada, so hikers beware. Note the Kibbie Ridge trail is indeed in "bad" shape miles further up on the ridge above 6.6k.

When I was a kid the trail to Kibbie started at the dam. It was 8 miles in to Kibbie. An extra mile or two shouldn't kill anyone.