From there, you head back west and up up up to Evolution Valley and then Evolution Basin - finally topping out at the summit of Muir Pass. Great camping along the creek once you cross the several streams in Hutchinson Meadow (night 1). The Morning Star Mine comprises a group of 18 claims, situated in Secs. I should just quit messing around and tape the thing to my face. Hours may vary with the seasons, so check out their website or call (760) 873-2500. Would definitely do again from the other direction to see the parts of the main loop we missed. Challenging but absolutely worth it, forever in my memories. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. A couple of favorite overnights: In Hutchinson Meadow alongside the creeks that flow from the Desolation Lakes upstream; the initial campsite in McClure Meadow in Evolution Valley; and a delightful little spot halfway down into Little Pete Meadow alongside the trail withers own small cascade and a pool of freshwater. On the fourth day of my trek, I backpacked north from Evolution Lake, down into the Evolution Valley with its lush meadows and waterfalls, then down even further to the South Fork San Joaquin River, which I followed downstream yet more, until I left the JMT/PCT for the Piute Pass Trail, climbing this time . The trail leads through Double and Blayney meadows. I had 2500 feet of climbing to do tomorrow, and I wanted to get as much of it done as possible while it was still cool. And it felt like it. And it was! In the Spring of a snowy year it must be incredible. It is my favorite all-time Sierra hike. I woke up before dawn, as usual. The first 36 miles from Prather to Huntington Lake via Highway 168 are over good mountain road. The trail condition is great, although it get pretty rocky around Muir Pass. We remained on the JMT at the Goddard Canyon junction and continued up a series of switchbacks that led us to a stream crossing where we had to take off our hiking boots & put on our water shoes and continue towards Evolution Valley. Id see how I felt when I got to the the trail junction. Evolution Valley. We camped up there on our second night. Evolution lake is awesome. I met with several hikers heading downhill and they gave me vague reassurances that there might be spots up ahead, but they hadnt really been looking, as they planned to camp at the bottom. Im a layman, what can I say? We got there between 4:30-5 on a week day and there wasn't anyone available -- so we hitched and got a ride pretty easily. Meadows and trees and waterfalls were on my menu. When Hikers Die, Why Are We So Quick to Judge. Darwin/Bench. Hundreds of feet of granite on one side, and beautiful open meadow on the other. $4,495: August 19-28. This wasnt a trivial decision. The trees were also providing good shade, except for a couple of bare places where avalanches had swept the forest away, leaving only chest-high chaparral. The route my two amigas and I traveled lies in the trio of Kings Canyon National Park, Inyo National Forest and Sierra National Forest. Campsite 4: Darwin Canyon. Day five Leave the JMT, taking the switchbacks above Evolution Lake to access Darwin Canyon and a class 2 scramble up and over Lamarck Col to Upper Lamarck Lake, 2,100-feet below. Slightly brutal at times-especially for a beginner- but the views are unmatched. The trail is quite rocky in most places so slower than you might expect given the elevation profile. Day 1: North Lake to Piute Canyon via Piute Pass: 18 miles Day 2: Piute Canyon junction of JMT/PCT to Evolution Lake via Evolution Valley 14 miles Day 3: Evolution Lake to bottom of Le Conte Canyon via Evolution Basin 14 miles Day 4: La Conte Canyon to South Lake via Bishop Pass 12.5 miles Mosquitoes: none, gnats on Wanda Lake It was not very buggy and lightly rained on 2/8 days. 2 trip report day 0-4: getting in & Yosemite National Park warm up. There was a strong metal bridge just downstream, and it was fun to cross. Aahhh! Trailhead to Piute Lake Distance from Trailhead: 7.0 miles (round trip) Speaking of water, we regularly forded streams ranging from little hip-hop creeks to put-on-your-water-shoes-and-unbuckle-your-pack soakers! The next day we made it up to evolution valley. It was challenging but not impossible if you hike often. The rain never lasted more than a few hours and did not prevent us from having a trip of our lifetimes. Continue straight at this 3-way in Hutchinson Meadow. My [growing] Collection of Top Utah Hiking Trails, Five ways to make enemies at a public campground, Seeking Powder Hounds: Heli-Skiing the Northwest. Did in 4.5 days south to north. The forest and meadows of Evolution Valley had been very beautiful, as had the waterfalls along the way. Not only that, but the trail was going to head even lower as I followed the river downstream. To win Best in Show our site sported a ledge, floating above a yakkety brook, Mt. It was gorgeous! Best seasons: Mid-summer to fall Map Mono Divide High Country ($10, tomharrisonmaps.com). Warm days in the upper 70s and the nights werent too cool either, even up at sapphire lake. Completed 14-17AUG. We took four full, plus two half days, to hike the 57-mile route starting at South Lake and ending at North Lake, so 10-12 miles each day was the score. Scale: 1:47,520 or inch representing 3/4 mile. The final day we packed out. In August we did North lake to south lake direction which avoided the climb up to Bishop pass. Such a memorable backpacking trip! Notice that when I downsized my load I didnt ditch the tequila. Camp at Wanda! Muir Pass Tough climb over the pass at 11,423 and descended into Paiute Canyon where we connected up with the JMT. By heading upstream on a use-trail for a quarter mile to a meadow, you will find a shallower ford. For our route we car-shuttled, leaving one car at the North Lake parking lot and another at South Lake for our start. Soon the trail crossed Evolution Creek, which was quite large at this point. This trail goes by Loch Leven, Piute Pass, Summit Lake, Upper Golden Trout Lake, Lamarck Col, and North Lake Campground. Didnt see a bear which a good thing. I have done this trail three times in all. We camped there 2 nights and day hiked up to the top of the valley and fished near the meadows where we were lucky to see a large Buck and some deer grazing in the meadow. Very exciting. I sat down on a boulder near my gear and got out some snack. The benefits of hiking, more than you can imagine! Lots of mosquitos in some areas. . It was a smooth and quick process. I needed both water and a flat spot. I hung out by the creek for an hour and a half, until 3pm. The other entrance is by way of North Lake going over Piute Pass (11,500') and passing through Humphries Basin and Piute Canyon. We started at south lake and ended on north lake, backwards from most, and while Piute pass was a hard hike, i think ending on Piute and Humphrey's Basin was a great way to complete the trip. We returned to camp and reorganized and then started the hike into Evolution Valley. Even so, with campsites spread out along its length, the valley never seems crowded. We passed more than a dozen lakes some of which I will mention when I upload photos. There were only 2-3 times where I needed to use my AllTrails app to figure out the correct way to continue. No smoke from the California wildfires. My girlfriends told me I started singing gospel at that point, but I really think they may be exaggerating. I had my food in a bear cannister, But getting partway up toward the pass seemed like a fine idea. The Evolution Loop is a magnificent route through some of the most inspiring terrain in the High Sierra. The hike up to Evolution Lake is steep, but reasonably graded. Good campsites can be found there also. The most challenging part of the hike was crossing the river. Good thing bruins dont like whiskey. There are several decent camping spots in the meadow and they are all next to heavy-flowing Piute Creek. Lodging is available at Vermilion Valley Resort at Lake Edison and also at nearby Mono Hot Springs. Diego, the 11-year-old Lab mix, was struggling; the family carried him part way. The best time ever, I mean. 3 trip report day 5-8: Lyell Canyon/Tuolumne Meadows to Red's Meadow Resort. Didnt posthole, it was sunny and we summited at 10:30am from a 5:30am start (slower pace), stayed for an hour at the hut and headed down towards Evolution Lake to camp. We found several amazing campsites just off the east side of the trail that held us warm and protected from the wind. The trail distance from the junction of the San Joaquin River and Evolution Creek to the summit of Muir Pass is 15.4 miles / 24.8 kilometres (mile 113.2 to mile 128.6 in the Blackwoods Press John Muir Trail Atlas). best of luck and make sure you are prepared. The Bishop Group is accessible from the South Lake Trailhead, either to Treasure Lakes, or Bishop Pass. Oh well. That was about 8 miles, we had wanted to camp at the meadow but was beat so made camp a couple miles sooner. We made a few mistakes that cost us a lot of time, however.we didn't take the ferry out, and lost the trail around the lake - a mistake that cost us several hours to climb over boulders and ledges. Day 1: The first day held an unexpected bonus in that, inadvertently, it turned out to be Get-used-to-less-oxygen Day. But the Reader Leader contest was all it took to get me planning again. The best sites we found are located on the east side of the trail directly after we crossed the stream that feeds the lake. contour 80 feet UTM zone 11 Customers Like You Also Purchased USA Highways Wall Map $10.95 Custom Radius Maps $175.00 Island Visions $39.99 Rides of a Lifetime: Southwest by MAD Maps $16.95 We put in about 11.5 miles but it was almost all downhill or level deep-forest hiking. P. i. psammophilus is known from the Salinas Valley and may be a synonym of P. i. neglectus (Best 1993; Williams et al. This was hands down one of the best hikes I've done in the High Sierras. That night we enjoyed a campfire in Aspen Meadow since we were below 10,000 feet and there were already the makings for a fire ready to go! The metal bridge over Piute Creek marks the border between Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. We parked 3mi down from the trailhead in the overnight parking and caught a ride in the construction workers truck bed (thank you!). Beautiful and challenging in a good way. Fill up on gas at Prather or Shaver Lake. Great Trip! This great hike to scenic Piute Pass ascends beneath the multi-hued Piute Crags to a beautiful lakes basin tucked beneath Mt. Day 2 Dusy Basin to Big Pete Meadow The lake is 53 miles east of Prather. Erika, the alpine pond photograph posted next to the Day 2 text is stunning. I loved seeing the pictures here as it helped me to realize how much more I need to get there. I have to say, however, that descending into Le Conte Canyon from Dusy Basin, and not the other way around, seemed like the more fortunate direction for my legs and backside. John Muir Wilderness sign in the Sierra National Forest good-bye Kings Canyon National Park! We decided to put in stakes about a mile and a half before Piute Pass on what I considered to be the Best in Show campsite winner. Also included are North Lake, South Lake, Piute Pass, Evolution Valley and Lake Sabrina. Quite a few creek crossings which were hard to avoid getting feet wet, but easily done. A mother deer plus two babies. Before last pass go to side trail golden trout lake to spend a night. Now that the best parts of the trek were over (quite possibly), I was beginning to yearn for home. The information provided on this website is done so without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. A switchback climb below the Piute Crags, followed by traverse leads to Loch Leven. Ooops! 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