South Lake > North Lake

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Day 1 | Friday, July 23rd 2021
South Lake trail head to Dusy Basin via Bishop Pass
7.7 miles / 5.5 hours / Ascent 2,205ft / Descent 840ft

We had a schedule to keep this morning because we had a taxi booked to pick us up from our car at the North Lake trailhead and drive us to the South Lake trailhead where we would start our hike. Since this hike is not a loop we needed the shuttle service so that our car will be at our exit location next week. Not an inexpensive taxi ride but pretty much the only option if you want to do this hike and don’t want to spend a day hitchhiking. We first heard about the South Lake > North Lake hike about 15 years ago when we attended a backpacking seminar at Berkeley REI and the presenter declared this her favorite hike in the Sierras and we have met many hikers over the years who have said the same. I have no doubt it will live up to our expectations. 

We were a little worried about getting a parking spot at North Lake trailhead so we got there ridiculously early and had 2 hours to kill before the taxi arrived. It was easy to pass the time though, we packed our backpacks at a leisurely pace, and chatted with a guy from SoCal called Holden who was probably in his 60’s, silver white hair, chugging a beer at 8 am and complaining about the 1/2 mile distance from the car park to the trailhead even though he was about to do a 20 mile trail run. The silver surfer dude was very well traveled and had been to many of our favorite spots around the world, particularly in Indonesia, so we had plenty to talk about.  He is also doing the JMT next month, it will be easy to spot him if our paths do cross. Quite a character!

Simone from Mammoth Taxi rolled into the car park 10 minutes early just as I’d finished lacing up my boots – perfect timing.  It was only a 20 minute ride but it was filled with chatter, Simone is half Swiss (hence her being early for the pick up) and regaled us with some fun stories of her experiences living in Switzerland vs. California. I hope she drives us to the trailhead when we do the JMT next month, she’ll make the 3 hour journey pass quickly.

Today’s goal was to hike up and over Bishop Pass at 11,972ft and cross into Kings Canyon National Park to camp in Dusy Basin.  We were looking forward to views of the Inconsolable Range from Bishop Pass but just as we got there black storm clouds gathered and there was an ominous rumble of thunder so rather than enjoying the view we shimmied on down the other side to lower ground and were soon at Dusy Basin.  

After setting up camp at an unnamed lake we went for a quick skinny dip which was more enjoyable than expected given the stormy clouds and we dried off pretty quickly. 

We were completely surrounded by the magnificent peaks of the North Palisades Range including Mt. Robinson at 12,967ft and North Palisade the third highest peak in the Sierra Nevada at 14,242ft. The light on the peaks changed by the minute as the sun bid farewell for the day, absolutely spectacular.  A great start to the week.

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Day 2 | Saturday, July 24th 2021
Dusy Basin to Starr Camp via LeConte Canyon
10.5 miles / 7.5 hours / Ascent 1,550ft / Descent 2,500ft

Downhill all the way this morning as we descended deeper into Dusy Basin. Soaring granite peaks all around and waterfalls galore.  Downhill sounds great but my knees and hips were definitely feeling it by the time we got to the junction with the JMT and started ascending LeConte Canyon.

We met and chatted to a number of other hikers on the trail today, first up was a trio of silver haired ladies who were at the end of a 12 day trip. They looked to be in their late 60’s/early 70’s.  I love meeting older people on the trail, it’s so inspiring, I hope my knees haven’t betrayed me when I am that age.

Afternoon was a steady and arduous up passing through Little Pete Meadow (which is big) and Big Pete Meadow (which is small) but we stopped and chatted to more hikers heading in the opposite direction which offered us good intel and a welcome break.

We got to a stream crossing before the final climb of the day and there were a couple of people filtering water. El?  El is that you? It was, I worked with him in a previous job for almost 10 years. What are the chances of bumping into him in the wilderness? We chatted for a bit. He’s doing a portion of the JMT with his daughter whose just graduated college and is soon heading to New York to start her career.  It was a nice coincidence but I was happy that we all moved on at our own pace and bid each other farewell. 

Shortly after being attacked by the rock monster we set up camp at another cracking spot to call home for the night – Starr Camp and it was a 5 star camp indeed!  Black Giant Peak at 13,330ft watched over us for the night and a babbling stream provided our drinking water and a relaxing soundtrack to lull us to sleep.

We had a few spots of rain on and off through the evening but not enough to cause us any problems. 

A lady camped near us tonight, we’d passed each other a couple of times on the trail this afternoon and chatted. She has been walking a section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) every year for 35 years and this is the last section she needs to do to complete the final 2,653 miles.  She was not young and clearly had some health issues but she’s out here doing it and realizing her dream, good for her!

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Day 3 | Sunday, July 25th 2021
10.5 miles / 7.5 hours / Ascent 1,844ft / Descent 1,348ft
Starr Camp to Evolution Lake via Muir Pass

Today was honestly some of the best the Sierras has to offer – I know, I know, I say that every day, what can I say, every day is special out here.  Southbound JMT hikers kept telling us this was by far the best they’d seen and we couldn’t disagree with them. Lucky for us we’ll be passing through here again next month and will get to enjoy it all a second time. 

We continued through Le Conte Canyon and then up Muir Pass surrounded by the high peaks, babbling streams and pristine lakes of the Black Divide.

Lake Helen named after one of John Muir’s daughters was enormous and very very deep.

At the summit was Muir Hut, an emergency shelter dedicated in John Muir’s memory by the Sierra Club in 1930. Built of limestone rock and shaped like a bee hive it stands alone among the rocky moonscape on the pass at 11,955ft.

We had a very satisfying lunch at the summit followed by a long gradual descent through Evolution Basin, a barren and dramatic landscape punctuated with a chain of beautiful lakes all joined together by rivers, streams and creeks.  I’ve since learned that these lakes are called Paternoster Lakes.  Paternoster is Latin for the Lord’s Prayer and the lakes are so called because of their resemblance to rosary beads connected by a fine chain (thank you Wikipedia).

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The majority of the people we see on the trail are focused on keeping their pack weight down so imagine our surprise when a guy walked up with a guitar strapped to the back of his pack. Here was someone who was fully prepared to carry his music maker with him 200+ miles. I wonder if his trail name is music man?  I should have asked him.

The next person we passed was a young guy who looked like he’d just stepped off the beach; board shorts, t-shirt, shaggy sun bleached hair and teva open-toe sandals. I fully expected to see a surfboard strapped to his pack. Quite how he hikes this terrain and distance without trashing his feet I have no idea.

We’d planned to camp at Sapphire Lake but we got there early, 2:40 pm and it was starting to rain so we continued on to Evolution Lake and once again found ourselves a beautiful place to camp. We’d heard that Evolution Lake gets busy but we found a spot on the peninsula and had the place to ourselves. The lake was warm and we were looking forward to a swim but the storm clouds came in thick and fast and brought showers on and off throughout the evening so we weren’t able to have a dip. Maybe in the morning, especially since we are planning a more leisurely day tomorrow. 

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We were hoping for a memorable sunset but the showers rained on our hopes a little.  Instead we entertained ourselves finding faces on the rocks around us.  I saw Debbie Harry and a maniacal grinning face, Mike saw a monkey.  Maybe we’ve been out here too long? 

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Day 4 | Monday July 26th 2021
8.2 miles / 5 hours / Ascent 360ft / Descent 1,870ft
Evolution Lake to Evolution Meadow

Slumber was interrupted by the sound of a rock slide at 2 am.  That got the heart racing!  We knew we were in a safe place but it’s still a little unnerving to hear the rocks fall.

Today was nature day. It started with a sighting of a family of deer, the two young fawns couldn’t have been more than a few days old and were springing about in the low bushes around the lake like a scene from a Disney movie, and so nature day had begun.

We had a nice slow start to the day, an extra hour of sleep (because 9 hours of beauty sleep is so much better than 8!) a leisurely breakfast and a swim before packing up and heading down to Evolution Valley. We began the day above the tree line and gradually descended into forest and eventually lush green meadows filled with wildflowers.

At McClure Meadow there is a summer ranger station. The ranger is not there to meet and greet you, or to offer up supplies if you’ve run out of fuel or food, they are there only to help in an emergency, but judging from the sign at the approach to the station they must get tired of curious and hungry hikers stopping by because it was clearly asking you to stay away unless you had a good reason to approach. 

The station had a hiker board with some useful trail information including a notice that there is a bold, large and aggressive bear frequenting the Piute Creek area, stealing food and backpacks. We had planned to stay there tomorrow night so were grateful for this information because we had no plans to share our mac and cheese and we adjusted our plans accordingly. 

We got to camp early today, 2 pm. We had a nice spot along the river with far reaching views across Evolution Meadow and the peaks beyond.  There was also lots of busy bird activity to keep us entertained.  Settled down to read, drink a few cups of coffee and just generally relax before a big day tomorrow. 

As evening approached we could see a Golden Eagle circling up high in the distance. A few minutes later it swooped in just 100ft from us and with its talons poised launched at its prey. We heard it before we saw it, whoosh as it honed in on its prey in the meadow. Whatever it caught it feasted on for a minute before taking flight again. All that was left was the  chirp of marmots and chipmunks signaling danger to their fellow furry friends. 

We also had a deer hanging out with us at camp this evening.  Not phased by us at all she grazed her way through several bushes leaving not a single leaf on the branches. It’s been quite a day for nature.  

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Day 5 | Tuesday July 27th 2021
12.75 miles / 8 hours / Ascent 1,864ft / Descent 1,847ft
Evolution Meadow to Hutchinson Meadow

Wow what a day. I was anticipating a high mileage day with challenging ascent and mediocre scenery. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Today has been one of my favorite days. For 8 hours we hiked up and up and up with stunning cascades of waterfalls, rivers, streams and creeks alongside us the whole way, water everywhere!  They say that Yosemite is the land of waterfalls, well whoever said that hasn’t seen this stretch of trail. Just as you thought you’d seen the most magical waterfall another even more impressive one was around the next corner. 

We’d only been on the trail for 10 minutes and we came upon a river crossing that required a knee deep wade, so off with the boots and on with the trusty Crocs.  Apparently this crossing is always a wade at the very least. I’d hate to do it early season in a big snow year but for now it was no problem and in fact was a welcome early morning cool down for my feet.

There were tears before 9 am, not borne out of tiredness or injury but because it was just so damn beautiful, it was hard to comprehend. Sometimes I just can’t believe how fortunate I am to experience these incredible sights.

Funny that I was feeling so overwhelmed by the beauty of the scenery to then see a family of 4 on the trail, Dad apparently having the time of his life, all big grins and striding out, followed by his 2 utterly miserable looking sons and an even more miserable looking wife.  Happy trails!

We stopped for lunch alongside the river at the Piute Creek junction whilst keeping a watchful eye out for the big, bold aggressive bear.   He didn’t make an appearance and we enjoyed our lunch in peace. 

After lunch we left the San Joaquin River behind as we turned off of the JMT and started following Piute Creek through Piute Canyon which was equally if not more beautiful than what we’d seen this morning. Once off of the JMT the trail became rougher and less well maintained.  There was lots of loose talus so I was glad we were going up rather than down.

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We stopped for a mid-afternoon break and had a cooling dip in the river before continuing on a couple more hours to camp near Hutchinson Meadow. Another splendid spot with views and a swimming hole which knocked the socks off of the Matterhorn Canyon Spa from our Benson Loop trip a couple of weeks ago.  We even managed to rinse some of our clothes in the waterfall – natural agitation, very environmental!

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Day 6 | Wednesday  July 28th  2021
13.3 miles / 8 hours / Ascent 2,000ft / Descent 2,250ft
Hutchinson Meadow to North Lake Trailhead > Home

Our spot near Hutchinson Meadow was the perfect campsite; a nice flat sandy area for the tent, a tree perfectly positioned to hang our gravity water filter, great access to the water, rock shelves to put our gear on and a great big slab of granite to use as a table to cook on. All that and fabulous views too!

Leaving the perfect campsite behind, our plan was to hike to Humphrey Basin for our last night of the trip but Mother Nature had other ideas. We love Humphrey Basin and have very fond memories of going there a couple of times with our black Labrador Cooper, so we were looking forward to going back, but as the morning progressed the clouds got more and more ominous and the temperature plummeted.  

We used our inReach to get a weather forecast and found that heavy rain and storms were due to come in and continue through the night.  At the top of Piute Pass we were deciding whether to chance another night or to continue onto the car which would only add another 5 miles to our day when there was an almighty crash of thunder which reverberated around the granite peaks and sounded very much like a warning to leave, and so we put our waterproofs on and walked for the next 2 hours in rain, lightening and thunder back to the car, very relieved when we got below the tree line and relative safety.

The end of another brilliant trip.  Feeling very strong, fit and capable.  Ready for the JMT next month!

Lessons Learned

• Backpacks are not waterproof – a pack cover will be a worthwhile investment!
• Critters like to chew on hiking pole straps.
• Age isn’t always a limitation.