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Solo-hiking the Rae Lakes Loop in Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP


Glen Pass Summit on the Rae Lakes Loop
 

My second backpacking trip of the 2021 season was also a first for me - 5 days solo hiking the roughly 39-mile Rae Lakes Loop in California the last week of July. It's a great loop to hike in and out of Road's End in Kings Canyon National Park.


Day 1: Wood Creek TH to Upper Paradise Valley

Miles:9

Approximate number of hikers passed: 40

I stayed at a simple, clean and accessible Air B&B in Dunlap, which put me at about an hour away from Roads End and the ranger station where I needed to pick up my permit. I made a quick stop at the Cedar Grove Lodge convenience store early that morning for a few last supplies and picked up my permit at the ranger station and was on my way about 9 am.



Within the first hour and a half and just a few miles into the hike, I happened upon my first rattlesnake sunning itself on the trail. I stopped to take a photo, and when I was done, I started to hear a soft "moo-ing" sound from somewhere nearby. After hearing it a few times, I got the sense that I needed to move on and quickly. I started hiking again, and as I rounded the corner of the trail through a formation of rocks, there was a bear coming down the path, about 20-30 feet in front of me. I saw her before she saw me. Mid-stride I stepped back behind the rocks and started to backtrack my way down the trail to get out of the rocks and off the trail. As I came around another corner opening up into the woods, I ran right into 2 bear cubs on the trail. My heart was racing as I realized in that instant that bear behind me on the trail was the momma bear, and I did not want to be between a momma bear and her cubs! After the cubs shrieked at me and I said a few expletives in response, they ran uphill, and I stepped downhill to stand behind a large redwood tree. My heart was racing. I waited to see if the momma bear continued to follow, but within minutes another couple of hikers came by, and I hurried back to trail to discuss my recent bear sighting with them (they never say the bear). Needless to say, this was the most exciting event for this day and the entire week!

The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful, following along the South Fork Kings River until I reached Upper Paradise valley where I made camp on a really lovely flat pad close to the old bridge base of the long swept away bridge, with a few other groups camped nearby. The bridge base was a great spot to sit and watch deer across the river and enjoy cocktail hour with wine and olives once my campsite was set up.

My luxury item for every trip is a bottle of wine carried in a Platypus Flexible Wine Pouch. I have used it on several backpacking trips. It holds a full bottle of red wine and keeps it fresh for up to 4 nights (if it lasts that long). Definitely worth the extra 2 lbs to carry this!



Day 2: Upper Paradise Valley to Arrowhead Lake

Miles: 10

Approximate number of hikers passed: 40


This day started off sunny and cool and beautiful blue skies. About a mile from the Woods Creek bridge crossing unbelievably I saw another bear, #4 for the trip! I was walking on the trail, and out of the corner of my right eye I saw movement in the trees about 15-20 feet away. A juvenile cub was playing on a bed of rocks and was startled when it saw me pass by. He started to climb up a small tree, and then his curiosity took over ane he came down the tree trunk and started to slowly walk in my direction. After the day before, all I could think of was "Where's momma bear?" and didn't want to stick around the find out. I yelled at the bear as I backed away to stop him from continuing towards me. I don't know if I scared him or confused him, but it stopped him from following me and I continued on.

I saw a pack train pass by, heading on to some pre-determined meeting place to meet up with JMT/PCT thru-hikers presumably as I was now on the part of the trial that overlaps with the JMT and PCT. I had lunch in a nice, shaded spot along Woods creek by the bridge (pictured below), filtered some more water and took a nice long break. My final stop for the day was Arrowhead Lake, where I had a beautiful view of the lake and Fin Dome and camped in 1 of 3 pad sites along with a few other hikers as well.



Day 3: Arrowhead Lake to Middle Rae Lake

Miles: 2 miles (+3 miles into Sixty Lakes Basin)

Approximate number of hikers passed: 20


I thought early on it would be a great idea to use this nearly zero day to explore Sixty Lakes Basin, just off of Middle Rae Lake. I made it to the cut off to the Sixty Lakes Basin trail early in the morning and dumped most of my gear near a recently left camp site so that I could slack-pack into the basin with the bare essentials (and a whole lot less weight!). In my mind, I had a goal to make it all the way to the end of the trail, 3 miles, and then back-track. But the climb up to the first pass and the descent down to one of the first few lakes was enough for me. I was finally feeling the effects of the fist 2 days of hiking this day. I make it to a lovely stream crossing with rocks nearby, ate lunch, and then proceeded to head back to the trail intersection and collect all my goods to go find a campsite for the night. In total, I only saw 7 other people on the Sixty Lakes basin trail, so if you are looking for something off the beaten path, this is a nice day trip and a lovely hike.

Upper Rae Lake

My intended goal was to find a campsite on the peninsula between middle and upper Rae lakes. It was early afternoon, and after multiple attempts to find a campsite that would fit the footprint of my Triplex tent and ground that would take my tent stakes, I finally found a site and set up around 2:30 pm. Thankfully I got my tent and camp sorted out, because it starting raining, and rained off and on for the rest of the afternoon, and then poured at 5:30 pm. As it poured, I had a small stream of water running under my tent since I was on a slight slope. Luckily, my tent stayed dry and I just enjoyed a lazy afternoon of reading in my cozy sleeping bag until the rain passed.


Some of the many lakes in the Sixty Lakes Basin

I know lots of folks want to stay in the Rae Lakes area, and so getting a campsite in this area is a big deal for lots of hikers. In hindsight, I wish I would have camped across the lake near the beginning of the Sixty Lakes basin trail or pushed on to the other side of the pass. While I didn't necessarily want to camp in a site where I was completely alone, this was a bit too much for me--there had to be at least 10-12 other campsites with people all around me. Just finding a place to go to the bathroom in privacy was a bit challenging, and I could hear neighbors snoring and coughing at night. It was kind of like being in a busy park campground. I personally was looking for a little more seclusion and a bit less people, although that can be difficult to achieve on this highly trafficked trail. Besides the rain, this was a rather uneventful day and no animal sightings that day.


Day 4: Middle Rae Lake to campsite along Bubb's Creek

Miles: 10

Approximate number of hikers passed: 60


The one benefit of camping where I did the night before, despite all the other hikers, was that it put me 2 miles from Glen Pass so I could hit it first thing in the morning before it got too hot. My goal was to make the 1300 feet climb in less than 2 hours, so I was really happy with myself for making it to the top in 1 hour and 40 minutes. After making the pass, the rest of the hike day was all downhill, literally. I passed a lot of hikers on this loop hiking CCW, which can be a brutal hike up to Glen Pass from this side. Coming down the trail was very dry and dusty.

Glenn Pass with view of the Rae Lakes in the distance

I passed through Junction Meadow and kept hiking until I happened upon a great pre-exiting single campsite close to Bubb's creek that put me 8 miles from Road's End. Just as I finished setting camp and eating some dinner, it started to rain again. This last night was the only time I camped completely off on my own, and admittedly, it was a little nerve-wracking from me not to have a few other groups nearby!



Day 5: Bubb's creek to Woods Creek TH (Road's End)

Miles: 8

Approximate number of hikers passed: 65


The last morning the hike was a breeze! The trail continued to follow Bubb's Creek and continued to descend into the valley of Kings Canyon. The views of Kings Canyon during the hike down were just stunning.


Once I got about 2 miles from Road's End, the trail flattened out and I crossed a series of bridges, including the Bailey Bridge (pictured below right). As I continued to get closer to the trailhead, the mix of backpackers heading into the loop from this direction was quickly replaced by lots and lots of day hikers. I was not trying to be speedy, but I still made it back to the ranger station in 4 hours.



What a wonderful 5 day trip! I met so many nice people along the way, and about half of the hikers on this loop were also solo hikers like myself. This was a great first trip for me to test my solo hiking skills, and now I feel confident I can do one again!

 

Check out my video here ->




 

Have you hiked the Rae Lakes Loop or any other nearby trails in SEKI? What are your favorites? Leave your comments below!

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