From PCT mile 815.0 to 828.6 Total: 13.6 miles 7/11
On my 19th day hiking the PCT Sierra Section, I woke up early in Upper Basin, crossed the South Fork Kings River, climbed to the summit of Mather Pass, headed downhill past the Palisade Lakes along Palisade Creek, descended the steep switchbacks of the Golden Staircase, and continued down the canyon to camp next to the Middle Fork Kings River.
I knew that today’s hike would be closer to 14 miles than my usual 12, so waking up early made sense. Plus, I prefer to climb uphill during the cool hours of morning, whenever possible. But only when there is sufficient light for photos, of course. This blog would be boring without them, and hiking at night in the High Sierra was a bit like intentionally shunning beauty. No thanks! And that’s why I began climbing through Upper Basin while everyone else was still sleeping. I was like a silent shadow in the pre-dawn light.
I only had about three miles to hike that morning, in order to reach Mather Pass, and I really got down to business, rock-hopping across the river and cruising onward into the tundra-like terrain above treeline. Upper Basin was quite large, with many branching waterways and unnamed ponds. I remembered the last time I was here with my son, back in 2020, when we got confused as to which low spot ahead of us was the actual pass. It happened to me yet again, except that this time I knew that I didn’t know which one it was. It wasn’t until the trail swung left around a high ridge that I saw the proper pass in front of me. By this time, it was only a mile or so away, with a 500 foot ascent. Easy enough, I thought. I also passed by the camp where Metal Tim and his wife were probably staying, but I didn’t go over to say hello. There were people stirring already, and I wanted to reach the top of the pass first. Just because I could! The Early Bird has to get something, after all.
The trail swung around to the right side, then crossed below the pass to the left. There was only a tiny bit of snow to deal with, which was good. On the far left side were the main set of switchbacks, and they ticked by steadily, just like my plodding pace, which only paused to take yet another photo or video. My modus operandi.
I put down my backpack at the top, and took a look around. I used my PeakFinder Earth app to identify some local mountains. There were a number of fourteeners visible from up there! A few of them might even be climbable via a Class 2 or 3 route, but others were beyond my abilities (but not my desires!), requiring rock climbing gear. But that wasn’t part of this season’s plan. The PCT was challenge enough for me!
After a while, the other hikers neared the summit, and I withdrew to the north. I was excited to keep moving on, as everything was downhill from here today, to the tune of more than 4000 feet of descent! As I went down the initial switchbacks, I passed a bit of snow, but it wasn’t really blocking the trail. This side of the canyon had a western exposure, which helped it melt out early.
Stunted pines began to appear as I descended below 11,000 feet, most of which were near watercourses draining into the Palisade Lakes. There wasn’t a lot of shade, but that was fine because the downhill hiking was easy. I continued cruising along, high above the lakes. Down near the lower lake, there was a large granite slab, perfect for sitting and eating something tasty. My son and I ate there, too. The view was great. There was also an excellent camping spot above the upper lake, not far from a side creek (for getting water) and I wished my plans included staying there. What a view! Eventually, breaktime was over, and I put my pack on.
The trail finally got close enough to the lower lake that I was able to do a bit of fly fishing. My new PCT Sierra Trout Fishing Guide said that these lakes contained “Golden/Rainbow Hybrids” and it proved to be perfectly correct, which was satisfying. Internet sources can be problematic, as we all know, so this made me feel more confident in the preliminary guide, which at the time was only a simple document on my phone.
After passing the lakes, the canyon narrowed and turned to the left. Palisade Creek was right alongside the trail, and it even made some fine waterfalls and cascades as it left the main Palisade Basin. You could tell, just by looking at the rock, that the glacier which carved the basin into such a smooth-sided bowl had a much more convoluted time in the constriction. As I neared the end of this section, it was obvious that there was a major drop-off just ahead. I imagined what the Ice Fall looked like as it fell down to the lower valley. Wow. I’m not going to lie when I say that I like the Sierra much better when it isn’t buried in ice!
I approached the next section, the steep section, with trepidation. This part of the trail was called the “Golden Staircase” and I was very glad to be descending it! I met a number of southbound John Muir Trail hikers that were trudging up the steep, short switchbacks of the staircase. They were pausing often, and wiping sweat from their brows. It was HOT when you were climbing, and it felt like a never-ending task. I tried to tell them about how beautiful it was by the lakes, just to keep them motivated. I also blatantly lied and told them that they were almost to the top. For morale purposes, of course. And then I continued onward, taking photos and videos like crazy.
Once the Golden Staircase was over, the trail approached Palisade Creek once more. And this time there was a truly excellent waterfall! Oh, yes! I love waterfalls. So of course the GoPro came out once again. By this time in the afternoon, some clouds had begun building up, in proper Sierra fashion. I didn’t expect any thunderstorms today, but it was nice to get a bit of shade. Plus, this meant that the evil “Heat Dome” that had been roasting all of California for the past week was beginning to break down. Good! Vicki texted me the day before that the heat was setting records everywhere, even down near the coast in San Diego. This made me glad that I was up here at 10,000-plus feet of elevation!
The switchbacks were pretty much over after the big waterfall, and the trail headed directly through the valley, staying on the eastern side of Palisade Creek, which had grown a bit large for crossing safely. There were plenty of side creeks to cross, however, and lots of downed trees lying athwart the path. Interestingly, there was even a large avalanche path full of snapped-off trees, but most of the carcasses ended up all the way on the other side of the creek. That probably happened last year, in 2023, when the triple-normal Sierra snowpack wreaked havoc everywhere.
I kept hiking, the miles went by, and the afternoon waned. I paused at one spot where the creek was flowing slowly and tried to catch a trout. I could see one across the way, but it refused to acknowledge my fly’s existence. That’s why they call it fishing and not catching. And then I hiked on.
After an eleven hour hiking day, I eventually finished the 4000 foot descent from Mather Pass. Now I was down at 8,000 feet elevation, and the air was quite warm. Palisade Creek merged into the Middle Fork Kings River at this location, and there was a large set of campsites available. The trail heading down to Roads End in Kings Canyon crossed Palisade Creek (without a bridge) but the PCT hung a right and headed uphill along the east side of the Middle Fork. But that was tomorrow’s problem.
It was already dinnertime when I arrived, so I set up my tent in a likely spot and filtered a bunch of water. While I was fussing with my gear, Metal Tim and Little Engine arrived. They politely asked if they could camp nearby, and of course I let them. In fact, I laughed. During the height of the PCT “Bubble” there were so many hikers that people didn’t think twice about arriving in the dark and setting up right next to you! They were at least thirty feet away, so this wasn’t an issue. I first met the two of them back at the Kearsarge Lakes, when I headed out to get my resupply, and we’d been leapfrogging each other ever since. This time, we camped together. They were a fun couple, and I even learned the official “Metal” handshake from Tim.
Luckily, before it got dark, I remembered about the awesome waterslide/waterfall down here. My son and I found it last time, and were both sad that we’d camped a mile upstream from it. That’s one of the main reasons why I was here tonight! So I went over to check it out before it got too dark. I took far too many photos and videos of the cascading water, as always. And I even did a bit of fishing! Successfully this time.
I went back to my tent after that, and cooked up my typical ramen dinner, complete with chips and Gatorade. This time I even added a handful of Candy Corn for dessert. Ah, yes, the simple life of the trail.
I told Tim that my plan for tomorrow was to leave early, and that I would probably see them later on, when they passed me. The day’s hike was only 11 miles long, but it re-climbed the same 4,000 feet that I just descended today! I was hoping to camp inside the Muir Hut, up on Muir Pass, at 12,000 feet elevation, after hiking the full length of Le Conte Canyon. It was going to be a long, but beautiful day. Just like it was today!
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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