I took it easy on my second day in the King Creek Basin, hiking less than four miles total, from Fern Lake to Holcomb Lake, where I crossed gushing creeks with cascading waterfalls and hunkered down in my tent during rain.
I woke up before dawn that morning, as usual. I can’t seem to help myself. That’s what happens when you go to bed before sunset, I suppose. But it’s OK, as I like hiking early when the weather is cool and the the rest of the world is barely able to greet yet another beautiful day. I finished packing up, and had to stow the still-soggy tent in its own bag, separate from the rest of my gear. I decided long ago that I would rather carry the heavy wet tent and dry it out later than hang out in camp until the sun dried it. So many hours wasted, and in the High Sierra, this was just asking to get drenched by the daily afternoon thunderstorms while you were still hiking. Hike first, dry later.
I headed out on the Anona Lake Trail, and it didn’t take long before I was on the main loop, on the cutoff trail to Holcomb Lake. I discovered that the melting snow was causing issues on this trail. Partly it was that the ground was so wet that it was hard to keep my shoes dry, and partly it was the large, still-melting snowbanks that covered the trail. Plus, it wasn’t a particularly distinct trail to begin with, as not many hikers do this loop.
This time, however, I regretted getting up so early. When it came time to cross the creek flowing down from Anona Lake, I discovered that there were zillions of mosquitos hanging around at the crossing spot! The creek was running too strong to simply hop across it, what with all the snow melting around the lake. If I had waited longer to get packed, the sun might have warmed things up enough to drive the bugs away. But no. I had to apply DEET to my hands and face right away. Then I bared my legs and feet in order to cross, and had to add more DEET to that skin as well. The crossing itself was easy. It was the bugs that drove me nuts.
After that, the trail began climbing, heading parallel to King Creek. As the elevation increased, the vegetation decreased, and soon I was getting good views again. Looking toward the southeast, I could see the peaks of the Silver Divide, which I crossed while hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail back in 2021. That hike filled in one of the final pieces of my quest to hike all of the PCT within the High Sierra. Seeing those peaks brought back good memories.
The good thing about following along King Creek was that I got to see some stunning waterfalls. The snowmelt had the water simply blasting down the valley, cascading noisily over rocks and boulders and granite chasms. Very fun, and totally worthy of taking videos.
The sad part about being next to King Creek was the inevitability of having to cross it yet again. I looked both upstream and downstream for a potential rock-hopping crossing, or maybe a big log, but no such luck. The water was too high for hopping, and the elevation too high for big logs. So, for the second time that day, I bared my legs and put on my water shoes. Then I crossed the icy creek and sat down to put myself back together on the other side. Luckily, I had an easy day today, so there was plenty of time. And this crossing wasn’t infested with mosquitos! I call that a win.
Naturally, I had to ford King Creek one more time, barely a quarter mile away. This was where the Holcomb Lake Trail headed off to the left of the main loop. Luckily, even though this was technically considered King Creek, most of the water I just crossed came down from Ashley and Holcomb Lakes, so King Creek was much smaller now. It was barely flowing as it calmly made its way across a flat, shallow region. I still had to take off my shoes, but that was OK. Third Time Pays For All, as Tolkein said in The Hobbit. And that’s what I did.
Now it was time to climb the trail up to Holcomb Lake. The trail followed along next to the bigger part of what used to be King Creek (the outflow from Holcomb Lake) and there was yet another cascading waterfall. I purposely did not choose to camp at Ashley Lake so that I wouldn’t have to cross that creek yet again. Holcomb was easier. Along the way, I missed the old sign for the turnoff and went too far toward Ashley, but I realized it eventually. I did a short bit of cross-country travel and met up with the proper trail. I was high in the King Creek Basin now, and there were tall peaks all around me. Very nice.
A bit further on, and I came upon Noname Lake. Yes, that really is its name! Things like this make you wonder about the original USGS cartographers who surveyed (and named) so many objects back in the day. It was a pretty lake, but could have used a better name. I didn’t linger. I wanted to get to my day’s camp, even though it was only late morning.
I arrived at Holcomb Lake and found a good spot for my tent. I also took a few photos. Of course. I decided to get out my tent and dry it while there was a bit of sunshine and breeze. The clouds up above looked like one or two of them might rain at any moment. I spread out the tent and let the breeze work its magic. Naturally, just when it was almost dry, I felt some drops. It was raining! I grabbed my backpack and put it in the rain shadow next to a big pine, then whipped the tent into shape. It was dry enough for me! It was only drizzling, but I didn’t trust it. I grabbed the pack, stuck it in the vestibule, then sat myself down inside. Safe and dry! I sat there and listened to the tiny little drops pattering on the tent. Five minutes later and they stopped. The sun came out as the dark cloud drifted onward. Life was good again.
I got out my Tenkara Fly Rod and attempted to do some trout fishing along the shore. I looked and looked, but I never saw a single trout, and none were rising anywhere on the lake. This was sad, but that’s life. Maybe they only fed in the morning and evening, I told myself, but I didn’t really believe it. I headed back to the tent and took a short nap on my air mattress. I texted home and let them know that I was having fun. Then I got out my Kindle and read a book for a while. The sky grew dark, and this time it actually rained, a real rain that got things properly wet. I sat inside the tent, enjoying the sound. The reward for getting up early.
Later that afternoon, the sun swung toward the west, and my tent got too hot. So I sat down on a boulder looking out over the lake. I read my book some more. It was a lazy afternoon in the High Sierra.
Eventually, the sun went down behind the ridge and the air got colder. I put on an extra layer and sat in the tent. I still had a nice view with the door open wide, but now my legs were warm in my sleeping bag. I cooked my dinner right there next to the tent, as always. Why struggle when you can sit on an air mattress? I had some Gatorade and some salty chips, even though I didn’t sweat much that day. I noticed that my feet didn’t hurt either, thanks to hiking fewer miles. Too bad I had to hike twice as much tomorrow, but most of it would be downhill. I’d have to do it first, and find out how my feet liked it afterward. I studied the topo map on my phone. Was I really going to attempt the second loop tomorrow? I really wanted to, but the snow would be significantly worse, as it climbed to a much higher elevation. The point of no return would occur when I reached the JMT near Minaret Creek. I decided to wait until tomorrow, to sleep on it.
And then I stared out over the lake, watching reflections as the sky grew dark. Life was good, here at Holcomb Lake.
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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