Mary and I went to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park over the weekend. We try to go there every year around this time (for my birthday). This year we spent the weekend in the Mineral King area at the south end of the park (see map). We drove up on Friday and spent the night at the Sierra Lodge in Three Rivers, CA. On Saturday morning we drove up the slow, winding road to Mineral King and staked out a capmground at the Cold Creek Campground. Then we headed off on our first hike.

On Saturday we decided to hike to Eagle Lake. The hike is 6.8 miles round trip, with an elevation gain of a little over 2,000 feet. We got to the Eagle-Mosquito trail head at around 12:30. The first mile is reasonably flat. After turning right at the junction with White Chief Trail, the going was a bit steeper. After another mile, we reached Eagle Creek where it dissappears into a sink hole, then passed the junction with Mosquito Lake Trail. In another 1.4 miles, we made it to Eagle Lake, which is popular for fly fishing. After a late lunch (around 3 PM), we headed back down. It’s not Mt. Whitney, but it proved to be a pretty challenging hike.

We spent Saturday night at Cold Creek Campground. We got back to our campsite (#9) at around 5:30 PM and set up camp. The we reheated some chicken-artichoke pasta that I had made the day before and had a glass of wine. We didn’t have any wood for a fire, so by 7:30 PM, we started getting ready for bed. That night we found out why Cold Creek got its name. It was freezing! By bundling up in multiple layers and hiding under our down comforter, we were barely able to survive the night. In the morning, after a quick breakfast and breaking down camp, we headed for the trail.

On Sunday we hiked White Chief Trail, starting from the same trailhead. White Chief Trail is about 4 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation. We started around 10:30 AM. The first mile was the same as the day before. After the junction with the Eagle Lake/Mosquito Lake Trail, we continued on through the Mineral King Canyon. Like the day before, the trail started to steepen. After a little more elevation, we saw a lot of sierra juniper trees. They look very twisted and weather-worn. After about 2 miles, we reached the White Chief Meadow. We saw the White Chief Mineshaft in the marble cliffs. It has been abandoned for a long time. After a bit of a climb at the head of the meadow and a bit more walking, we reached White Chief Bowl around 1:30 PM. We had a nice, relaxing lunch before our trek back down.

We got back to the car by 4:20, and started our drive back home. We stopped in Los Banos for burritos and arrived home by 10:30. Another great weekend in Sequoia. For more pictures from this trip, click here.

By the way, I started an account on Flickr. Flickr is a site for sharing photos. I’m not sure why I started and account since I already have this blog and my photo gallery. I guess it’s a way to get my photos out to other people. I have posted a few pictures there from the India trip, but nothing that is not already in my gallery. Anyway, if you’re interested, you can visit my Flickr site here.