Kaweah Basin

28-30 August 1992

by Bill Finch

All during the summer of 1992, I saw flashes of light in my right eye when I blinked. On my annual visit to the optometrist in July, I mentioned the flashes. He took a close look at my retina and set up an appointment with an ophthalmologist who confirmed that I had a torn retina. The good news was that I would be able to take the hike I had planned to the Kaweah Basin if I promised not to jump around too much.

This was my sixth hike of the summer and I was especially looking forward to it. I had visited the Kaweah Basin twice before and was longing to return. I planned an ambitious three day hike which would take me over three cross country passes I had never crossed before, Kern-Kaweah Col, Lawson Pass, and Pyra-Queen Col (see maps). In my ignorance, I figured it would be no big deal. Upon reflection, I realize that I never would have been able to complete the hike unless I had been in top shape and experienced with cross country travel.

I was up at 4 am on the first day and got to the permit office at Lodgepole almost a half hour early. This allowed me to be on the High Sierra Trail at Crescent Meadow by 7:35. My goal for the day was Precipice Lake some 19 miles distant. The day was cloudy and cool and I made exceptional time. I passed through Bearpaw Meadow shortly after noon, finished eating at Hamilton Lake by 3, hiked the final few miles with views of Eagle Scout Peak,

and I arrived at my Precipice Lake camp a little after 5.



Day 2

The next morning, I awoke early and was atop Kaweah Gap a little after 7.
As I moved across Nine Lake Basin, the first of the three passes I would cross, Kern-Kaweah Col, came into view.
Rather than fighting more loose talus, I chose the class three chimney to the south. I was at the top of Kern-Kaweah Col at 9:25 and looking west toward Eagle Scout Peak above Kaweah Gap.
The barren Kern-Kaweah headwaters dominated the view to the east.
I passed a pale blue lake on the way to Lawson Pass, my second cross country pass of the day.
By 11:30, I was atop Lawson Pass where I had a fine view back into the headwaters of the Kern-Kaweah River. A light snow started to fall.
The view down Picket Creek showed a mostly barren canyon.
West of Lawson Pass was the glacier at the head of Picket Creek canyon.
The upper part of the canyon was filled with slabs and large talus blocks. I fell on my back and bent the external metal pack frame. The frame probably protected me from injury. Snow continued to fall - strange stuff that looked like hail but could be crushed like styrofoam.
Low vegetation grew in the middle section of Picket Creek Canyon.
The view down Picket Creek included Mount Whitney.
On the way down Picket Creek I encountered some periglacial features.
At 1:45, I arrived at Picket Creek Pass.
South of Picket Creek Pass were my first views of Kaweah Basin, including its lower lake, one of my favorites.
Stormy weather continued as I looked back toward the Sierra crest.
The Kaweah Peaks were spectacular in the stormy light.
Ponds and tarns provided spectacular foreground to the view of the ridge. Snow continued to fall off and on as I moved toward the third pass.

My third cross country pass of the day, Pyra-Queen Col, came into view.
Mount Kaweah, highest peak on the ridge, had infamous Kaweah Pass to its left.
East of Mount Kaweah and near Red Spur was a rocky cirque, home to a rock glacier.
The last push up to the top of Pyra-Queen Col was not easy with a full pack.
At 5:45, I was reading the only entry in the log on Pyra-Queen Col that had been made since I had visited on 23 August 1991.
Nine Lakes Basin looked gloomy from Pyra-Queen Col.
A ramp led down to the endless talus below.
After a long slog down loose talus and around a few cliffs, I arrived at the lake and looked back at the col far above.
I stopped at around 7:30 where several other guys had set up camp. They invited me to join them on a bench above the lake.

Day 3

After a good night's sleep I was ready for an early start at 7 the next morning. It was so cold that as I was washing up from breakfast, the lake water froze on my cup and spoon. I reached the outlet of Butch Lake with a great view of another of the Nine Lakes below.
Frozen grass reminded me of how cold it had been earlier in the morning.
Back over Kaweah Gap by 9:25, overhead clouds were gone although they persisted beyond the Angel Wings.
By the time I got down to Hamilton Lake. the clouds had returned. I bathed and ate a little lunch. It was 11:20, time to continue to the trailhead.
I passed through Bearpaw Meadow at 2:04 and made it to my favorite rest stop on the HST. It was 3:35.
I turned around and took one last photo toward the Great Western Divide.
Despite the clouds and the intermittent snow on Day 2, I think this is one of my favorite hikes of all time. It was a physical and mental challenge tackling three new cross-country passes in one day. Day 1 was all on trail but it was almost twenty miles. Day 3 was more than twenty miles, most of it on trail. The trip from Butch Lake to the trailhead was inspiring and a few years later I wrote a poem about that day's hike. For copies of the hand written trip log, trip log.
By 7 that evening I was heading home from the trailhead and mentally preparing for the new school year.