Sawyer Water Filters are popular because of their light weight and ease of use, but the bags they provide are susceptible to developing leaks. The log cabin is located on the right side of the trail as you hike south a short distance before the Piute Creek bridge. We had perfect weather, saw some incredible scenery and wildlife, and had an overall fantastic time! The lowest lakes in Dusy and Evolution basin are mostly thawed. Backpackers are really friendly and fun, so it was a good time. I put on my night clothing and used a bit of DEET on my face to repel them. John Muir Trail, Evolution Valley, and Goddard Canyon access point. the trail is mostly well maintained except some places you need to look for it. I wasnt enjoying this as much as I would have liked. The Bishop Group is accessible from the South Lake Trailhead, either to Treasure Lakes, or Bishop Pass. No rain. Evolution Valley Ascension, Kings Canyon National Park and John Muir Wilderness, California Sierra Club Outings Trip | Backpack More Photos Highlights Traverse high mountain passes including Piute and Muir Hike among lush green meadows full shallow tarns Enjoy a layover day to explore or relax Includes I should just quit messing around and tape the thing to my face. They were having a seriously fun time on a hot Summers Day. Day 3: From camp, descend 7.3 miles on the JMT into Evolution Valley, then add an easy 1.2 miles to camp by Evolution Lake. I hung out by the creek for an hour and a half, until 3pm. Aside from stellar views, you will also find a station in McClure Meadow that is manned in the summer months by a ranger. Day five Leave the JMT, taking the switchbacks above Evolution Lake to access Darwin Canyon and a class 2 scramble up and over Lamarck Col to Upper Lamarck Lake, 2,100-feet below. Hike down 6.6 miles to LeConte Canyon, which is a very beautiful, deep canyon with lush meadows and forests. Water was everywhere but crossings were Ok. Bugs were not a issue. Piute Creek You then head south on the JMT, along the river until you reach the junction with the Goddard Canyon Trail. Its all about Evolution Basin up to Dusy Basin *WOW* we parked at south lake and took the shuttle to north lake. Saw plenty of deer, and other hikers saw a few bears in the meadows. Completed end of July 2022. John muir pass was hardest part, rained and was windy. It was challenging knowing exactly where to cross, we tried to find a place that looked shallow enough, however the water came up above my hips (Im 52) which was pretty scary because the current moved me quite a bit and the water was freezing! The mosquitos were relentless though. Up until Sep 11th there was a shuttle service that we could have used to get from South Lake to the North Lake trailhead -- running a couple of times a day and costing $20. We headed over Piute Pass and into Humphreys Basin from the North Lake Trailhead. I would head up the trail. Many describe Evolution Valley as the most beautiful spot in Kings Canyon National Park. No storms. I went down to the water and splashed some on my head. The trail immediately climbed high above the creek, and stayed there, perched on the canyon wall. Would recommend to anyone wanting to experience the High Sierras. North to South Lake is the easiest way to go with passes not too difficult. Nineteen miles from the nearest trailhead, Evolution Valley is a two-day hike for most backpackers. Piute Creek to Evolution Creek, 3.5 miles Beyond Piute Creek the trail stays close to the river, working its way up the canyon. There was no bridge. Day 2: In the morning, we broke camp early and switch-backed up to Bishop Pass. They were running a bit late to make it to Canada before the Autumn snows, and they knew it. The most challenging part of the hike was crossing the river. It is visible from the trail, but some hikers have walked past it without noticing it. Evolution Valley was flower-filled, even in this drought year. Absolutely beautiful. At Muir Pass base, if the snow looks significant above, take the first stream crossing at the very bottom of Muir Pass because the stream only gets deeper going up. Then I continued north. I didnt see anyone moving this time. You have to cross a river to get to them. Monday, they crossed 11,500-foot Piute Pass. Beautiful scenery, abundant water, breathtaking vistas. Setup camp and to our delight very few mosquitoes at 8500 feet. Then climbs through Evolution Meadow and Evolution Valley to reach Evolution Lake; 4,850 ft. of climb, 3,400 ft. of descent in 28 miles. The hike to Evolution Valley was exposed and hot at times. Highly recommend pushing up to lower Dusy Basin (though there are several campsites about 1200 vertical feet up from Le Conte, just prior to a bridge crossing) (night 4). 6 days / 5 night. Oh boy. I checked my GPS and discovered that I had hiked almost 15 miles today! Is there some exception for Evolution Valley? Great Trip! On day 1, take the Piute Pass Trail from North Lake Campground, and hike six miles gaining 2,000 feet to make camp near Upper Golden Trout Lake (no camping within 400 feet). For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page, For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page, Dawn alpenglow over Evolution Lake as I packed up all my gear for another big day of hiking, Dawn color in the clouds above Evolution Valley to the north, Waterfall on the creek that descends from Darwin Bench, after the JMT descends into Evolution Valley, Crossing the creek below the waterfall it was very wide with many small crossings, The Hermit (12328 feet elevation), standing alone and shining bright, at the upper end of Evolution Valley, View up Evolution Valley, over McClure and Colby Meadows with Evolution Creek on the right, and The Hermit, center, The McClure Meadow Ranger Station and the notices outside near the trail, View over McClure Meadow in the morning light, Still water on an curving stretch of Evolution Creek, down in the flat section of Evolution Valley, This is the lower ford of Evolution Creek, where the PCT-JMT crosses this could be dangerous in Spring, The first of several powerful waterfalls and cascades on Evolution Creek down at the lower end of Evolution Valley, One waterfall after another on this section of the creek, Wide-angle GoPro shot looking down into the worn granite where Evolution Creek tumbled downward, One last view of Evolution Creek as it churned down a granite chute on its way out of Evolution Valley, Mount Henry (12196 feet) peeking out between two glaciated granite domes above the South Fork San Joaquin River, The wooden bridge where the JMT-PCT first crosses the South Fork San Joaquin River, Aspen and pine forest at a much lower elevation it was HOT, The metal bridge where the PCT-JMT crosses the South Fork San Joaquin River, View from the metal bridge looking north (downstream), The South Fork San Joaquin River as I hiked north on the John Muir Trail in the sun, The river goes through a steep gorge down below a talus slide. Lots of camping spots with water so you can make your day as long or short as you like. 2 trip report day 0-4: getting in & Yosemite National Park warm up. At Piute Pass, we headed off trail toward Muriel Lake, then Alpine Col, which takes the hiker to the gorgeous Darwin Lakes and Darwin Bench area. We were lucky with good weather. Solomons christened these mountains the Evolution Group because I could think of none more fitting than the great evolutionists, so at-one in their devotion to the sublime in Nature.. What seemed like an irritating setback at the time, ended up giving us a chance to acclimate a bit before hauling ourselves, and 40 unaccustomed pounds, over Bishop Pass. It is my favorite all-time Sierra hike. Good campsites can be found there also. As we got going again I was giving myself a pretty serious mental pep talk about taking it easy and giving myself the time needed to work my way up the 700 feet of rocky switchbacks. It is, of course, the perfect time for this 5 - 7 day hike. And it was! The Guthook PCT app on my phone showed most of the camping spots along the main trail, but it didnt show any of them on the trail I was about to take. The SteriPen Adventurer has become popular because it is more reliable than earlier models. When I walk through this area again, perhaps I will do the same so I can see it from another perspective. So we caught the 9:00am ferry across and bought a few things in the little store there. Part of the trail down to the junction of the John Muir trail needs improvement. It was uphill all the way, and there was occasional shade, as I had hoped, so I didnt get heat stroke or anything. Ouch! No smoke from the California wildfires. At first the canyon was narrow, and the river had created deep channels to flow through. Id get my chance eventually. Truthfully, I wasnt all that worried about a bear. Good campsites can be found along the river beyond the Piute Creek bridge. Beautiful and challenging in a good way. The information provided on this website is done so without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In the Spring of a snowy year it must be incredible. We hiked it in 7 days but could have done in 6. Some of the travel is cross country but fairly easy to navigate. I had my food in a bear cannister, But getting partway up toward the pass seemed like a fine idea. Leave the JMT, and follow the drainage up to Darwin Canyon. I decided to stop for lunch a short ways ahead, and hung out in the shade next to the water with a couple of PCT hikers that Id spoken to earlier. Its not an extremely hard hike; most of it is pretty gradual and flat in the meadows, but there are two sections of switchbacks: heading up into evolution valley and heading up to evolution lake, but they werent too bad. We started at 8,200 feet and camped at 11,200 feet. Multiple Ascents Grid: Click for a grid showing all of Chris Land This is about the halfway spot. Bonner explored this area in 1895 while scouting a hikers route along the crest of the Sierra (it would eventually become the John Muir Trail). There was still quite a bit of snow on the surrounding mountains and still ice in the lake. Once we reached the pass at 11,955 feet, we were gifted with the sight of Muir Hut constructed in 1930 by the Sierra Club, with the intention of sheltering hikers that may find themselves caught in unsavory weather. After that, I was down on the floor of Evolution Valley. But we didnt see any rangers. It was a very long day. P. i. psammophilus is known from the Salinas Valley and may be a synonym of P. i. neglectus (Best 1993; Williams et al. Absolutely beautiful the whole time! The next morning, we went over Piute Pass and continued 10+ miles through beautiful Piute Canyon to Hutchinson Meadow. At night, Id comb through maps by headlamp, creating my ultimate ticklist for the parks. Youll find other good campsites on this knoll. When Leor Pantilat's FKT for the Evolution "loop" came up in my news feed, I skimmed it and moved on, having other things on my mind. Those who use the SteriPen, or any other filter system, are wise to carry a backup such as Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets. Finally, two ladies told me that there was a spot just ahead, right next to the creek! I've done this trail 4 times and it is amasing. Day 5: Cushy Day was followed by Payback Day. Reach a footbridge over Jeffrey pine-lined Piute Creek, and camp on designated pads nearby. Aahhh! There were a few sections that were mosquito-dense, but otherwise the bugs and critters were tolerable! Explore Evolution Valley - view hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you. Campsites: Lake Georg, Long Lake, descent down from Dusy Basin, Helen Lake, McLure Meadow, Puite Canyon Trail, Summit Lake. This loop begins and ends at the North Lake trailhead. Pictures posted. Located in California's beautiful eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, Inyo National Forest offers challenging trails, high mountain peaks, and unparalleled views. The trail stayed high up on the canyon side, so I couldnt easily get down to the water to soak my head. History. Then back to camp and packed up everything continuing on JMT . Day Zero Travel day. It all worked out in the end, however. Bishop and Muir Pass are still very snowy. Switchbacks up were very nice. Hundreds of feet of granite on one side, and beautiful open meadow on the other. 7/19/2014 - 17.03 miles, 2,992 AEG - Piute Bridge to Evolution Creek The day started with a six mile roundtrip hike to Muir Trail Ranch to obtain our resupply. At least there might be shade along this section, I thought to myself. This lake has no name on the map but it sits about a mile and a half after we started our descent from Bishop Pass. We hiked this loop from North to South Lake. In addition, The John Muir Trail may be accessed via Piute Pass from North Lake which is only 10 miles from the resort. A ranger later informed us that 80-90 deer were migrating seasonally over the pass during a snowstorm in November 2018, when presumably blinded by the snowfall, they one by one hit a patch of ice and fell to their deaths. Starting at the North Lake TH, we will cross Piute Pass (11,423'). Tiny bit of snow on bishop pass was completely avoidable. Video of a waterfall on Piute Creek near my campsite in lower Piute Canyon. Many thanks to her for this great post and pictures! Inside the hut, I swear I felt intensely connected with the energy of the many hikers who entered tired, cold and grateful. Driving times may vary based on conditions. Conditions were great! Hundreds of feet of granite on one side, and beautiful open meadow on the other. Wanda(sorry if mistaken) is full of mosquitos, prepare mesh covering for you face. It ended the same way that it started: With Waterfalls! Florence Lake Store and Ferry. Historical side note: Evolution Valley was named by Theodore Solomons . Warm days in the upper 70s and the nights werent too cool either, even up at sapphire lake. To avoid the risk of getting sick, most Sierra backpackers filter or treat their drinking water. Having two cars so as to shuttle between trailheads made the logistics a lot easier. Then got up and hiked to the ferry to see if it was running and what do you know it was! Emerson and Peak 12691. The tour described below is one example of a 7-day Ionian Basin tour. Another 1.5 miles up the canyon is the turnoff to Evolution Valley. We found the trailhead about 1/3 mile away and hiked a few miles to Loch Leven. Video of a PCT hiker butt-sliding under the bridge. $4,995: August 6-11. Glaciated dome on the canyon side, with Turret Creek (which was dry) on the left, The Piute Pass Trail finally got closer to Piute Creek and I began to seriously look for a campsite, now that I had water, My tent and campsite alongside Piute Creek I wanted to lie down but I still had chores to do, View from my campsite, at 9000 feet elevation, looking downstream. Our group of six left a vehicle at the termination point (South Lake trailhead) then drove to the North Lake overnight parking lot and we started our journey in the late afternoon. It was breathtaking up there. So prepare rain And wind covering if comfort is a must. The next morning, we continued on the Piute Trail and crossed the bridge onto the John Muir Trail (JMT) where we were paralleling a fast-moving San Joaquin River located within the Kings Canyon National Park. Day 4: Rest and explore. The 56-chromosome karyotype associated with P. i. neglectus is generally larger than P. i. inornatus and has been identified from the western side of the San Joaquin Valley and the Carrizo Plain (Patton and Rogers 1993). amazing. I got out the map and came up with a plan, but it wasnt perfect. Did it South Lake to North Lake so the slog at Muir Pass was real and all trails GPS offline helped me navigate through snow/now visible trail, Did it in equiv of 4 days. We made a few mistakes that cost us a lot of time, however.we didn't take the ferry out, and lost the trail around the lake - a mistake that cost us several hours to climb over boulders and ledges. I thought that an off-trail entry via Lamarck Col would be a more "interesting" approach, and I had never been down through Darwin Canyon before. On day 4 we headed east along Piute Canyon toward lovely Humphreys Basin, a timeless spot overlooking the Glacier Divide to which we have returned again and again. may have been made. I also crossed Evolution creek at the alternate, which was swampy but looked much easier than the main crossing. Very scenic. Beautiful alpine lakes, waterfalls, and my God the meadows. The route my two amigas and I traveled lies in the trio of Kings Canyon National Park, Inyo National Forest and Sierra National Forest. Ooops! Id see how I felt when I got to the the trail junction. This is one of my favorite trips of many in the eastern Sierra. dirt and rock trail. I told them to skip Oregon, because it sounded mostly like boring forest with no views, and a hiker named Strawberry told me that there was a thing called Oregon in Two Weeks which skips the lame parts. From there, you head back west and up up up to Evolution Valley and then Evolution Basin - finally topping out at the summit of Muir Pass. Golden trout present. I was down at 8400 feet elevation, with little to no breeze, and it was roasting! Evolution Valley has always been high on my list of things to do. Dinners were instant potatoes with packaged salmon or tuna along with instant soup or couscous. They came across a congregation of stunning peaks lining the South Fork of the San Joaquin River, and they altered course to the glaciated valley beneath them, finding clear lakes, dwarf meadows, and jagged sky-stabbing peaks. Oh ya, chill and take your time. Layover at Sapphire Lake while weather passed. We passed more than a dozen lakes some of which I will mention when I upload photos. We did 7 nights, 8 days with our first and last days being half days. Day four Rest and explore. Evolution Creek had already joined forces and the river was much larger. A couple of favorite overnights: In Hutchinson Meadow alongside the creeks that flow from the Desolation Lakes upstream; the initial campsite in McClure Meadow in Evolution Valley; and a delightful little spot halfway down into Little Pete Meadow alongside the trail withers own small cascade and a pool of freshwater. 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