Backpacking the Mineral King Loop
Nestled in the southern part of Sequoia National Park, Mineral King is a pristine and glistening gem of the Sierra Nevadas
Logistics
At the end of Summer 2019, a group of friends and I backpacked the Mineral King loop. As the first backpacking trip for a majority of the group, I wanted to offer them an untouched and raw slice of the Sierra Nevadas. The loop was one that I had heard a great deal about but never had the chance to complete myself.
Itinerary
We decided to do the loop in a clockwise fashion, first cresting Timber Gap, followed Black Rock Pass, and finally Sawtooth Pass. This meant having to endure the long trek up Black Rock Pass early on in the trek. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done the loop any other way, after experiencing Sawtooth Pass as the culmination of our efforts.
Travel
The first day was spent driving to the Mineral King ranger station in Cold Springs. Since it was the first trip for many in the group, we chose to spend the first night at Cold Springs campground to acclimate. Nothing could be worse than hiking at 9000 feet on the first day only to have group members fall ill to altitude sickness.
Our extra time was used to set up camp, pack bear cans, and double check our supplies. We briefly visited the trailhead to get a nice view of Sawtooth Peak rising above the treeline before heading back to camp to enjoy a campfire and some s’mores.
Day 1: Timber Gap
We had a very late start on our first day, hitting the trail at 11 AM. With a few thousand feet of elevation gain to get over Timber Gap, I wanted to get us going fast in order to get as close to the foot of Black Rock Pass the next morning. The trail meandered up and out of Cold Springs, climbing steadily upwards until we briefly left the treeline to behold sweeping views of the valley below and towering ridges up above.
After a bit more climbing we crested the gap an hour and a half after leaving the trail head. We had a lunch consisting of tortillas, salami, cheese, and honey (a common meal over the next four days), and quickly dropped down the other side of Timber Gap headed towards Cliff Creek.
Upon arriving at the creek, we filtered water to fill up our reserves. With daylight quickly fading and evening closing in, I decided that making it to Pinto Lake would be out of the question. We crossed Cliff Creek and made camp at a site a few hundred feet above the water. It was already provisioned with a bear box so we had the added peace of mind that no bear cans would roll into the creek that night. A quick rinse in the water washed off the day’s sweat, and dehydrated meals were eagerly consumed before heading off to bed.
Day 2: Black Rock Pass
On the second day we woke up at 6 AM—an attempt to rectify the previous day’s sluggish start—and hit the trail by 7 AM. Since we missed our goal of Pinto Lake on the first day, we had a much longer approach to Black Rock Pass. Judging by the mileage and elevation gain for the day ahead, we were going to need every hour we could get. All said, it was about 6 miles to the top of Black Rock Pass from Cliff Creek.
The trail was a steady incline that slowly wandered up out of the forest and above the treeline. We chose to take a quick lunch break at Pinto Lake which was the same as yesterday’s. Basking in the sun and swatting at mosquitoes, we sat, admiring the jagged ridge lines that encircled us, knowing full well that we had to navigate our way over them.
Once we resumed our uphill battle to Black Rock Pass, each step revealed progressively more sweeping vistas. The trail was exposed, it was rocky, and it was comprised of dozens of switchbacks that wound their way up the west face of the valley. As we pushed onward, the number of water and snack breaks steadily increased. I could see that the elevation was starting to affect the group.
Topping out Black Rock Pass was nothing short of euphoric. For some, seeing the Great Western Divide and the Eastern Sierras that lay beyond evoked feelings of wonder. For others, the knowledge that their own legs carried them this far strengthened them for what lay ahead.
The descent to Little Five Lakes was short and steep, and less than 2 miles later, we reached our camp for the night. We set up near the lake adjacent to the backcountry ranger station. Once the sun retreated behind Black Rock Pass, the mosquitoes came out in full force, whining and biting without mercy. We hastily went through the evening motions and went to bed, tired but content, and ready for another day on the trail.
Day 3: Lost Canyon
After a relaxing night at Little Five Lakes we continued our saga with the mosquitoes with the horde hounding us on our way down to Big Five Lakes. Down by the lakes we had a lunch of tortilla wraps—again—and enjoyed an extended photo op to capture some memories.
The rest of the early afternoon was spent making our way up Lost Canyon to our final camp of the trek. The ranger at Cold Springs had informed us that camping at Columbine Lake was now not allowed due to increased human impact, coupled with the proximity of campsites to the lake. What we soon found out was that “settling” for upper Lost Canyon was not—by any means—a terrible trade-off.
The views down the canyon from our campsite were striking, overlooking miles of alpine greenery, interrupted by large boulders that had crashed down from the mountains above. We spent the rest of the day rinsing off in the snow-melt-fed stream that ran down the canyon. Our feet went numb in the frigid water as we bathed and topped off our drinking supply. Thanks to the turbulence of the stream, we had very few mosquitoes to contend with, so climbing and relaxing on the boulders was an option here. A few of us even managed to capture stunning timelapses of the wispy late afternoon clouds rolling over the ridge in front of Sawtooth Peak.
Our final trail dinner was a combo platter of whatever we had left in our bear cans: Mountain House meals, tortilla wraps, tuna packets, etc. We ate anything and everything to lighten up our packs for the last day. Before calling it a night one last time, we all crammed into one tent and enjoyed a few rounds of Uno.
Day 4: Sawtooth Pass
On the final morning our alarms went off at 3:30 AM. Hoping to get home at a decent hour, we had elected for an alpine start, our headlamps ablaze in the early morning darkness. The half mile ascent to Columbine Lake was eerie, each of us confined to our own narrow beam of illuminated trail. Granite spires loomed high above, quietly watching.
We reached Columbine lake just in time for the sunrise and were met with transformative views of Lost Canyon behind us. Ahead of us, however, was Columbine Lake. The calm water was perfectly framed by the Sawtooth ridge line behind it.
With a bit of path finding and using the notch of Sawtooth Pass as a visual guide, we followed the natural contour of Columbine lake over the rocky terrain up to the pass. Once again the horde of mosquitos descended upon us, swarming us as we climbed higher. And even when we reached the top of the pass, their incessant whine and bites never ceased. Yet, amidst the cacophony, the joy we felt from standing at the top of Sawtooth Pass was inexpressible.
The final hurdle had been cleared and, after the obligatory photo opportunity with Sawtooth Peak in the background, all there was left to do was hike the last few miles back down to the car. If we had the time, I would have opted for a quick summit push without full packs but, conscious about the time, we quickly snacked, snapped some photos, and began our descent.
With each step our heels dug deep into the gravel and scree, sending us sliding down an additional few feet. With how much the ground gave way beneath our feet, it was not difficult to imagine how difficult hiking Sawtooth Pass from this side must be (all the more reason to complete the loop in a clockwise manner).
Scree and gravel eventually gave way to rocky trails which, after a few more miles, gave way to packed dirt. We quickly made the rest of the way down to the car, changed, loaded all the gear, and hit the road back to civilization. We stopped briefly for some pie at the nearby lodge, already reminiscing about the trek and the memories we had made.