Sierra Nevadas Trip 2008

The South Lake to North Lake loop is the quintessential High Sierra hike. We found ourselves covering 52 miles, experiencing over 8,000 feet in elevation gain, and crossing three mountain passes as we spent seven days in the backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park. Our hike began at South Lake outside of Bishop, California and climbed 2500 feet to cross Bishop Pass at an elevation of 12,000 feet. We then descended into the remarkably scenic Dusy Basin. Over the next two days we dropped into LeConte Canyon and worked our way up to Muir Pass with the fascinating Muir Hut constructed for hikers needing to wait out a Sierra storm. Below Muir Pass we stayed two nights at the frigid Wanda Lake. Each morning the shores of the lake had a thin layer of ice (We were there in July!) We dayhiked up Wanda Pass and were treated to a panorama of the stark but beautiful Ionian Basin. Departing Wanda Lake, we dropped into the beautiful and famous Evolution Valley. The scenery and evidence of glaciation were truly remarkable. The final two days of our excursion found us hiking up Piute Canyon, staying in Humphries Basin with an endangered frog species, and finally over Piute Pass to conclude our trip at North Lake.