Rae Lakes 01

Kings Canyon - Rae Lakes Backpack

46 mile trek in three days up Woods Creek and out Bubbs Creek in Kings Canyon National Park, Aug 3-5 2012.
Rae Lakes 01

Rae Lakes 01

03 Aug 2012 105
Heading into the canyons from Roads End, Kings Canyon National Park.
Rae Lakes 02

Rae Lakes 02

03 Aug 2012 93
Neck straining mile high granite walls and peaks surround you on the way in.
Rae Lakes 03

Rae Lakes 03

03 Aug 2012 67
Rae Lakes 04

Rae Lakes 04

03 Aug 2012 79
Rising up the Woods Creek trail, looking back at a feature called The Sphinx which rises above our entry trail.
Rae Lakes 05

Rae Lakes 05

03 Aug 2012 74
Rae Lakes 06

Rae Lakes 06

03 Aug 2012 90
Woods Creek near Mist Falls.
Rae Lakes 07

Rae Lakes 07

03 Aug 2012 78
Paradise Valley.
Rae Lakes 08

Rae Lakes 08

03 Aug 2012 64
Rae Lakes 09

Rae Lakes 09

03 Aug 2012 104
Castle Domes, up around 7,800 feet.
Rae Lakes 10

Rae Lakes 10

03 Aug 2012 90
Castle Domes Meadow.
Rae Lakes 11

Rae Lakes 11

03 Aug 2012 73
Rae Lakes 12

Rae Lakes 12

03 Aug 2012 108
Hard to appreciate the scale in this photo, but on this mountain across Woods Creek, a house sized granite slab had slid down, cutting a swath through tall mature trees and exploding the area at bottom, probably due to snowpack coming down with it at the time.
Rae Lakes 13

Rae Lakes 13

03 Aug 2012 90
A very shaky suspension bridge at the Woods Creek South Fork junction.
Rae Lakes 14

Rae Lakes 14

04 Aug 2012 122
I camped at this spot at about 8,500 feet with perfect weather and no bear harassment. The next night would not be so perfect.
Rae Lakes 15

Rae Lakes 15

04 Aug 2012 83
More shots of the bridge. Didn't Hurley and Charlie cross this on Lost? Or was it Indiana Jones?
Rae Lakes 16

Rae Lakes 16

04 Aug 2012 76
Rae Lakes 17

Rae Lakes 17

04 Aug 2012 100
Resuming the hike the next day up South Fork Woods Creek toward the Rae Lakes.
Rae Lakes 18

Rae Lakes 18

04 Aug 2012 56
81 items in total