Bench Lake via Taboose Pass, Kings Canyon NP, California: A tough climb to a magical and remote Sierra lake
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Here are some pix from my 3 day hike over Taboose Pass to Bench Lake in Kings Canyon National Park in the Sierra Nevada of Central California last Fall. More photos and a trip report on my site PlanetRambler.com
The trail follows the greenery snaking up the mountain, which hides Taboose Creek rushing down from perennial snowfields high above.
Looking back east at the high walls towering over the plateau at the end of treeline.
Bench Lake lies high on a shelf above the intersection of two deep valleys. Towering above is 12,958 ft. Arrow Peak.
The next morning brings another brilliant Sierra day for the last few miles to Bench Lake. Taboose Pass from the West.
Arrow Peak from an inlet on the east shore of Bench Lake.
North across the deep valley to Cartridge Pass, entrance to the remote Lakes Basin region. Cartridge Pass was the original route of the John Muir Trail before construction of the Golden Staircase portion north of Mather Pass.
The final morning, I explored the south side of Bench Lake. It's a tangle of gorgeous inlets and peninsulas which offer little flat ground on which to camp.
In this view east, you can see how the high layered walls of Taboose Pass appear deceptively impassible from below.
Clouds swirl in and purple shadows quickly fill the Owens Valley.
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