Help me plan a loop in Evolution area

[Bob Gross]

"it's a pretty steep talus slog."

I would agree with that, depending on which direction you are going. As I recall, approaching it from the JMT side was a steep talus slog and not much fun. Approaching it from the forest service side (Echo Glacier side) wasn't nearly so bad, but then we had to downclimb the steep talus to the JMT, and that wasn't much fun, either.

–B.G.–

[Joshua Billings]

Yes there is several places to camp near south lake. Up pretty high too. At least 9000. Nice high desert near bishop. Get to the permit office early and you can get a walk in permit.

[chris smead]

Alrighty, I've made some more progress on my trip planning.

Day 1. Pick up my permit, drop off my car at North lake, and pray I can hitch a ride to South Lake. Camp at South Lake trailhead to acclimate.
Day 2. Hike over Bishop, and then camp somewhere in Dusy Basin.
Day 3. Hop on to the JMT Northbound, and camp somewhere in Le Conte Canyon.
Day 4. Continue on JMT Nobo over Muir Pass, and then camp at Evolution Lake.
Day 5. Leave the JMT, and head up Darwin Canyon over Lamarck Col and back to the car I left at North Lake.

I'm a tiny bit nervous about leaving the trail to head up over Lamarck Col. This will be my first real off trail experience. I'll have a GPS and topo map so I'm hoping I'll be okay.
I was able to secure my permit online via recreation.gov, I guess I just need to pick it up at the Mono Lake station?

Please feel free to share any tips of places to camp, navigation tips, etc.
Are there any water crossings or anything I should be aware of?
Has anyone done this route before and would be willing to share the GPS tracks?
And one more dumb question. Is it totally safe to drive a Prius up to North lake at 9800ft? I'm guessing the road is paved and such…

Sorry for all the questions, I just want to get this right. :)

[Bob Gross]

First, the road to North Lake is not paved all the way. If you park a car there, you can't expect there to be a lot of traffic going back downhill, so you might think about walking downhill until a car does come by. Once you get to Highway 168, then there is a little more fisherman traffic depending on the time of day.

In the past when I've gone this route, we've camped one night above Evolution Lake in the Darwin Bench area. That was because of wildflowers. If you go in the season without wildflowers, then it doesn't matter. It might be a long haul to get all the way from Evolution Lake to North Lake in a day. It depends on how much daylight you have.

–B.G.–

[Ken Helwig]

Christopher a few things…firstly, Dusy Basin is quite pretty. Are you planning to stop there and soak up the scenery? If not you could make it to Leconte in one day. If you do decide to stay in Dusy Basin then there is no need to stay in Leconte Canyon the next day. I would continue on to Big Pete Meadow. That will give you a nice starting point to ascend Muir Pass. Finding the use trail into Darwin Bench is quite obvious. The JMT will turn sharply west and start downhill. There is a creek there too…Darwin Branch. Just turn right (east) and head uphill. The use trail is pretty easy to follow though it is steep. Camp on Darwin Bench and make the last day for your ascent of Lamarck Col. I will give you more info when I get home from work

[Ken Helwig]

Christopher, why Mono Lake to pick up your permit. Are you flying in to Reno or Tahoe. Bishop is where I get my petmits, and you probably get needed trail info from them

[Bob Gross]

"Finding the use trail into Darwin Bench is quite obvious."

Ken, try that in April.

–B.G.–

[chris smead]

Bob:
Thanks for those tips. I'll start walking toward 168 and pray someone gives me a ride.
Otherwise it looks like 12 miles…and I right? I won't get there until probably early afternoon (I live in San Jose)…so part of that walk would be in the dark :(
Evolution lake to North lake according to google earth was only 9 miles. But I know you said that can be very inaccurate. How many miles do you estimate?
The unpaved part of the rd to north lake is still drivable for a Prius right? I wish I had a truck.

Ken:
Good info thanks! I'll do that and camp at big Pete meadow and Darwin bench since Bob suggested that too. Any additional info is always appreciated.
Btw, I think we know some of the same people! I think I saw you post on Eric Power's facebook the other day. Eric was in a band called Sloe that my old band used to play with years ago.
And yes, thanks I will pick up by permit in Bishop instead. I didn't even know there was a ranger station there.

[Ken Helwig]

Yes Christopher there is a Ranger Station in Bishop. That is where most of us grab our permit for east side SEKI trips. They will probably give you any information that is more current since your trailhead is west of Bishop on 168.

Once your into Darwin Canyon and at the last lake in the chain, you will want to start up hill at the most eastern part of the lake end. Basically you are going to shoot right up. It is not that steep nor is their talus or scree issues. It's actually quite pleasant. Just take your time. Once at the top, you will need to find the Lamarck Col sign. THAT is the correct notch to take for your descent. Sometimes you will have a snowfield on the eastern part of the col. Just tread carefully and you will be ok. Once off the col, it is pretty straightforward. At one point the trail kinda makes a V…..stay to your right (southern side) and proceed….once you hit the defined use trail you are home free….seriously Cristopher, this is a pretty safe cross country route and the crossing of the col is not that bad. Have fun and take many pictures, you will be in some amazing country. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. This is one of my favorite trips in the Sierra. Next year I will be leading the same trip but going over Piute and back over Lamarck….any takers are welcome!
Edit, if you have decent map skills you will not need a GPS…however if that makes you feel more secure than by all means bring it

[Ken Helwig]

Small world Christopher….hahahah yes I know Eric and many of his friends are my friends too. I just saw him a few weeks ago at our SKUNX BBQ in SJ. I am a musican too, played in a band called Slip and then The Forgotten…originally from San Jose but live over the hill know. We gotta hook up for some backpacking…my specialty is Sequoia and Kings BTW

What band did you play in…obviously you guys played the Cactus right?

[Bob Gross]

It might be only nine miles, but up there the miles don't count so much. It is the degree of off-trailness. When there isn't any real trail, you have to spend a certain amount of time watching the paper map and glancing around at the rocks to figure out your next steps. The elevation gain and steepness are big factors.

If you can't get a Prius to North Lake, then there is something wrong with it.

I tend to do hitchhiking at the end of a trip rather than at the start. At the end of the trip, my pack is a lot smaller in case I have to walk part of it.

–B.G.–

[Jay Wilkerson]

Looking back to the Darwin lakes from the Lamarck Col

Evolution Lake

[chris smead]

No way!!! I've heard of both of those bands! I had a comp tape from back in the day with Slip, The Kindred, etc. Didn't you have that song "meowmeowmeow meow meow this is what we're fighting for! meowmeowmeow meow meow who will win the human war!" or something like that?
Sorry I replace words with "meow" when I can't remember them.

I was in The Muckrakers, Keeping Ellis, toNavigate, and Metabear.

I'm always down for backpacking so anytime. I want to do some winter stuff this year in seki, so I'll have to study up for that. :)

[chris smead]

Thanks for the pics Jay!! Awesome.

And Bob, I was worried about doing a long day of hiking over Lamarck on my last day and then not being able to get a ride and having to walk another 12 miles back to South lake.

I wonder if it would cost an outragious amount to have a taxi follow me to North lake, then give me a ride to South lake…just thinking out loud.

[Bob Gross]

"I wonder if it would cost an outragious amount to have a taxi follow me to North lake, then give me a ride to South lake."

Yes.

It is for reasons like this why we often organize into groups. With two carloads of hikers, you can do a car shuttle.

–B.G.–

[chris smead]

Gotcha. By chance would anyone be in this area on Fri, Sept 14th?
If so private message me. *crossing fingers*

[Gray Kinnier]

Try calling Parchers resort near South Lake, We were there last month and they mentioned having a shuttle service between the two trailheads. We didn't use it so no idea of price.

[chris smead]

Ill check that out. Thanks Gray!

[Ken Helwig]

Such a small world Christopher! However that tape thingy was done on some bad recordings….something that I am not too proud of…however I think the song is Sounds of The City..Yes I have heard of your bands……Man I am laughing about this as the rock world and backpacking world does not collide…Tell Eric this as I think he will get a chuckle out of it. Seriously, if you want a good backpacking partner albeit slow and steady I am there. I would love pics from your trip. Enjoy and savor it, that area is such a great place to visit. Don't worry too much as it is heavily traveled (aside from the whole Darwin region, but there is NO danger). Have fun and treat it as an adventure, your rides will happen and you will have a great experience!

[Katy Anderson]

Did this loop a couple of summers ago. We did it North lake – Lamarck – Darwin Canyon – Evolution – Muir Pass – Le Conte – Dusy Basin – Bishop Pass – South Lake. Won't give you a full trail report, instead I'm trying to remember the first portion as it covers the off trail portion of the trip.
Started the trip late in the day as I had come from the Bay Area and my friend from LA. We parked at the backpacker designated parking lot at North lake and then hiked a mile or so to the trail head. Continued up a couple of miles on trail to Lower Lamarck lake, it wasn't far but with the 1000 foot or so elevation gain it was slow going. Camped overlooking Lower Lamarck lake.
Next day we continued on trail for half a mile or so. Just before Upper Lamarck lake the trail disappears completely. We checked the map, and yes in fact the trail terminates right there for no apparent reason.
Looking around we found, then lost and then found the use trail that doesn't really go to Upper Lamarck, instead winds the most logical way towards Lamarck Col. Once we passed the confusion around Upper Lamarck lake it was really quite straightforward and the use trail clearly visible.
We knew that we were in the right place as we approached the little tarn below Lamarck Col. There was a permanent snow field there and a season of footprints that made the trail across it very clear.
Once at the top there was a very official sign welcoming us to Kings Canyon National Park. The next switch back or two going down was official looking trail, then nothing…Boulders, kerns, possible paths, but nothing that you can say definitely was the trail. So we just winged it and continue down. We could at this point see the lakes of Darwin Canyon so we knew where we were heading. We reached the middle lake, made camp, ate and went to sleep exhausted.

My concern for you is that you would be going in the opposite direction, heading from Darwin Canyon lakes up towards Lamarck Col. It is not obvious looking up from the lakes exactly where Lamarck Col is located, and there is no real use trail. The risk of getting completely lost is probably small as you have the Darwin Canyon lakes on one side and Mount Lamarck on the other, but you might spend many hours picking your way up through the boulders.

[Bob Gross]

"exactly where Lamarck Col is located"

I agree. It isn't too hard to find the approximate area for Lamarck Col, but you might need to look around a bit to find the exact spot. There are several little windows through the rocks that all look alike. I would say to go with the one that seems to have the heaviest use. The good news is that there is no need to hit Lamarck Col exactly as long as you find the old foot trails. It's even worse in April when everything is covered in snow.

–B.G.–

[Jay Wilkerson]

Evolution Valley right before you head up to Darwin Basin.

[chris smead]

Thanks for the info. Oof… This is getting a little intimidating. Does anyone have gps coordinates for the sign at the top of Lamarck? Or maybe some other tips to help find it?
I usually get anxious about advanced trips like this, and then later realize it wasn't a big deal… But still I don't want to get over confident.
I don't know what I'd do without all of your advice. THANK YOU

[Bob Gross]

If you are reading your map carefully, you can shoot a compass bearing on it from a couple of miles down the hill in either direction. If not, then read my previous post.

–B.G.–

[Ken Helwig]

Christopher, It took about 15 minutes to find the correct notch…it is not hard trust me.

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