I've written enough about the Kern, so I'm not going to do another typical trip report. Rather, I thought I'd just post up a representative set of pictures from a recent 6 day trip Fred and I did up there. We caught it in a very unusual mood this time, wet and soggy for 4 days, unsettled for one, and 100 degree heat our last day when we got down near Symmes Creek. The high point of the trip was a really nice day hike that covered both arms of Milestone Basin, one which I hadn't done in quite a while. It was really a sweet, nostalgic feeling to get back in there again and revisit one of the best campsites I have ever found. Many a night has been spent there with a good friend in front of a comforting fire(back when they were OK) passing a flask of fine Armenian cognac back and forth.
That was also the day when the heavens really opened up and dumped enough rain to put Fred's tent in a pool of water and leave him marooned on his sleeping pad trying to keep his bag dry.
The super storm on July 21, 2013, rearranged a lot of furniture on the Shepherd Pass trail, including cutting a huge channel ~15-20 feet deep and 20-25 feet wide just below Anvil Camp. It is passable, but requires a bit of care to avoid a slip which would almost certainly remove some skin. The headwall was also loosened up quite a bit, and gets a bit tedious near the top. It takes a bit longer to do the route now, but the good news is you won't be seeing any horse packers up there for a long, long time.
