Kings Canyon :: Bubbs Creek Trail

The Bubbs Creek Trail follows the South Fork Kings River to Avalanche Creek and on to Bubbs Creek. A little over two miles long, it is the first leg of the hike to Mist Falls (2.5 miles further), which was my ultimate destination. The trail starts out on the north side of the river. Crossing a suspension bridge gets you to the south side where the trail meanders through meadows dotted with ponderosa pine and cedar trees. Towering peaks rise up on both sides of the river dwarfing everything beneath them.

A calm section of the South Fork Kings River. The big boulder in the distance is known as the Muir Rock. From this wide, flat rock, John Muir used to deliver impassioned speeches about the Sierra. When referring to logging the giant trees, he said that mankind may as well "sell the rain clouds and the snow and the rivers to be cut up and carried away, if that were possible."

Narrow spots in the river, along with boulders and rocks in the water, create sections of rough water. I love the sound of the water flowing through these areas.

There were some areas along the trail that required scrambling over rocks, but for the most part the trail was relatively level with open meadows mingled with forested areas. About three quarters of the way down the trail there were several small streams that had to be crossed using rocks as stepping stones, or simply walking through the shallow, swift flowing waters.

But then I came to this. The three logs were 8-10 feet long. The water was about 18” deep and very, very fast. I stuck my hiking stick in to the bottom of the stream and the current almost grabbed it out of my hand. It's hard to see in the photo but once you got across the wet, slippery logs there was a downed tree that you had to get over and another 10 feet or so of water (though it didn't look quite as deep) before you reached the other side.

Three times I made the attempt to cross. The logs were of varying sizes. They were slippery. There was no good footing and I'm not good at walking the balance beam! I looked upstream and down for another way to cross but saw nothing. There was no one else around to offer assistance. Reluctantly, I turned around and walked back the way I had come, disappointed but at the same time, savoring the beauty around me.

Along the way back I thought of my options. I could go to the beginning again and take the trail on the North side of the river but that would make the days hike 12.5 miles instead of the original 8.5 and though the view at Mist Falls promised to be nice (a 50 foot waterfall that drops over a ledge into a boulder-lined pool) I decided not to continue on to the falls.

Kings Canyon :: Zumwalt Meadow Trail

On the morning of June 21st I moved from Azalea Campground in Kings Canyon (west) to the Sentinel Campground in the eastern side of the park, down on the canyon floor.

The scenic drive of 30 miles from the west to east side of Kings Canyon National Park takes over an hour. The views along the way are breath-taking.

After getting settled in at the new camp site, I drove the 10 miles to Roads End. Along the way I stopped at Zumwalt Meadow and walked the trail. It was a nice, leisurely walk with the river flowing on one side and meadows and mountains surrounding you on the other side.

The river alternates between swift flowing “calm” areas as shown above and even faster flowing sections of ripples and rapids.

Looking east across Zumwalt Meadow.

Redwood Canyon

On one of my stops at the Kings Canyon Visitors Center (in the western side, near Grant Grove), I asked the Ranger on duty if he had any favorite day hikes. He suggested Redwood Canyon saying that there was a 2-mile dirt road down to the trailhead without providing any other details besides asking if I had a large RV (and I didn't think to ask either).

So, the next morning I ventured a few miles south to the turnoff to Redwood Canyon. Once beyond the turnoff and around the first curve, there is no turning back! The narrow, steep, winding dirt road was carved out of the side of the canyon. There were several places wide enough for two cars to pass by each other but most of the 2-mile road (using the term loosely) was wide enough for just one vehicle.

I crossed my fingers and said a little prayer that I would not meet any vehicles coming up while I was going down! The dust flew up behind the rear wheels quickly covering the back windshield so that nothing could be seen from the rear. After a 25-minute harrowing drive, I made it safely to the parking lot, which was nearly full (and all of the vehicles had dust covering their rear windows).

The trailhead was easy to find. Going by what the Ranger had told me I took the trail to the right which gradually went up the ridge, through groves of “young” sequoia trees.

I have no idea what kind of pine tree the large cone belongs to but the cone is about 14 inches long. The three small cones belong to the Giant Sequoia. The medium sized cone is about the size of a chicken egg. The largest trees in the world have the smallest cones! But within those cones are hidden several hundred seeds which are released during fires – they require the heat in order to open up. Pretty amazing.

Once on top of the ridge, it was an easy walk through open meadows and pretty vistas. That's Big Baldy across the valley.

Once on top of the ridge, it was an easy walk through open meadows and pretty vistas. That's Big Baldy across the valley.

The trail (a 7 mile loop) went down into the valley via a series of long, somewhat steep, switchbacks. It followed a river for a short distance then went uphill the last two miles to the parking lot. Portions of the hike were somewhat strenuous (especially the last two miles) but it was mostly a nice, easy, pleasant walk through the forest, which I enjoyed immensely. Even though there were a lot of people visiting the area and the parking lot was full, I saw only four people on the trail and that was on the final uphill trek.

Photographs taken June 19, 2010