|
Jean and I parked at Road's End (about 5000 feet elevation) and
started hiking east toward Mist Falls and Paradise Valley.
We started our hike by crossing two footbridges and crossing a
few small creeks. The trail continues relatively flat, meandering
through a forest next to the Kings River. It reminded me of the
Little Yosemite area on the hike to Half Dome. The trail was slightly sandy, with downed trees littering both
sides of the trail.
Soon the forest changed from a lightly shaded forest to include
a few sequoia trees and bright green ferns dotted the area between
us and the river. These gave way to what looked like thin green
bamboo (I'm sure that's not what it was, but that's what it looked
like).
We passed a bridge which would allow us to continue along Bubbs
Creek, or return via Zumwalt Meadows on the other side of the
river. Probably some hikers, not up to the 9 mile round trip to/from
Mist Falls, turn around at this point. We, however, made the turn
north and continued along the Kings River toward the falls.
As we continued to walk upstream, the sound of the river rushing
by grew increasingly louder. Soon, whitewater was abundant and
we stopped atop some granite rock to check out a particularly
strong water fall. I stopped to take some pictures. Jean then
told me to turn around. I thought she was pointing to the people
sitting down there; I thought she wanted to get a better view
of the water from there. But no, she wasn't. I looked up and saw
something wonderful. Beautifully framed in a U-shaped canyon were
snow-capped peaks in the distance, the river running straight
through the middle of the canyon. One couldn't have painted a
better picture. It was as if someone had imagined the most beautiful
Sierra setting they could think of, and painted it onto the landscape.
I wondered how long we'd been hiking with that at our backs, never
thinking to turn around and enjoy the view. I'm not sure of the
names, but we may have been looking at Avalanche Peak (10077),
Palmer Mountain (11250), and The Sphinx (9146).
What a view!
A closer look
I took many pictures before I managed to drag myself away. We
didn't know if this was Mist Falls, but it didn't matter, since
we were continuing on toward Paradise Valley, so we turned our
backs to the mountain and headed up the trail. Soon we encountered
an even bigger water fall. Perhaps this was Mist Falls? A large
group of people was perched on the rocks next to the falls, eating
lunch. We stopped to enjoy the view, then walked a few yards past
them and found a nice lunch spot with a view of the river. While
we were eating amongst the ants, a little girl walked by on the
trail, hanging onto a stick which her father used to help pull
her along. When we were about to leave, we saw an ant trying to
carry a dead spider nearly 10 times its size. Eventually, after
dragging it for a fair distance it appeared to give up.
We finally found the real Mist Falls a little further up the trail.
And it lived up to its name. The trail had been a nice cushy trail
littered with pine needles. And dry. But suddenly the ground turned
moist and a few feet later we were getting sprayed by the mist
from the falls. And we were still at least 100 yards away from
the actual falls. A sign warned us of the falls, and the trail
would venture no closer. When I took my camera out to take some
pictures, it was soon covered in mist.
Mist Falls
As luck would have it, one hiker decided to walk out toward the
falls so his companion could take a picture of the falls and it
would have some perspective. I took advantage of this opportunity
and took a picture of him myself.
We continued up the trail and found yet another, most impressive
fall. Water was rushing by at about 40 degrees from horizontal,
careening down the granite rocks with tremendous power. It was
spring, and probably near peak runoff. Words and pictures cannot
describe the raw power of the fall. The sound of the water had
become louder as we hiked further upstream; now, however, it was
deafening. I was trying to get Jean to pose for a picture; she
was standing 10 feet away from me but couldn't hear me until I
started shouting. Granted, I have never seen a Yosemite waterfall
at peak runoff. However, I think the angle of the rock (not near
vertical) and the closeness (we could stand a few feet from the
water) makes it a very unique, powerful experience.
The river tumbling down the valley
We continued past the falls. The trail became less and less populated
by other day hikers and backpackers. Soon the vegetation changed
once again. Instead of the typical Sierra conifers, there were
trees more likely to be found alongside the Los Gatos Creek trail
back in the Bay Area.
Jean watching the power of the river
More rushing water
The climbing started in earnest. It was a relatively short climb,
but most of it is between the falls (elevation 5663 feet) and
Paradise Valley (6600 feet). The switchbacks led us up over rocky
granite as the trees became sparser. There were still patches
of forest, but rockfall must have buried other potential tree
growth. Along the way we saw what at first appeared to be small
purple flowers fluttering in the area. But actually, they were
butterflies! Dozens of them!
Log jam at base of Paradise Valley
As we approached the top, we saw hundreds of downed trees stuck
at one point in the river. Below that point, water raged downward,
the sound of the water hitting the rocks constantly drowning out
other noises. Above that point, peace. Somehow the downed trees
had become stuck there, perhaps on some rocks. Behind them was
Paradise Valley.
The river in Paradise Valley is almost completely still. It's
more like a lake then a river. It streams gently by, in great
contrast to the falls below. We shortly reached a sign marking
the beginning of a backpacking area. Backpackers can only camp
in designated sites in this area of the park, and all the sites
in this area were taken, perhaps 20 people camped in the area.
It would make a beautiful backpacking trip; unfortunately, that
will have to wait for another trip. We had to be contented with
finding a small spot by the river and taking a well-deserved break.
Paradise Valley
After pictures, a snack, and a break, I filtered some of the water
to supplement our supply for the trip back. I stopped at the toilet
used by the backpackers. It was really just a big giant hole in
the ground with a toilet seat on top; there are no walls; just
a tree between you and whoever might sneak up on you. But it had
the best view of any toilet I've ever seen. If you were to sit
on it, you'd have an unobstructed view of 10,000 foot peaks in
the high Sierra. A toilet with a view!
A face in the rock
On the return descent, I was constantly distracted by the beautiful
view of the snow-capped peaks framed by the valley. I somehow
managed to avoid spraining my ankle (trekking poles probably helped
here) and we continued on past Mist Falls. Along the way we came
across just a few people. This included one woman hobbling on
a knee brace -- I was impressed she'd made it this far. We also
passed a group of people coming in the opposite direction. They
were day hikers who seemed ill-prepared for the long hike back
-- they weren't even carrying water. The weather can change quickly
in the mountains, and I always take extra clothes when in the
Sierras -- even in completely sunny weather.
The potentially ankle-twisting view on the way back
It was getting darker as we continued down toward the river bend.
Once we turned the corner, however, the sun brightened our way.
Soon we were at the bridge across the river we'd passed earlier
that day. A couple and their baby were there, resting; the baby
looked like he was ready for a nap, even though the dad had been
carrying him all this time. We took a break in the middle of the
bridge, watching Bubbs Creek flow into the South Fork of the Kings
River. Their combined forces rushed away under our feet toward
the setting sun.
View of the river from the bridge
As we continued the long journey back, I marveled at the amount
of work it must have taken to build the trail. In places the granite
rocks had to be carved (exploded, one presumes) away. In others,
large downed trees had to be cut away. It made me look forward
to my own trail-building excursion the following weekend.
We arrived at our car over 8 hours after we'd left it. This was
an almost perfect hike. The weather was sunny and warm but not
hot. Bugs were not a problem. Bikes were not allowed. We saw evidence
of horses, but no horses themselves. While we didn't reach any
lofty summit, we had wonderful views, powerful falls, and a peaceful
valley. Nothing beats a hike in the Sierra!
Return to Sequoia/Kings Canyon trip report.
| 
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
RSS Feed
