1. Camping Trips

Mineral King 2002

This photo gallery is from a backpacking trip out of Mineral King in 2002 with Ron Karliner. We hiked over Sawtooth Pass to Lost Canyon, Little Five Lakes, Black Rock Pass, Pinto Lake, Timber Gap, and back to Mineral King. This gallery is an expanded re-do of my 2002 Mineral King Trip Report.
Read More
  • Trip map. The distance hiked was about 32 miles, with total elevation gain and loss about 10,600 feet. The route we hiked is shown in blue. Routes we considered taking but didn't are shown in red.

This Trip Report covers a loop trip that Ron Karliner and I completed in the Mineral King region of Sequoia National Park, from September 15-19, 2002. It was a great trip! The weather was very dry, and there were no mosquitos to be found. Bears did not pay us any visits.

Our route began at the Mineral King trailhead, climbing steeply toward Sawtooth Pass. We gravitated into Monarch Creek Canyon, where we camped the first night. We tried to minimize our impact on the canyon, knowing that NPS prefers that hikers stay out of there. We definitely minimized our impact on the overcrowded Monarch Lake Campground!

The next morning, we continued the steep, messy climb to Sawtooth Pass, and proceeded east and down to Columbine Lake. It was remarkable to encounter the huge cairns on the trail to the lake, after stumbing up the confusing Sawtooth Pass "Trail."

Our second night's camp was in Lost Canyon. The next day, we stopped to look at a NPS helicopter take off near the Soda Creek Trail junction, before climbing north and west around a big ridge to Big Five Lakes, and on to the third night camp at Little Five Lakes.

The next morning, we climbed steeply over Black Rock Pass, pausing to take pictures and reflect on the view. We met an interesting solo hiker, and traded information about water availability and trail conditions. We hiked down to our fourth camp, near Pinto Lake. It was very confusing to find Pinto Lake, once we were close to it. We used Ron's digital camera to check an image and locate the lake exactly. (Note to self in 2002: I gotta get a GPS!).

We continued down Cliff Creek Canyon on our fifth and last day, to the junction with the Timber Gap Trail. We began the long climb to that Timber Gap, stopping to take in a hazy view of Tableland in the distance. After pausing at Timber Gap, we tightened our boots one last time, and proceeded down steeply to the trailhead and the end of another great trip.

    Trip map. The distance hiked was about 32 miles, with total elevation gain and loss about 10,600 feet. The route we hiked is shown in blue. Routes we considered taking but didn't are shown in red. This Trip Report covers a loop trip that Ron Karliner and I completed in the Mineral King region of Sequoia National Park, from September 15-19, 2002. It was a great trip! The weather was very dry, and there were no mosquitos to be found. Bears did not pay us any visits. Our route began at the Mineral King trailhead, climbing steeply toward Sawtooth Pass. We gravitated into Monarch Creek Canyon, where we camped the first night. We tried to minimize our impact on the canyon, knowing that NPS prefers that hikers stay out of there. We definitely minimized our impact on the overcrowded Monarch Lake Campground! The next morning, we continued the steep, messy climb to Sawtooth Pass, and proceeded east and down to Columbine Lake. It was remarkable to encounter the huge cairns on the trail to the lake, after stumbing up the confusing Sawtooth Pass "Trail." Our second night's camp was in Lost Canyon. The next day, we stopped to look at a NPS helicopter take off near the Soda Creek Trail junction, before climbing north and west around a big ridge to Big Five Lakes, and on to the third night camp at Little Five Lakes. The next morning, we climbed steeply over Black Rock Pass, pausing to take pictures and reflect on the view. We met an interesting solo hiker, and traded information about water availability and trail conditions. We hiked down to our fourth camp, near Pinto Lake. It was very confusing to find Pinto Lake, once we were close to it. We used Ron's digital camera to check an image and locate the lake exactly. (Note to self in 2002: I gotta get a GPS!). We continued down Cliff Creek Canyon on our fifth and last day, to the junction with the Timber Gap Trail. We began the long climb to that Timber Gap, stopping to take in a hazy view of Tableland in the distance. After pausing at Timber Gap, we tightened our boots one last time, and proceeded down steeply to the trailhead and the end of another great trip.

  • View of ridge slope near beginning of trail.

    View of ridge slope near beginning of trail.

  • Ron ahead on the trail. Shortly after this we ventured onto a use trail that took us into a cross-country route through Monarch Creek Canyon.

    Ron ahead on the trail. Shortly after this we ventured onto a use trail that took us into a cross-country route through Monarch Creek Canyon.

  • Sunset from Monarch Creek Canyon.

    Sunset from Monarch Creek Canyon.

  • Sunset from Monarch Creek Canyon.

    Sunset from Monarch Creek Canyon.

  • Following an old use trail.

    Following an old use trail.

  • View down Monarch Creek Canyon.

    View down Monarch Creek Canyon.

  • View west out to Central Valley.

    View west out to Central Valley.

  • Waterfall on Monarch Creek.

    Waterfall on Monarch Creek.

  • Mineral Peak.

    Mineral Peak.

  • Monarch Creek Canyon. It's beautiful, but don't go there.

    Monarch Creek Canyon. It's beautiful, but don't go there.

  • View across Monarch Creek Canyon.

    View across Monarch Creek Canyon.

  • Mineral Peak, Lower Monarch Lake from the Sawtooth Pass Trail.

    Mineral Peak, Lower Monarch Lake from the Sawtooth Pass Trail.

  • Miner's Ridge from the Sawtooth Pass Trail.

    Miner's Ridge from the Sawtooth Pass Trail.

  • Tableland in the distance, from just below Glacier Pass.

    Tableland in the distance, from just below Glacier Pass.

  • Crest ridge on Empire Mountain, from Glacier Pass.

    Crest ridge on Empire Mountain, from Glacier Pass.

  • Empire Mountain.

    Empire Mountain.

  • View west from near Glacier Pass.

    View west from near Glacier Pass.

  • Great Western Divide, Black Rock Pass.

    Great Western Divide, Black Rock Pass.

  • Ron checking the view from Glacier Pass.  We had contemplated going over Glacier Pass and over to Black Rock Pass, but the descent from the top of Glacier looked like more than we wanted to handle.

    Ron checking the view from Glacier Pass. We had contemplated going over Glacier Pass and over to Black Rock Pass, but the descent from the top of Glacier looked like more than we wanted to handle.

  • Frank and Ron at Sawtooth Pass. Needham Mountain in background.

    Frank and Ron at Sawtooth Pass. Needham Mountain in background.

  • Frank and Ron at Sawtooth Pass. Columbine Lake, Big Arroyo, Sierra crest in background.

    Frank and Ron at Sawtooth Pass. Columbine Lake, Big Arroyo, Sierra crest in background.

  • Friendly couple who took our photo at Sawtooth Pass.

    Friendly couple who took our photo at Sawtooth Pass.

  • Columbine Lake, Big Arroyo, Sierra crest.

    Columbine Lake, Big Arroyo, Sierra crest.

  • Red Kaweah, Mount Kaweah from Sawtooth Pass.

    Red Kaweah, Mount Kaweah from Sawtooth Pass.

  • Mineral King Valley from Sawtooth Pass.

    Mineral King Valley from Sawtooth Pass.

  • Empire Mountain from Sawtooth Pass.

    Empire Mountain from Sawtooth Pass.

  • View west toward Central Valley from Sawtooth Pass.

    View west toward Central Valley from Sawtooth Pass.

  • View west toward Central Valley from Sawtooth Pass.

    View west toward Central Valley from Sawtooth Pass.

  • View southwest from Sawtooth Pass. Tulare Peak, Farewell Gap, Vandever Mountain are in view.

    View southwest from Sawtooth Pass. Tulare Peak, Farewell Gap, Vandever Mountain are in view.

  • View south from Sawtooth Pass. Florence Peak, Franklin Pass are in view.

    View south from Sawtooth Pass. Florence Peak, Franklin Pass are in view.

  • View south, ridge to Sawtooth Peak coming into view.

    View south, ridge to Sawtooth Peak coming into view.

  • Sawtooth Peak ridge.

    Sawtooth Peak ridge.

  • Sawtooth Peak from Sawtooth Pass.

    Sawtooth Peak from Sawtooth Pass.

  • Ron checking out the view from Sawtooth Pass.

    Ron checking out the view from Sawtooth Pass.

  • View down to Monarch Lake Trail.

    View down to Monarch Lake Trail.

  • Cairn at Sawtooth Pass.

    Cairn at Sawtooth Pass.

  • Sawtooth Peak.

    Sawtooth Peak.

  • Sawtooth Peak, Needham Mountain.

    Sawtooth Peak, Needham Mountain.

  • Columbine Lake, with Red Spur in distance.

    Columbine Lake, with Red Spur in distance.

  • Cairns around Columbine Lake.

    Cairns around Columbine Lake.

  • Waltzing trees, above Columbine Lake.

    Waltzing trees, above Columbine Lake.

  • Taking it all in.

    Taking it all in.

  • Eroded granite, gaps, shadows.

    Eroded granite, gaps, shadows.

  • Columbine Lake, Sawtooth Pass from the east.

    Columbine Lake, Sawtooth Pass from the east.

  • Photo Sharing
  • About SmugMug
  • Browse Photos
  • Prints & Gifts
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Owner Log In
© 2023 SmugMug, Inc.
    Frank and Ron at Sawtooth Pass. Needham Mountain in background.
    Frank and Ron at Sawtooth Pass. Columbine Lake, Big Arroyo, Sierra crest in background.
    Friendly couple who took our photo at Sawtooth Pass.