It’s a mean piece of water my friend. ~Merle Haggard
June 9
Above Daughtery Meadow to Simpson Meadow – 8 trail miles, wandering up and down the River probably 3 miles, sitting around in camp no miles
We boogied down 8 miles this morning on a hill that is dubbed ”The Bitch”. Arrow hates that name so she has taken the liberty to make up her own name……..
We got to the Middle Fork of the Kings River at 9:30 am, tried to ford a couple of times and turned around. The water was too swift with slippery rocks. I even stupidly slipped and dunked my whole pack into the River.
Arrow has an Inreach that is a locator beacon and has the ability to text. She texted Mario, the mapmaker for possible updates. He contacted others on Backpackinglight for advice. It helped us make some decisions. Thank you Mario.
Sooooooo we spent the rest of the day scouting up and down this river for anything remotely safe. I was hoping for a big log. There are some, but only go part of the way across or half way because the river frequently is forked. One side is crossable the other a raging torrent.
We are camped upriver from the Goddard Creek confluence and have a place we are going to try to cross early tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers.
This trail looks amazing, I love your photos!
My wife and I are planning a slow thru of the PCT next year with a (somewhat) early start. I’m really interested in cutting our own path a bit and getting away from the main PCT corridor, and this trail came up in my research. I’m so grateful to be reading this blog, which is like water in the desert when it comes to experience with and info about the TST! I hope you don’t mind me pestering you with some questions.
Some of the other posts which I have read, granted they are none of them nearly as recent as your trip, caution that navigational skills with a map and compass are necessary for this route (no problem, we’re prepping for that eventuality anyway). Did you really only use Avenza and smartphone GPS? Lastly, I know Road’s End is the southern terminus for the SHR – is the aforementioned Granite Lakes Basin the very same as the Granite Basin of the SHR? If so, do,you know how long these two routes parallel?
Much appreciated, and happy trails!
Nope. Too scary! The water didn’t go down enough in the morning. 🙁
And that baby owl! Seriously the cutest thing ever! Just sitting on a log. We didn’t see the mamma anywhere. I am sure she came and swept him up as soon and we left.
Wow, please be safe.
It is just one day after another; up and down, up and down. I sure hope you are having lots of fun!!
We sure did. Arrow and I always laugh a lot and hike hard. She is super safe and knowledgeable.
If you get this note before you decide, it might be of some help.
1. In general, rivers are slower and shallower where they widen out. Because of this, often finding the widest place to wade across yields the safest passage. If your map has enough detail, it could lead you to wide parts of the river.
2. The photo of a tree with roots projected upward looks like a good candidate because the water isn’t flowing rapidly at the roots. If your have a rope, you can lasso a root and then use the rope as a safety line. You might consider wading out to the roots and climbing onto the tree, then drying the soles of your boots before attempting the rest of the way. Crawling across a fallen trunk is safer than walking. The person across can go with one end of your rope and serve as an anchor for the next or, better yet, tie it around something for a more secure anchor.
I enjoy your blog and am uplifted by your educating youth in hiking and backpacking in our great outdoors.
Best wishes to you, Lady on a Rock!
Great tips Joe. Thank you.
What we needed was a whole team of strong hikers like I had on the JMT during the raging waters of 2017. Maybe just a few days later when it was colder to freeze the snow overnight to bring the water down it would have been okay. There were so many risks. Mainly there were so many snags and areas downstream to be swept into. Arrow said they are called keepers, because you can’t get out. Great tips! Thank you for sharing with the readers. Really helpful.
Actually, in addition to BPL I also contacted a couple of relevant Forums on FB. The consensus was that its too early in the season to attempt to ford the MF Kings River (and the Palisades Creek further up near the JMT, which was your backup plan).
I remember fording the MFKR felt like walking over greased bowling balls :-). Having sturdy walking poles was very helpful. This was back in July of 2015 which was a dry year.
They were still like that…slippery as snot. I slipped and fell in, in shallow water. I think by July 1st it will be a good crossing. All the snow will have melted from up high, especially with the warm temps we have been having. Ya, I have seen Palisades Creek in a raging torrent too many times. It was a nice plan, in theory. There were bridges at those locations for a reason.
Don’t take any chances if that river is too swift! We want you to get back home. Be safe.
🙂
Oh my goodness…be safe.
Ya, you know it is always about being ready for the next trip!
Did you cross that log ??? Were you able to
safely cross the following morning ??
The baby owl…any more ??