California Mountain Adventures - Cloud Canyon

derekrichardson(71)

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Welcome to this edition of

California Mountain Adventures!!

I want to share the #amazingnature I see on my wilderness adventures with all the nature lovers here on Steem so this edition is also going to be an entry for @adalger's

Amazing Nature Contest!!

Join the contest and share your #amazingnature!

In this adventure I head deep into the Sierra Nevada mountains for a rather wild trip to...

Cloud Canyon!!

Larry(@csusbgeochem1) and I drove up to the Marvin Pass trailhead by Horse meadows in the Sequoia national forest. Our plan was to meetup with our friends Rogue Photonic and Alpine Mike way out in Cloud canyon. We got our packs together and started climbing up the trail to Marvin pass. As we climbed a storm was building quickly. At the pass we entered the Jennie Lakes wilderness. On the far side of the pass we dropped down to the beautiful little meadow at the headwaters of Rowell creek and we made our first camp there.

Marvin Pass trailhead

Entering the Jennie Lakes Wilderness at Marvin Pass

Wildflowers along the trail

Meadows by Mitchell peak

Our first camp

It rained on us a little and we got some lightning and thunder. But it didn't last long. We watched the storm break and then we decided that we still had enough time in the day to climb up the trail to Mitchell peak(10,365')! The climb up was pretty easy, but the storm looked like it could come back at any moment. We got to the peak and enjoyed what views we could get through all the clouds. Views of Kings Canyon, Sugarloaf Valley, and the Silliman crest. Then it started to lightly sprinkle on us so we started back down. We took a direct cross country route down the south side of the peak back to our camp at the meadow.

Views from Mitchell peak

Back down at the meadows

The next morning the bugs were horrible! We packed up camp and headed up and over Kanawyer gap, into Kings Canyon national park, and dropped down by Commanche meadow and into Sugarloaf valley. We made the long trek across Sugarloaf valley crossing Sugarloaf creek and Ferguson creek. Once again we had a storm building quickly. We climbed up and over a ridge and down to the Roaring river. As we were descending down to the river it started raining again. The rain got harder, and harder, and harder. At one point I felt like I was literally standing under a waterfall!! We tried to push on. Hoping for a break in the storm... but it never came. Eventually we found a spot by the river and decided to setup our camp in the rain. I got a huge puddle in my tent, but it was good to get out of the pounding rain. I used a small ziplock bag to scoop most of the water out of my tent. And finally, at the very end of the day, the rain subsided.

Trail junction

Commanche meadows

Creek crossing on a log

Sugarloaf Creek

Climbing over the ridge to Roaring River

The Roaring River

Camping in the rain

The next morning we packed up camp and headed up Roaring river passed the ranger station, over the bridge, across Brewer creek and Barton creek, passed Cement table meadow to Big Wet meadow. The bugs were brutal all morning, but actually weren't that bad at Big Wet meadow (contrary to what some equestrians that we passed on the trail had told us) so we stopped there to have some lunch and enjoy the awesome views of Whaleback! After lunch we hiked through the meadow and started making our way up Cloud Canyon. For the third day in a row, we had a storm building fast and before we knew it we were getting dumped on again. We had to make a couple gnarly fords of the river and then we left the trail and started climbing cross country into the upper canyon. Bushwhacking, mud, talus, and pounding rain made the climb super tough. And when we were about a mile from the spot where we were supposed to meet Mike and Rogue, Larry lost all his energy and had to stop. He found a spot and setup his camp and I continued on up the canyon. I got up to where Mike and Rogue were setup and had one last gnarly river ford to get to them. For a second I thought it might actually wash me away! But it didn't, and I made it safely across to their camp. They were both really surprised to see me given the horrible weather conditions. I setup my tent and then got caught up with my friends. I told them about me and Larry's rain and bug filled trek. And heard all about their wild trek up Deadman canyon and over Glacier ridge.

Roaring River

Brewer Creek

Passing a pack train

Cement Table meadow

Cement Table Meadow

Shooting Stars in Big Wet meadow

Indian Paintbrush in Big Wet meadow

River crossing

Climbing up Cloud Canyon

Crossing a snowfield in upper Cloud Canyon

Upper Cloud Canyon

Camping in Upper Cloud Canyon

Upper Cloud Canyon

Dinnertime with Rogue and Mike

Our plan had originally been to climb Whaleback, a gnarly peak that overlooks Cloud Canyon, but with all the bad weather we all knew that it wasn't gonna happen this trip. So the next morning we packed up camp and headed down canyon and met up with Larry. We made our way back down the canyon stopping briefly at Big Wet meadow for a trout fishing break. As we headed down river it started raining again so we stopped at the Roaring river ranger station where we huddled under the overhang on the porch to get ourselves out of the rain for a little bit. Then once the rain passed we headed another mile or so down river to a really nice camping spot along the river where we got a nice big campfire going and hung up all our wet stuff to dry. We made dinner had some drinks and marveled at the insane amount of mosquito bites that Larry had gotten over the last few days!

Morning light from my tent

Heading back down Cloud Canyon

Shorty's Cabin

Big Wet meadow

Catching a Golden trout

Big Wet meadow

Roaring River ranger station

Camping by Roaring river

Roaring river

Larrys mosquito bites
*photo by Rogue Photonic used with permission

The next morning we climbed back up and across Sugarloaf valley. Rogue and Mike decided to push it and hike all the way out in one day, but Larry and I opted for one last night by Commanche meadow. We found a great spot to setup camp and then I headed out for some trout fishing on Sugarloaf creek. For the most part the creek in this section was really overgrown with brush which made fishing kinda hard, but with some effort I was able to snag some nice trout and even decided to keep a couple to cook up with dinner! The bugs were still horrible, but at this point we were totally used to it. Luckily they weren't biting me nearly as much as Larry. I must have some sour blood!

Re-crossing Sugarloaf valley

Sugarloaf creek

Trout dinner

Larry hanging out at camp

After enjoying a fun last night out, we packed up camp and headed up the trail. On our way out we decided to take the route through Rowell meadow instead of going over Kanawyer gap which saved us from climbing as much elevation. From Rowell meadow we climbed back over Marvin pass and down to the trailhead at Horse meadows. Needless to say with all the rain and the bugs it was a brutal trip, but we still had a lot of fun. As I often like to say... it's all part of the adventure!!

Trailside fungi