Rae Lakes 2021 Trip Report
By: Sourav Dey
Tags: California, Backpacking, Adventure, Hiking, Mountains

We recently came back from a four day backpacking trip in the Rae Lakes Wilderness in the High Sierra. This was easily one of the top backpacking trips I’ve ever done. It’s a long trek, but mile for mile, some of the best scenery in the US (and probably the world). It starts from Road’s End in Kings Canyon National Park and follows the famed John Muir Trail (JMT) for about half of the way. If you’re looking for a solid multi-day backpacking trip in California, you can’t do much better than Rae Lakes.

Logistics

Permits. Like all popular trails in the Sierra Nevada Wilderness, the National Park Service tightly controls the number people they allow on the trail everyday. Apparently it’s 25 clockwise and 25 counter-clockwise per day. In 2021 all the permits were reservable online in March. It’s not a lottery, just first come, first serve online. I just stayed awake until midnight and just opened a 100 tabs and did the thing. I got the dates I wanted — Aug 1–4. Advice — don’t get too greedy and try to go for popular dates (e.g. July 4, Labor Day). Just pick something mid-week and you should be able to get it.

Like all popular trails in the Sierra Nevada Wilderness, the National Park Service tightly controls the number people they allow on the trail everyday. Apparently it’s 25 clockwise and 25 counter-clockwise per day. In 2021 all the permits were reservable online in March. It’s not a lottery, just first come, first serve online. I just stayed awake until midnight and just opened a 100 tabs and did the thing. I got the dates I wanted — Aug 1–4. Advice — don’t get too greedy and try to go for popular dates (e.g. July 4, Labor Day). Just pick something mid-week and you should be able to get it. Trip Timing. The timing squeeze is that you want to go late enough so that there is not significant snow on the trail, but early enough so that everything is not on fire. The latter is sad reality in modern California. In 2020 I had permits for Rae Lakes in early September. I couldn’t use them because the wilderness was literally on fire there. I think late July, early August is the sweet spot.

The timing squeeze is that you want to go late enough so that there is not significant snow on the trail, but early enough so that everything is not on fire. The latter is sad reality in modern California. In 2020 I had permits for Rae Lakes in early September. I couldn’t use them because the wilderness was literally on fire there. I think late July, early August is the sweet spot. Nights on Trail. The loop is a little over 40 miles. We did the trail in 3 nights, four days as “sort of fit” early 40 year olds. If you have more time, I think taking an extra night and doing a “zero day” at Rae Lakes could be really great. Just swim in the lakes, maybe hike up to the Sixty Lakes Basin, etc.

The loop is a little over 40 miles. We did the trail in 3 nights, four days as “sort of fit” early 40 year olds. If you have more time, I think taking an extra night and doing a “zero day” at Rae Lakes could be really great. Just swim in the lakes, maybe hike up to the Sixty Lakes Basin, etc. Lodging Before and After. We drove from the Bay Area. We got a hotel outside the park the night before. That is key cause you have to pick up your permit at Road’s End before 10am. If you can, when you book your permit, try to book either Cedar Grove Lodge (which is 10 mins from the trailhead) or Muir Lodge (which is 1 hr from the trailhead). They are the only lodging inside King’s Canyon. You can also car camp the night before … but we figured we’d already be camping for three nights, I didn’t want to add another night. We just got a little lodge a town called Squaw Valley outside the park. It was about 1.5 hours from the trailhead. We didn’t do any lodging the day we got off the trail. We were out by mid-afternoon and just powered through the 5 hour drive back to the Bay… while eating lots of food on the way back.

We drove from the Bay Area. We got a hotel outside the park the night before. That is key cause you have to pick up your permit at Road’s End before 10am. If you can, when you book your permit, try to book either Cedar Grove Lodge (which is 10 mins from the trailhead) or Muir Lodge (which is 1 hr from the trailhead). They are the only lodging inside King’s Canyon. You can also car camp the night before … but we figured we’d already be camping for three nights, I didn’t want to add another night. We just got a little lodge a town called Squaw Valley outside the park. It was about 1.5 hours from the trailhead. We didn’t do any lodging the day we got off the trail. We were out by mid-afternoon and just powered through the 5 hour drive back to the Bay… while eating lots of food on the way back. Fitness. I am in my early 40’s and in slightly above average shape. I’m healthy and not overweight. In a good week, I run about 2x3 miles, do a short hike with the family, and hit the weights once. As a parent and busy professional, I didn’t do any special training hikes to get acclimated. I was worried going into the hike that my fitness wouldn’t be enough and that I’d get injured or something. I actually ran a little too much while training and had a slight overuse injury of my Achilles. Nonetheless, I was fine. The loop is gradual and going 10 miles a day is not bad. Going uphill there are some long days, but do-able with good resting spells. I think the proxy is this — if you can run a 10K without hurting yourself, you can do this trail without injury. Yes, you optimize for different things in your 40’s than in your 20's.

I am in my early 40’s and in slightly above average shape. I’m healthy and not overweight. In a good week, I run about 2x3 miles, do a short hike with the family, and hit the weights once. As a parent and busy professional, I didn’t do any special training hikes to get acclimated. I was worried going into the hike that my fitness wouldn’t be enough and that I’d get injured or something. I actually ran a little too much while training and had a slight overuse injury of my Achilles. Nonetheless, I was fine. The loop is gradual and going 10 miles a day is not bad. Going uphill there are some long days, but do-able with good resting spells. I think the proxy is this — if you can run a 10K without hurting yourself, you can do this trail without injury. Yes, you optimize for different things in your 40’s than in your 20's. Food. You have to carry bear canisters on this hike. That makes it annoying to carry lots of food. But the weight makes that annoying as well. We made a mistake and under-packed food — particularly snacks. We ended up running out of snacks on the second to last day of the trip. Fortunately, we were able to trade some blister remedies for Cliff Bars and just sucked it up. As a general rule of thumb, bring more food than you think. The first day’s food doesn’t need to be in bear canister — you’re gonna cook it anyways before you go to sleep. Optimize space that way. Our go to is grits + dried cranberries + sliced almonds for breakfast (two packs per person). And Mountain House at night. We did one Mountain House pack per person per night… I would bring two extra just in case. Also we brought one summer sausage for two people… and rationed that thing out. In the future I would bring one summer sausage per person. That oily, fatty meat is amazing at the end of the day.

In any case, that’s the boring stuff. Let’s get to the trip report! If you’re interested in a video version (that captures the sights and sounds much better), check out the YouTube trip report below.

Day 1: Road’s End to Upper Paradise Valley (10 mi)

We started early from our hotel on the first day and drove for 1.5 hours to Road’s End. The drive ended up taking longer because the views inside King’s Canyon were so good we stopped a couple of times to soak them in. But eventually we got to Road’s End, got our permits from the Ranger there, packed our backpacks, put our extra food in the bear lockers, and, finally, hit the trail around 10:30am.

We were going clockwise, so the first day was a gradual climb along the Woods Creek drainage. The trail is nice and shaded by large conifers at first, following the creek closely. About three miles in the trail starts to climb the canyon a big and you get your first real views down the Woods Creek canyon.

Views down Woods Creek Canyon

After about 4.6 miles we made it to Mist Falls — big waterfall on Woods Creek. We had lunch there sitting on the rocks over looking Mist Falls. This is a popular day hiking destination for folks so there were a bunch of people there (but not crazy, King’s Canyon is still relatively undiscovered as a National Park). I love waterfalls. I could literally stare at them for hours. So mesmerizing.

Mist Falls

After Mist Falls the backpacking trip really started. We left the day trippers behind and started climbing up into Paradise Valley. The trail was relentlessly uphill, but gradual. The 80 degree heat was just a little too hot, but the views made up for it.

Selfie while taking a short breather

We eventually hiked up into Paradise Valley. There are three separate camping spots in the Valley— Lower, Middle, and Upper Paradise Valley. We pushed the full 10 miles to Upper Paradise Valley where we setup our first camp. I forget when we got there, but well before dinner time — probably 5pm-ish or so. More than enough time to clean up, setup camp, make dinner, and chat with a bunch of the other loop hikers.

The campsites at Upper Paradise are all great. They’re all shaded in the forest and right by the creek. Actually, being near water was one of the best parts of this entire trail. We almost constantly had a source of water to drink, cook with, and and clean up in. Even better, the water was ICE COLD. So I could soak my feet in it after a long day. I actually did these cold water soaks every chance I could — before hiking, during long rests, and after hiking. It did wonders on all the little hiking feet pains you get — Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis — gone. I mean, people pay for this stuff.

Woods Creek in Paradise Valley

Random observation — there were lots of solo backpackers we met on the trip. More power to them. I don’t know if I could do a 40 mile backpacking trip by myself. I find a deep sense of safety in having someone else around. If it was just me, I’d be paranoid about turning an ankle all the time.

Cold Water Feet Soak

Day 2: Upper Paradise Valley to Lower Rae Lake (12+ mi)

Day two began with fording Woods Creek. The El Nino rains from a few years back washed out the foot bridge over the creek, so the only way through is to put on some sandals and wade through the creek. Fortunately, it was a La Nina year, so the creek was pretty low. It only took 30 seconds of walking to get across.

After that we continued to follow Woods creek for many miles. The highlight of this first section was Castle Meadows. The Castle Domes are a set of granite rock formations that evoke Yosemite Valley. There’s a huge open meadow where the valley opens out there. Aspens, wildflowers, flowing water — basically paradise. We took a long rest there soaking in the scenery. Definitely a recommended spot to do it.

Castle Domes above Castle Meadow

Aspens in Castle Meadow

The next big waypoint was hitting the John Muir Trail and going over the Woods Creek bridge. The suspension bridge is definitely one of the highlights of Day 2. It’s a one person bridge that is pretty wobbly… but that’s what makes it awesome. I definitely tried some resonance experiments on that bridge. We had lunch right after the bridge sitting in the shade of some gnarled sequoias. This was where we realized that we were definitely going to run out of food before we finished the trail. Whoops. See above on how to NOT do that.

Classic High Sierra views coming up on the JMT

Woods Creek Suspension Bridge

After the bridge the trail veers south and goes up a higher mountain canyon. Up, up, up in the baking sun… up past 10K feet. This was definitely the hardest part of the day. I was feeling those 12.6 miles on this stretch. This was also where we met this woman that was *running the entire Rae Lakes Loop in 22 hours*. Just when you think you’re hard core, people like this show up and make you think you’re a soft mass of blubber barely inching along the trail.

Above 10K feet.

After what seemed like forever, we finally got to the Rae Lakes Basin and hit the first of the lakes — Dollar Lake. We took a short break there soaking in the late afternoon sun. The lakes are idyllic. There was no wind, so the surface was glassy. We could look straight to the bottom. The water was reflecting back this emerald blue cause it was so clean.

Taking in Dollar Lake.

Between Dollar Lake and Arrowhead Lake is this little marsh that connects the two. That was honestly one of my favorite spots on the entire trail. When we were hiking through there the light was just right giving the grassy wetland surrounded by the granite peaks a 4D look. Combine that with the flowing stream… it was exactly what I picture in my head as Paradise.

Marsh between Dollar and Arrowhead Lake. Fin Dome in the background.

After a few more miles we finally got to Lower Rae Lake. It was everything it was billed to be. Just a perfect little lake reflecting the granite peaks all around. Our goal was to get to Upper Rae, but we decided just to stay at Lower Rae and take in the last few hours of sunlight. So instead of more hiking, we dropped our packs and took a billion pictures of the reflection. Then we stripped down to our underwear and jumped into the lake. There’s nothing like a cold plunge in a mountain paradise to make you feel alive.

Taking it all in at Lower Rae Lake

Cold Plunge

We set up camp directly in front of Fin Dome, made some hot tea to warm up, and ate the best Mountain House meal ever. All in all, a pretty damn good day.

Day 3: Lower Rae Lake to (past) Junction Meadow (10 mi)

Day three on the trail began with waking up at dawn to see the alpenglow on the mountains ringing us. Eventually the sun started peeking up over the horizon and lit up the peaks — including Fin Dome in front of us.

Just after alpenglow on Fin Dome

After breakfast, the sun had lit up the entire Rae Lakes Basin, but the wind hadn’t picked up at all, so the Lakes were glassy — reflecting the granite spires all around. It was an incredible experience. Sky, Earth, and Water together in a perfect harmly. Honestly though, I’m so grateful with how lucky we got with the conditions we got on the trail — no haze from wildfires, no rain, no wind, not too hot, not too cold.

Glassy reflection of Fin Dome in Lower Rae Lake

Middle Rae Lake

Middle Rae like a mirror

We started our hiking day by walking 2 miles to Upper Rae Lake and stopped there to fill up our water. Note to reader’s doing the Rae Lakes trail in the clockwise direction — fill up LOTS of water here. We only filled up 2L per person, but we ended up running out of water at the top of Glen Pass and had to go another 3 miles in the hot afternoon sun without any water. This is the driest portion of the trail — I’d take at least 3L per person and gorge yourself on water at Upper Rae.

While filling up water, we were lamenting over how we had so little food left when another hiker approached us to ask if we had any blister remedies. I had plenty and happily shared with him so that he could patch up his blistered feet. In return he gave us a bunch of snacks. It was backcountry commerce at its best. Money has no value when you’re 20 miles from civilization — but medical remedies and calories do. Seriously though, that food saved our asses.

At Upper Rae before the long climb up to Glen Pass

After a long rest at Upper Rae, we started on the hardest portion of the hike — a 3 mile climb to the top of Glen Pass — the highest point on the hike at 12K feet. Also, as noted above, it’s the longest portion without water. Stock up before hitting this part of the trail!

A little more than halfway up there is a great spot to catch your breath (and a snack) before hitting the headwall of Glen Pass. It’s the top of a glacial cirque that looks down on some glacial tarns. It also has amazing acoustics — I counted seven echoes from a single yell.

Last place to catch your breath before Glen Pass head wall

After that it’s a long, slow slog up to the top of Glen Pass. I won’t lie, it’s a 30% grade most of the way that’s hell on the knees. Big granite boulders, loose scree, and what feels like a million switchbacks. Definitely Type II fun at it’s best. Eventually though, you crest Glen Pass and get a bird’s eye view across the Sierra Nevada. You can see Rae Lakes Basin on one side and the Bubbs Creek watershed on the other. And of course, a sea of granite all around you. Glen Pass is definitely one of the highlights of the Rae Lakes Loop. We spent over an hour up there — soaking it in, having some lunch, and taking a bunch of photos.

Our “summit” photo

Looking back down at where we came from — Rae Lakes nestled down at the bottom.

Selfie looking down where we have to go.

We met a bunch of JMT hikers at the top of Glen Pass and shared stories with them. Meeting other hikers is one of my favorite parts of doing these backpacking trips. Especially these long thru-hikers — of the JMT and the PCT — there is deep sense of community among each years participants. In addition, everyone has a story — something they’re trying to right in their life, something that they’ve beaten — and they are celebrating life by being on the trail. I love that about the wilderness — it’s power to heal. Sounds smarmy, but that’s why I’m out there too — the wilderness is my Temple.

After a long time a top Glen Pass, we finally headed down the south side of in the baking afternoon sun… with no water. Again, if you take nothing else away from this trip report — remember to take enough water on this stretch. The scenery was still fantastic though — a wonderland of granite rocks. You can see plate tectonics at work here.

Baking in the sun on the South Side of Glen Pass

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, we got to a spot on the JMT where the trail crosses Bubbs Creek. This was our oasis. We took a long break there, gorging on water and soaking our feet.

Waaater

After that it was down, down, down. It was nice using a different set of muscles after two days of relentless uphill. The body felt fresh. Eventually we left the JMT behind and got on the Bubbs Creek trail and dipped below the tree line again — into ferns, evergreens, and sequoias.

Views coming down into Bubbs Creek

Our plan was to stay at Junction Meadow, but some other hikers had told us about a spot 3/4 mile beyond Junction Meadow that was better. I’m glad we got the tip because Junction Meadow was fully taken over by a trail building crew when we got there — so we were forced to go to the alternate sites. Fortunately, they were as amazing as they were billed — right by Bubbs Creek under towering evergreens — with a bear locker to boot. We setup camp there and ate the last of our food and called it a night.

Out last campsite, 3/4 mile up from Junction Meadow

Day 4: Junction Meadow back to Road’s End (10 mi)

Day four was our last, and we were excited to get back to civilization. We started by eating all of remaining food we had: four packets of grits and one tortilla between the two of us. Note to future self: Pack more food next time. Then we filled up water while enjoying the sun lighting up Bubbs Creek and the surrounding forest. Immense granite mountain landscapes are great — but there is something comforting about a bubbling brook shaded by trees. It feels like a place you can really live and not just pass through.

Our campsite looks like a River Runs Through It

Perfect spot to meditate

We hit the trail by 8:30am and hiked the 10 miles back to Road’s End almost non-stop — making it out by 1:30pm. We only took one break at Sphinx Junction to dip our bodies into Bubbs Creek. I highly recommend doing this — especially if the temps were in the upper 90’s like for us.

The scenery on the last day was similar to the first day — except we were looking down into the valley from above, rather than up from below. One of my favorite spots was the switch backs that take you from Bubbs Creek down back into King’s Canyon itself. You get these amazing views up Woods Creek and into the sprawling mess of granite and conifers that is King’s Canyon. It’s the perfect way to reflect on the 40 miles that you just hiked.

Looking up into Woods Creek off the switchbacks

The part that almost broke me was the last two miles back from the loop junction back to Road’s End. The sun was searing, it was almost 100 degrees, and my mind had already decided it was done… but the trail had that last little FU at the end. But we made it.

Obligatory end selfie.

After getting off the trail, we cleaned ourselves off at the car, cranked the AC, and drove to Cedar Grove Market to grab a couple of ice cold beers to celebrate. After that, our goal was to eat all the things. First, we hit up Grant Grove Village near the entrance to King’s Canyon and had a hot sandwich, fries, and a salad. Then, on the drive back to SF, we stopped at In-N-Out and had a Double Double burger with fries. After we got home, we had another light dinner with our families. Calories never felt so good.

Ice cold beer at Cedar Grove

Conclusion

All in all, the Rae Lakes Loop was an amazing trip — great company, great scenery, great weather. It’s easily in my top three backpacking trips ever. I would highly recommended it to anyone. If you’re looking for a backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada, I think this is as good as it gets. It is as good as Mt. Whitney and Half Dome, with more varied landscapes, and significantly less crowds.

The Loop was the longest backpacking trip I have ever done at ~42 miles. I was worried going into it, but was pleasantly surprised at how well my body held up with 10+ miles per day. I had a light Achilles injury starting out— but instead of it getting worse, the rest of my body just caught up — so by the end I had mild tendon pain in all my joints. Totally inline with the Type II fun that I go for with these backpacking trips. It actually got me thinking about doing even longer trips in the future. Not the PCT, but perhaps the JMT one day? 210 miles. That seems bounded enough to be achievable….

In any case, going backpacking is my yearly pilgrimage. It’s my way of “getting away from it all” and reconnecting with something deeper. Being on the trail forces you to be present and takes you back to your animal roots. Emails, work worries, and civilization’s responsibilities fade away, and keeping your footing, water sources, your next meal, and soaking in the scenery take the forefront. It truly forces you to be mindful and be in the moment. That’s what I love about it. Till next time, onwards!