Our stealth camping neighbor woke us up around 6:45, which was fine by us, and we drove over to a nearby picnic area to cook breakfast and get packed up. It was chilly, just above freezing, but a couple of cups of hot coffee warmed us up quickly and we were packed up before long. We picked up a tarp from the spare tarp storage shed across from the ranger station, drove over to the trailhead, and wrapped up the car before setting out. Some passers-by helpfully shouted that we didn’t need the tarp, with no additional context, but we already had it half on and really didn’t want to have needed it but not used it, so we finished the job and hit the trail just after 9 AM.

The first bit of the Sawtooth Pass Trail out of Mineral King rises gently, and we were treated to beautiful fall views of the valley. Soon, we left the trail before it crossed Monarch Creek and followed the old trail towards Glacier Pass. We passed a party of four in the brush here who were moving much slower, clearly two couples. The two women in back didn’t know where they were going (“some lake 8 miles in”), and the two men didn’t seem too interested in talking, so we forged ahead.

As we started climbing the slope above a small valley, I was huffing and puffing. Shannon had been backpacking much of the summer and I had been sitting on my ass most of that time. The 3,200’ climb with first day packs kicked my butt a little bit. But as we neared the pass, my energy picked up.

Clouds moving into the Mineral King Valley below.

Clouds in the valley above Spring Lake.

From the top of Glacier Pass, we picked our way down the abandoned trail, carefully crossing a few snowy patches before rock hopping down to the meadow below.

Shannon strolling across a meadow towards Spring Lake, with Mount Eisen behind.

Before long we were at Spring Lake, having followed a pretty good trail most of the way down the pass. We stopped and ate lunch here, though it was pretty cold so we didn’t linger too long.

From Spring Lake, the route up to Hands and Knees Pass looked fairly steep, and we were concerned about snow on the other side, as we had encountered some on Glacier Pass. Plus, using that route didn’t really gain us anything, we figured we’d reach the Big Arroyo by the end of the day via either route. So, we decided to cross Black Rock Pass instead, lured by the comfort of the trail.

After lunch, we hiked north from Spring Lake, crossing a bit of talus before dropping down to the creek, crossing it, and then doing a short climb to reach the luxurious trail over Black Rock Pass.

Shannon climbing towards the trail.

We made quick work of Black Rock Pass, enjoying the views of Mount Kaweah, which still looked pretty far away. At Little Five Lakes, we had a little debate about camping there and getting up early the next day, but we knew we could have a campfire at Big Arroyo because it was low enough, and that tipped the scales.

From the top of Black Rock Pass, we spotted a fair bit of snow on the slopes to our south, near Hands and Knees Pass, affirming our decision to use the trail.

Views of the Kaweahs from Little Five Lakes.

Foxtail Pines on the trail down to Big Arroyo.

We reached the Big Arroyo about an hour before sunset, got our camp set up, and gathered some wood to supplement the pile some previous campers had left behind. Around sunset, we cooked dinner and started a small campfire, which helped us stay out of the tent until almost 8 PM, making a big difference during this cold time of year.