Three years ago I tried to hike the Rae Lakes Loop in Kings Canyon National Park. We had a good time and took a bunch of pretty pictures, but I got altitude sickness and had to turn back after two days. This year I'm in a bit better shape, so we thought we'd give it a go with a couple of acclimation days built in for good measure.
The plan seemed reasonable. Drive to Kings Canyon National Park on Wednesday and camp overnight. Get on the trail early Thursday, hike to Paradise Valley, and stay two nights there for acclimation. Hike to Woods Creek Crossing Camp and Rae Lakes on the third and fourth days, stay an extra day at the lakes for acclimation, and then over the peak and out.
Unfortunately things didn't work out that way. The mishaps began early; for example, I remembered to bring along my checkbook to pay for the campsite but forgot a pen to write the check. (We were saved by the well-timed entrance of a blue convertible Mustang whose owners gave us a pen. Said pen loudly declared that it was stolen from a northwest aerospace company.)
On the other hand, in some ways we had a better time of it than expected. The weather tended to be cloudy, which was a relief compared to the oppressive heat I remember from 2008. The canyons have a tendency to turn into ovens, and the sun can be punishing where shade is unavailable. The price we paid for this deliverance was rain almost every day, but on the whole I think we got an excellent deal.
Our rest day in Paradise Valley was wonderful. A day or two of absolutely nothing to do, in the wilderness with no distractions besides the sound of running water (and maybe a few mosquitos) is supremely relaxing.
Our itinerary worked, until we got to Woods Creek Crossing Camp (8,500 feet of elevation), where I thought I was getting a touch of altitude sickness again. I would have liked another acclimation day, but we didn't have time for it, and the planned hike required another 3,500 feet of altitude gain. So we reluctantly decided to turn back.
At the same camp was another pair of hikers, Brian and Brandy, who had turned back from Rae Lakes (10,500 feet) because Brandy was having what seemed like altitude sickness. They came back down in elevation, which if it's really altitude sickness should have made her feel at least a little better immediately, but it didn't. Brian left early in the morning to reach the trailhead in one day and find a ranger to help. I talked to Brandy a bit before we left too, and we also filtered some water for her. She was worse off than I was even in 2008, and she seemed extremely sweet and grateful for the attention.
We felt bad for leaving, but we didn't think we could do too much to help. (Also, having decided that we were going to turn back, Jeff wanted to try to reach the trailhead in one day, so we had to get movin.) We were relieved to cross paths with Brian on the trail a couple of hours later, accompanied by a couple of rangers whom he must have met in or above Paradise Valley. I hope that Brandy is doing better now.
Also on the way down, we saw three wild birds (female sooty grouse, I think they were) and a Real! Baby! Bear! (Well, adolescent really, since it's September.) We didn't wait around to see if Momma would show.
We didn't make it all the way to the trailhead in one day. Jeff's feet started killing him, so we made camp in Middle Paradise and hiked out on Monday morning. We made good time, both on the trail and in the car, and were home and petting kittens by about 5pm. I think they missed us, because they have been extremely cuddly ever since we got home.
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