Mt Kaweah, Gray Kaweah, Bilko Pinnacle, Black Kaweah & Empire Mountain
Now that I had finished the California 14ers, my next list goal was to complete the Sierra Nevada Emblem Peaks. When I was invited by Chad Thomas on a trip to Squaretop, one of the most difficult 13ers in California, I decided it would be a good opportunity to climb Big Kaweah as well, since we planned to set up basecamp deep in Big Arroyo. I planned Asaka and Leif’s visit to Japan to coincide with this backpacking trip. They would stay for 5 weeks, but since I could not take more than a month off work, I planned to meet them there later on. In the meantime I would ease my loneliness by hiking in overdrive. Four initially agreed to join the Squaretop trip; Chad, Michael, Maxim and myself. When the trip was about a week away, I received a long apologetic email from Chad claiming that he would have to cancel because he was recently struck by lightning. Chad was severely injured after receiving a direct hit on the summit of Ericsson Crags. Michael was also present on the climb, and while he only received an indirect hit that gave him temporary paralysis and partial hearing loss, he was not up for another high risk trip so soon. This came as a shock because just two weeks prior I had hiked Raymond Peak with Chad, and now he was in the hospital about to receive synthetic skin. Chad had also invited me on the Ericsson Crags trip. I really wanted to join, but declined in order to minimize my number of backpacking trips for the year, which often entail long weekends away from the family. While such an email would usually end a trip then and there, I still wanted to go since I planned my whole summer around it. I emailed Maxim asking if he was still interested, even if it meant going with a stranger. While we had mutual friends, we had never met each other in person. When it was all said and done, Maxim met me at my house in San Jose and we carpooled together down to Mineral King. I booked a campsite at Cold Springs Campground where we spent the night. The ground was wet from heavy thunderstorms earlier that afternoon. We had a less than optimal forecast, with thunderstorms projected between 30-40% every day. I figured that we could avoid the worst of it so long as we got an early start each morning.
The next morning we picked up Chad’s permit at the ranger station then drove to Timber Gap Trailhead. I had been concerned about the marmots, but research leading up to the trip confirmed that they were only a nuisance to the undercarriage of automobiles during spring and early summer. There was one car in the parking lot that wasn’t taking any chances.
My non peak related focus on this trip was to get my pack weight down, mostly in an effort to get me to enjoy backpacking a bit more. I left the trailhead that morning with all my gear, food and water fitting into my 32 liter day pack.
We followed the trail up a switchback for a half mile then took a right turn at the fork. We passed by Monarch Creek where there was a short cut, however I was not aware of it at the time. Maxim tried explaining to me that I was taking the long way, but I didn’t fully understand what he was trying to say at the time, so I just countered saying that I preferred to stay on the trail and not cut switchbacks. While this would add mileage, the added distance was all on gradual trail, and probably didn’t add much difficulty. Next time I will take the shortcut though.
There was abundant wildlife on the mountain slopes that morning. Deer and grouse grazed and foraged the forest floor.
The real location of the trail does not match the topo map, so I started to get nervous as the the trail continued to lead us away from Glacier Pass and towards Chihuahua Mine. Just as I was about to cut my losses, we found a switchback that took us back towards Monarch Lakes.
Maxim explained that there was mining history in this location. I took note of all the red and white rocks, and all of a sudden the etymology became obvious. Mineral Peak stood above.
We stopped to hydrate at the outlet of Monarch Lakes, but the water smelt contaminated. This manmade lake is simply too popular with tourists. We decided not to fill up in the end, and hoped to get more water on the other side of Glacier Pass which stood above.
It was a sandy slog up to the pass. The trail braided and I couldn’t confidently say if I was on the official trail or not. We eventually took a spur trail over to Glacier Pass, which we had inadvertently climbed above.
Once at the pass, we got our first view of the Kaweah Group. The clouds were already filling the sky, and we still had one more pass to go. I started to become concerned that we might get stormed off the high passes before reaching our target basecamp.
We struggled at first to find our way down Glacier Pass. The ranger had told me that it was class 3, so off I went looking for class 3. In reality the pass is class 1; there is a trail that descends from the lowest point in the saddle. I thankfully found this before trying anything too crazy.
We hiked down the talus and we were back on grassy tundra in short order. We found a clean water source here and filled up without filters. A use trail continued down the drainage, easing what I assumed would be mostly cross country travel.
The monsoon was strong this year, and all the rain meant an abundance of fungi. I believe this was a witches hat.
The use trail became more defined as we dropped down, and the creek we followed became stronger as it led to Spring Lake down below.
While only a few miles from the road, this area felt very remote. An impressive granite wall stood above us and we wondered if people ever came to climb it.
We walked around Spring Lake and found a second smaller lake in the same drainage. We then began our off trail climb up a steep talus field towards Hands and Knees Pass.
The going was slow, but the energy reserves were there. Pressure started to mount as the clouds continued to grow above. While it was mostly clear above us, there was no telling what was on the other side of the ridge. It was a bit of a grunt, but we finally made it to spot point 11145 on the topo map.
This was the first key to crossing Hands and Knees Pass. The next step would be to traverse left towards Little Five Lakes Basin. This was maybe the trickiest part of the approach because a direct line from the pass took us on steep slabs. While avoidable, my route took me on some class 4 terrain. It would have been easier to drop down and lose some elevation to avoid this semi technical route, but I wasn’t willing to give up my gain easily.
Sierra Columbine covered the granite slopes.
I finally started to feel some decent fatigue at this point. It was a struggle for me to breach the pass, but once atop the highest point of my route, I sat down and rewarded myself with lunch. I looked back and could see that the storms would not reach us while we were up high. It was a relief. While there was still a good chance it would storm on us before we reached camp, we would be well below the tree line by that time and out of lightning danger. After lunch we had a quick sandy descent down into the drainage, and a few minutes later we reached the first of the Little Five Lakes.
I decided to take a quick refreshing dip to recharge the system.
We had some trouble locating the trail descending from Blackrock Pass, but once we found it we cruised.
More mushrooms were found on the way. Maxim picked up one claiming it was a Portobello Mushroom. I asked if he was a mushroom expert and he said no. He claimed that if it tasted good then it would be okay to eat, and if it tasted weird then it could be poisonous. I am not sure if I agree with that reasoning, but he did not get sick that trip.
It started to lightly drizzle as we dropped further and further down into Big Arroyo. The hike seemed to drag on a bit.
Black Kaweah stood defiantly over us.
Wildflowers became more abundant as we approached the river below.
I was relieved to reach the Old Big Arroyo Patrol Cabin prior to any serious rain. This would be our camp for the next two nights. I was a little disappointed to find the area packed with backpackers. I guess this is a popular camp along the High Sierra Trail.
The real beauty of this site was the bear box. To keep my pack weight down, I did not carry a bear box, and now food storage would not be an issue. We set up our tents and started to relax, when a ranger approached warning us that a helicopter was on its way.
The helicopter landed and the pilot gave some fresh vegetables to the ranger. Halfway through their conversation I approached and asked if this was a SAR operation. I hadn’t even considered it until then because everyone was so calm. Apparently some lady twisted her ankle, and she called for a rescue. A few minutes later she came hobbling towards the helicopter on crutches. Some people are shameless. I chatted with the SAR crew and asked if they were involved in rescuing Chad a week prior. They were all aware of the rescue, and while they personally were not involved, the same helicopter was. The thunderclouds were closing in around us, so once the lady was secure, they took off upwards and disappeared into the last tiny patch of blue sky to the southwest.
That must be a fun job. It would take a whole day to walk back to civilization from here, but the helicopter would get to the Visalia hospital in a matter of minutes. It was a pretty spectacular sight. I put the final touches on my camp set up and crawled inside to rest. Just as I laid down heavy rain drops started tapping my rain tarp, and a few minutes later the thunderstorms began. It was a pretty strong storm that lasted more than an hour. I didn’t mind because I had nothing to do for the rest of the day besides hydrate, cook and eat dinner.
The next morning we woke before dawn. I strapped my headlamp to my forehead, boiled some ramen noodles and watched the steam emanate from the soup and my breath. It took some time for me to get myself together, and we started hiking at 5:30am. We jumped on the High Sierra Trail and walked southeast towards the Chagoopa Plateau. The trail was gradual, but we quickly climbed high above the Big Arroyo.
We would follow this trail for several miles before leaving the trail and heading cross country towards the saddle between Gray Kaweah and Big Kaweah. I stopped along the way to admire some of the Ancient Bristlecone Pines.
I was noticeably slower than Maxim this morning. I chalked it up to altitude.
We spent a lot of time talking about Kazakhstan, Almaty and the mountains that reside there. Our route took us up talus slopes that seemed to never end. What a boring slog! I really started to feel rough at around 13,000 ft.
Maxim noticed me struggling, so with about 500 feet to go, he offered me a mysterious beverage. It was in a heavy bottle, but he claimed it was his secret energy source. He explained to me that it tasted like sour horse milk yogurt. I was so out of it that I did not even internalize what he was saying until the flavor hit my tongue. Wow, that was something else. I took another sip to see if it would be just as shocking as the first, and it was. I’m sure it was full of calories, but the taste was a little too exotic for my liking. With two sips of mystery juice in my belly, I was able to gut out the rest of the climb.
Once atop the ridge, we had striking views in all directions.
We first came to a lower northwestern summit, then we traversed the ridge to the true high point. The climb took us 5 hours, which put us at a pathetic pace of 1mph.
To the southeast were Kern Peak and Kern Canyon.
To the east was Mt Whitney. The ridgeline running south from the highest peak in the lower 48 looked extremely rugged and serrated. I remember the first time I saw Big Kaweah I was standing on Mt Whitney. Now all these years later I was looking back the other way. Both perspectives were quite impressive. In the foreground was Red Spur, an obscure and remote group of peaks that I would like to climb one day.
To the northeast were Junction Peak, Mt Keith, Mt Tyndall and Mt Williamson. What struck me as notable was the sheer breadth of Shepherds Pass. That is clearly the most obvious location to cross that part of the range.
To the north was the remote Kaweah Basin. I wondered how many humans have explored the desolate region.
To the northwest ran the Kaweah Peaks Ridge. Red Kaweah and Pyramidal Pinnacle were visible, appearing higher than where we stood.
To the southwest ran the Great Western Divide.
We took some time to sign the register.
More interesting than our own signatures was the entry from my friends Chris and Mason, who have the presumed first winter ascent of Big Kaweah.
The clouds were mounting, but we came way too far for just one peak. We started our way back down the ridgeline towards Gray Kaweah, also known as Second Kaweah. The whole time I thought Pyramidal Pinnacle was Black Kaweah, but I was mistaken.
Standing at 13,661 ft with over 500 feet of prominence, climbing this bonus peak did take a decent amount of effort. Maxim still had the upper hands in terms of endurance and he made it to the top well before me.
There were two points of almost equivalent height, but we found the register on the southeastern summit.
A solid piece of rock crowned the summit, and we took turns stepping on this to reach the highest point. I think we both felt a little more comfortable on the talus pile adjacent to this rock. To the southwest was Mineral King.
To the southeast was Mt Kaweah.
To the east were Mount Whitney and Mt Langley. This might be my favorite perspective of the tallest peak in the lower 48. The ridgeline from Langley all the way to Whitney was serrated, making it look quite formidable.
To the northeast was Kaweah Basin; lonely and desolate.
We found Daryn Dodge’s register which we quickly signed. The clouds continued to grow darker and darker.
In my altitude induced stupor, I remembered reading that the traverse from Gray Kaweah to Bilko Pinnacle was class 2-3. Hence it made a lot of sense to continue towards our third bonus peak, which stood below us only a short distance down the ridgeline. We naively continued, following a track posted by Clemente Guillaume. I hadn’t realized at the time that he was with Robert Wu. Both of them are extremely strong climbers and they make a really strong team. If I would have known earlier, I might have suspected that harder climbing remained ahead.
We were faced with serious challenges straight from the start.
We alternated between scrambling underneath the ridge and staying on top of the ridge. As stiff climbing ensued, I slowly realized that I must have been mistaken. There was clearly no class 2-3 bypass along this section. I considered heading back, however we had already dropped quite a bit, and retracing our steps would put us back at a high point as thunderclouds continued to develop. We decided to push on, even though we were unsure if we would be able to make it. The next section required intense focus from both me and Maxim. Some moves had us downclimbing vertical steps with thousands of feet of exposure beneath us. Others had us dangling from just our hands as we tried to reach a ledge below.
I feel a class 5 rating would be more appropriate than class 4 here because on several instances I had to use real climbing moves. But then again, there is no clear delineation between class 4 and low class 5. The rock was metamorphic, which meant the quality throughout was very questionable.
The climbing was so stiff that it had forced Maxim, a climber who has led 5.11 in the past, to pull off the side a relieve himself mid scramble. You could say the climbing was so scary that he almost shit himself. Looking back, I couldn’t help but stare in awe at what we just downclimbed without a rope.
Now we were at equal height with Bilko Pinnacle. Squaretop stood even further down the ridge. We had a short, but relatively easy scramble remaining to reach the key col.
As we started the final climb it began to drizzle. All of a sudden the rock became very slippery and even easy moves became challenging.
Maxim and I split, choosing different routes. It was a free for all at this point. Just as we reached the summit, hail started to fall. This scenario was much too similar to the story we heard from Chad before he got struck by lightning. To the northwest were Squaretop and Michael’s Pinnacle.
To the southeast was the messed up ridgeline we just descended.
Bill Schuler and Andy Smatko name the peaklet, hence the name Bilko Pinnacle. The register was placed by acquaintances Clement Guillaume and Roebrt Wu from less than a year ago. We quickly signed ourselves in then hurried to get the hell off that pinnacle. I was so flustered that I signed the wrong year. Luckily we didn’t have to set up a rappel so we were able to bail quickly.
Once back at the key col, I felt safe from lightning. We potentially could have visited Squaretop if the weather remained decent, but we took the hint from the mountain gods.
What ensued was as very tedious talus descent in my low top approach shoes.
Looking back, the scary ridgeline continues. I don’t think the climbing would have eased up if we were to have kept going.
Weather improved as we made our way back towards camp. We followed the outlet of the tarn all the way down towards the High Sierra Trail.
The last half mile was very step, but we finally made it back to easy trail.
Time from camp to camp was over 10 hours. While the stats weren’t so impressive, it was an exhausting day both physically and mentally. We were surprised to find camp all to ourselves. The previous evening was filled with rangers and backpackers, however now we would get to enjoy the solitude of this deep High Sierra camp all to ourselves.
We got another early start the next morning. The total hiking distance would not be much today, but the monsoonal cycle would continue. In order to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms, we left camp again at 5:30am. From camp, we headed directly up through the forest where we picked up and began following a large sloping granite shelf that was originally carved by glaciers millions of years ago.
It wasn’t necessary to follow this ledge, but it provided a relatively gradual route up the steep canyon. Some short sections were brushy, but for the most part it worked well. We eventually crossed into a drainage that had a creek flowing through. We stopped here for a very scenic water break.
Gray’s lovage covered the ground, which Maxim claimed was parsley. It is indeed edible and emits a nice scent as you walk through them.
We continued uphill until we reached the top of a broad granite bench. Just beyond this, Black Kaweah came into view.
We were somehow supposed to climb directly up the Southwest Face in front of us. Holy cow!
We walked around the lake where we stopped to top off our water bottles.
Here I saw what I believe was a Mt Lyell salamander. It sneakily crawled underneath a patch of Gordon’s Mousetail before I was able to snap a clear photo.
From the tarn we had yet another tedious talus field.
Towards the end the ground underfoot became super loose, and progress became painstakingly slow. I was relieved to finally reach solid rock above.
It wasn’t exactly clear to me where to start scrambling. From the very start we angled up to the left through a gap and up a crumbling class 4 chimney. This was not the right way, but we would correct it on the way down.
We would find the occasional cairn here and there, but now that we were in the correct chute, the route finding became more obvious.
Penstemon grew in the moist cracks.
What ensued was really fun, sustained class 3 scrambling.
Sometimes the easiest route had kitty litter laying on it, so we opted for more difficult segments on more solid rock.
I stopped every now and then to chew on alpine sorrel which replaced the penstemons the higher we climbed.
The climbing was stiff class 3 almost all the way, and definitely required a good deal of focus even for two experienced scramblers like ourselves.
Somehow the route went all the way to the top of the ridge. From there we still had some fun scrambling left in ahead of us but this went by quickly. Once on top we were rewarded with striking views. To the southeast was Red Kaweah.
To the northeast were Lawson Peak, Kaweah Queen and Starbrite Peak.
To the north were Lion Rock and Triple Divide Peak.
To the west were Eagle Scout Peak and Kaweah Gap.
To the southwest were Lippincott Mountain and Mt Eisen.
To the south were Sawtooth Peak and Needham Mountain.
I will go as far to say that Black Kaweah is my favorite Sierra peak yet. The only disappointment was the missing Norman Clyde register, which was echoed by other parties in the newer register.
The most interesting name in the new register was from Sean O, who free soloed the entire Kaweah traverse as a car to car from Mineral King.
We added our own name into the register and enjoyed the perfect conditions.
I went down just to look at the start of the Kaweah traverse and it appeared absolutely terrifying. We followed the ridge for a short distance before looping back to our ascent route.
Climbing down was thankfully uneventful. We were happy that no one else was on the peak since neither of us brought helmets. With all the loose rock, they are absolutely necessary for a group larger than two.
I found one of the many black rocks that give Black Kaweah its name. The overall geology of this peak is very cool. It is most likely mostly a metamorphic roof pendant.
Once back at the tarn, we stopped for a refreshing swim.
Even after ascending and descending it, the Southwest Face still looked nearly unclimbable.
We considered taking the long way to Red Kaweah, but the weather forecast did not give me the confidence to try a lengthy bonus peak. Instead we dropped all the way back down into Big Arroyo.
We arrived back at camp at 1pm. With the weather still holding and plenty of daylight remaining, we decided to pack up and move camp to Little Five Lakes Basin.
The walk uphill with full packs was something I was dreading, but the stunning views along the way almost made me forget about the pain.
We set up camp at the lake with an elevation of 10476 ft where there was a bear box. As we went to fill up water a ranger approached me and asked for my permit. I really hate rangers, but this guy seemed very nice. However, I wonder if he still would have been nice if I didn’t have a permit.
I was really happy that we were now three miles closer to the cars. We watched the thunderclouds slowly engulf Black Kaweah.
It wasn’t long before the skies opened up above the Kaweahs. We got some rain where we were, but we were able to spend most of the remaining daylight outside of our tents.
The monsoon was showing no signs of quitting anytime soon. For that reason I was still a little worried about crossing the high passes.
The next morning, we broke camp at 6am and started up the trail towards Hands and Knees Pass.
The first pass went by quickly. We had to climb over Glacier Pass next.
We made great time up Glacier Pass as well. It was still morning and the clouds were not yet threatening, so I suggested to Maxim that we take our packs up and over Empire Mountain. By this time I was feeling strong, and I was welcoming the extra effort. By taking our packs up the peak, we would be able to drop straight down the other side, saving distance.
Sawtooth Mountain stood impressively to the southeast.
It was really awesome watching the rocks change beneath our feet. First white, then black then red.
More Sierra Nevada columbine covered the ground.
Empire Mountain was a respectable summit. The only downside was the hoards of flies hanging out on top. Timber Gap stood to our west.
Mt Eisen and North Black Rock Pass Peak stood to the north. The Kaweah Range creeped behind this.
The Whitney Zone looked like it would be getting the thunderstorms early today.
Sawtooth Peak stood to the southeast, reminding me that I need to come back and climb the other peaks in this area.
To the south were Mineral Peak, Florence Peak and Vandever Mountain.
To the southwest was the parking lot. We were so close.
We started off hiking directly down the south ridge. We turned slightly to the west as the ridge began to cliff out. The rock in places was incredibly loose. I could tell that few people take this route.
Things got easier for me once we reached the forest understory. With soft dirt underfoot, I was able to fly down the mountain. This terrain was similar to my Coastal Ranges home court. Maxim on the other hand did not like this terrain, and followed gingerly behind me.
After an enjoyable descent of several thousand feet, we eventually met the trail.
I felt super strong and ran the whole last mile, reaching the car well before noon.
Rain started to fall just as I closed the trunk. We had beat the thunderstorms on each of the past four days. Overall our trip was very successful. Not only did I have a great time, but it was the final tune-up I needed before the Sierra Challenge the following week.
