Day 7- Middle Fork Kings River to Starr Camp

Darker skies and a cold wind indicate the storm building as we look back on Le Conte Canyon.

Distance: 8 mi
Elevation Gain: 2,100 ft
Starting Elevation: 8,030 ft
Ending Elevation: 10,320 ft

We awoke with aching feet from the previous day, ready for our first official day off. By "day off" what we mean is that we would be hiking our first single digit mileage day! Our plan was to break up our ascent to Muir Pass (the final pass before our first resupply at Muir Trail Ranch) into two days. We would wake up late, pack our things slowly and gradually, and take our time ascending the approximately 2,000 ft climb to Starr Camp (a site at 10,320' would put us just 3 miles south of Muir Pass).

We took our day off to heart, getting up around 8 am and taking our time to pack up our belongings. After breakfast, we went down to the Kings River, which here was the confluence of three separate tributaries rushing together, and filtered water in the early morning sun. Our hike finally began around 10 am, and we adopted a slow and steady pace through the very gradual ascent of Le Conte Canyon.

Eating breakfast, taking our time getting ready in the morning.

The views throughout the canyon were stunning and a drastic change from yesterday's high alpine environment. We passed through several meadows, specifically Grouse Meadow, adding this area to an expanding mental list of places we would come back and explore on future trips to the Sierras.

About 4 miles in and after passing a ranger station and a footbridge over the river, our ascent became steeper as we entered Little Pete and subsequently Big Pete meadows. Just then, the skies darkened and thunder clouds began rolling in. We felt like we couldn't catch a break, even on our "day off" we would have to grapple with some inclement weather. We pulled out our rain jackets and pack covers and continued our ascent through the meadows, eventually stopping for some shelter from the rain and lightning. To our surprise, we didn't have to wait long, and the rain passed quickly. But the clouds ahead of us as we neared Muir Pass were ominous and we didn't waste any time. We continued our hike up to Starr Camp.

After walking up the steep trail along the cascading creek, we exited Le Conte Canyon and entered a marshy meadow offering perfect cover for camping. We quickly set up our tent, anticipating more rain, and spent some time sitting by the creek, filling up our water bottles and Camelbak with enough water for dinner later that evening. Scrutinizing the rocky peaks ahead of us, we played a game in which we would try to guess which would be the one we would ascend the next day.

After a hot meal, we put on layers of warm clothes to prepare for a night at higher than usual elevation, and climbed into the tent to read and relax. As the sun set, the wind picked up, and storm clouds collected swiftly over us. Inside our tent, we could hear the thunder echoing outside, and counted the seconds each time lightning illuminated the sky above us. The rain lasted most of the night, but we finally fell asleep as it calmed, once even leaving our tent to see the star filled sky above us.