Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
provide a brilliant fall display, they are most unique for their reproductive cloning.
Each aspen grove lives off a single root system, where new trees, “suckers,” are sent
up when older trees are destroyed. The width of the tree trunk indicates the age of
that particular tree, but some of the groves themselves are 8,000 years old. Their re-
generation tactics make aspens often the first species to grow in a zone following a
disturbance, such as a fire or avalanche.
Turn right to follow the JMT south across the impressively sound and robust
suspension bridge. Built in 1988, this is the mack daddy of bridges, certain to with-
stand whatever Woods Creek sends its way. Late in the season, when the creek is but
a trickle, it seems a tad overwrought, but its girth and weight are a welcome find dur-
ing high water. Be sure to cross one person at a time.
Across the bridge, note the popular Woods Creek campsites (8,492 feet)
scattered amid Jeffrey Pines with bear boxes. This is an excellent place to pump wa-
ter. Ignore the side trails to western campsites and continue heading southeastward
on the Rae Lakes Loop. The trail begins rising gently and subsequently switchback-
ing up through an open area of aspen trees. The landscape alternates between rocky
switchbacks and more open valleys and meadows along this gradual ascent.
Cottonwoods give way to lodgepole pines as the trail winds its way into a fra-
gile meadow near the Baxter Creek crossing. This is another excellent spot for water,
as the climb up to Dollar Lake is a hot and dry one. Continue climbing as the trail
rises above the river. The views open up tremendously above treeline. Walk past fox-
tail pines to Dollar Lake (10,200 feet) for your first taste of the alpine wonderland
that awaits at Rae Lakes. There is limited camping here, but check signs for restora-
tion areas.
Skirt the lake's western shore and continue climbing to larger Arrowhead Lake
(10,300 feet), nestled under the impressive Fin Dome peak, a sharklike protrusion re-
flected in the placid waters. Campsites dot the northeast lakeshore.
Cross Arrowhead's outlet and walk along the lake's eastern shore until the trail
begins climbing again, away from the water. Reach the first lake in the Rae Lakes
chain, with campsites with bear boxes near the south end. Just past this first lake, a
spur trail veers right to the seasonally staffed Rae Lakes Ranger Station (10,597
feet). The lakes were named by William Colby, a Sierra Club member instrumental
in the founding of Kings Canyon National Park, who honored his wife, Rachel
(“Rae”).
Campsites are plentiful here, as are jaw-dropping views, and this is an excellent
place for a layover day or two. There is a two-night camping limit at each Rae Lake.
Follow the trail southwest for close to a mile across a flat isthmus dividing Middle
and Upper Rae lakes and admire the photogenic granite islands “floating” in the up-
