(Off the) High Sierra Trail: Bushwhack Boogie

Although our initial plan of getting into Kaweah Basin was foiled, we still got in some quality time away from the HST. This was something we knew going in that we wanted to do; it’s why we allotted so many days for our trip.

Into the Basin

Our first off-trail excursion came pre-Kaweah Basin, immediately post-Kaweah Gap as we headed into Nine Lakes Basin. We could see a couple tents pitched near where the trail wound through the basin, but we decided to go the other direction, off the trail and further into the basin.
 
We were getting rained on as this was happening, and it had been a punishing day of climbing, so we didn’t go all that far into the basin, but even just a short distance off-trail the sense of solitude dramatically increased. Backpackers are a fairly rare breed; cross-country backpackers are an even rarer one.

Out and Back

The first full off-HST day was actually something of a Kaweah Basin scouting mission. We had decided already that going in from the Kaweah Pass side wasn’t happening this time, but figured we would check out a possible entry from the other side, via the (very overgrown — there was definitely some whacking of bushes involved) Colby Pass Trail and Picket Creek.
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Rockslide Lake • photo by me

Alas, it was not to be. Due to a variety of factors, we determined that such a route was just not feasible with our current circumstances.

Up the Creek

That was not the end of our off-HST excursions, though. After some map browsing, we identified Wallace Lake as a potential side trip, so the next day when we came to the HST/JMT/PCT junction we left all three behind and headed up the barely-there Wallace Creek Trail. As we discovered in Nine Lakes Basin, it didn’t take far off the main trail to feel like we were in a whole new world. The triple junction is large and obvious, a meeting place of multiple popular trails. The Wallace Creek Trail is another matter entirely.
 
The scanned topos we referenced had the trail labeled “location approximate.” This turned out to be an accurate designation, as both the specific location and mere existence of the trail were approximate at best. Sometimes we were on the trail, other times just following Wallace Creek upstream through the woods. The weather was threatening again, so our plan was just to go for a while and see how far we could get before the impending rain decreed it was time to set up camp and hide in our tents.
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A gorgeous gorge • photo by me

After the rain stopped, we explored the area, and my dad found a place shortly upstream where Wallace Creek comes tumbling out of a steep, very impressive gorge with a high plateau above it. We ate dinner up there, admiring the sunset, and moved our camp up to the plateau the following morning.
 
Not a lot happened that day; we mostly just hung out on the plateau after what turned out to be quite a short burst of rain turned us back from our attempted cross-country hike to Wallace Lake. We knew that the next day we had to head back to the HST, but still wanted to find the lake, so we decided to get up early and go to Wallace Lake before breaking camp and heading out.

To the Lake

The hike to the lake was longer than anticipated. We generally followed the creek, encountering a mix of talus, woods, and meadows as we gradually ascended. Finding the lake was a matter of several “false summits,” or I guess in this case false basin rims.
 
Along the way it was very cool to get to see essentially an entire water system, as we found the small streams that drained from the meadows into the larger Wallace Creek and then started finding the lakes from which the streams drained.
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Here comes the sun • photo by me

Eventually we did make it to Wallace Lake, and were even in time to catch the sun as it emerged from behind the peaks. We had coffee and oatmeal on the lake shore, enjoying the time there but knowing we had to get back to camp and return to the HST. Rain was forecast to begin in the early afternoon, so we wanted to get some good miles in before that hit (it never actually did, and we made it to our camp for the night in good time).
 
When we returned to the JMT/PCT/HST junction, we found several people at the junction and at the ford just beyond it. After the remoteness of our days up Wallace Creek, it was a bit jarring to return to the main trail and immediately be confronted with a crowd.
 
All in all, we quite enjoyed our days off the HST, especially the time we spent along Wallace Creek. Although not all of that time was truly off-trail, we did get in some cross-country time as well as exploring lesser-known trails. Mission accomplished!
 
Feature image: The Kaweahs at sunrise • photo by me

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