Sierra Nevada backpacking: Cartridge Pass and Cartridge Creek from Muro Blanco Trail, Kings Canyon

Sierra Nevada backpacking: Cartridge Pass and Cartridge Creek from Muro Blanco Trail, Kings Canyon

Sierra backpacking: Cartridge Pass and Cartridge Creek from the Muro Blanco Trail (JMT/PCT trail junction).

Eastern Sierra – Muro Blanco Trail to Unnamed Lake near Cartridge Pass, Cartridge Pass and Cartridge Creek.

Kings Canyon National Park
Big Pine, California.
Eastern Sierra, Sierra Nevada.

Trailhead: Tabosee Pass Trailhead, Big Pine

August 2024

Itinerary:
This video covers the second and third days of a seven day backpacking trip from the Taboose Pass Trailhead which included the Taboose Pass, Cardinal Mountain, the Muro Blanco Trail, Cartridge Pass, Cartridge Creek, Marion Lake, Dumbbell Pass, Dumbbell Lakes, Cataract Creek Pass, Amphitheater Lake, Cataract Creek, PCT/JMT trail, Palisade Lakes, Mother Pass, Upper Basin, Bench Lake, Taboose Pass and exit to the Tabosee Pass Trailhead.

The Muro Blanco and the Cartridge Pass trails are unmaintained use trails. They do not present particular challenges, although the trail disappears in some spots or it becomes difficult to follow, therefore it is best to support the hike with a GPS enabled hiking phone App or a GPS navigation device providing off-line maps. There are short sections of boulder fields to be traversed on both trails.

Day 1: JMT/PCT Trail junction to Muro Blanco Trail, Muro Blanco Trail to Cartridge Pass trail to camp at Unnamed Lake near Cartridge Pass.

Day 2: Unnamed Lake near Cartridge Pass camp to Cartridge Pass and descent to Cartridge Creek. Hike along Cartridge Creek to start the drainage descent towards Marion Lake.

Trip Section Stats:
7.5 mi, approx 2.500 ft elevation gain.

AllTrails Map:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/afternoon-backpack-trip-at-taboose-pass-to-cardinal-mountain-aa0d2a8

Notes about the map: the map is indicative of the trip itinerary although mileage and moving time cannot be considered as reference as I often deviated from the route for filming and photography; also the moving time on the map includes all stops and breaks during the day as I stopped recording only once camp was setup for each day.

Hike Notes:
This part of the trip was certainly a major highlight. The descent into Cartridge Creek from Cartridge Pass and the hike along Cartridge Creek was magnificent! Pure high Sierra beauty. The Cartridge Creek drainage is on par with the best Sierras high basins. I wish I would have camped there, but the itinerary I planned covered a lot of ground. I reached Cartridge Creek at noon, so I decided to move on to camp at Marion Lake. The Muro Blanco trail and the ascent to the unnamed lake where I camped were not particularly spectacular for Sierra standards, but the lake was certainly beautiful and golden hours were spectacular. The outlet of the lake was particularly beautiful with nice views of the surrounding mountains, particularly Arrow Peak to the South. The hike up to Cartridge Pass was very beautiful, the descent to Cartridge Creek, short and somewhat steep, was as good as it gets! I truly enjoyed the wall along Cartridge Creek: an amazing string of small lakes surrounded by beautiful mountains; high alpine with little tree coverage until the drop of the basin is reached. I would love to go back and camp up there.

Music:
Birth by Gavin Luke
Licensed by Epidemic Sound.

#sierranevada #cartridgecreek #hiking #backpacking #cartridgepass #muroblancotrail #kingscanyonnationalpark

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
01:18 – Trip Highlights
04:15 – Day 1: Muro Blanco Trail to Unnamed Lake near Cartridge Pass
07:19 – Day 2: Unnamed Lake near Cartridge Pass to Cartridge Creek