Sierra Nevada backpacking: Dumbbell Lakes to Lower Palisade Lake – Kings Canyon National Park

Sierra Nevada backpacking: Dumbbell Lakes to Lower Palisade Lake – Kings Canyon National Park

Eastern Sierra backpacking, Sierra Nevada: Cross country route from Dumbbell Lakes to Cataract Creek Pass, down to the Amphitheater Lake and the Cataract Creek drainage to the JMT/PCT Trail. JMT/PCT trail towards Mother Pass with camp at the Lower Palisade Lake

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

Trailhead: Tabosee Pass Trailhead, Big Pine

September 2024

Itinerary:
This video covers the fifth day 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 section from Dumbbell Lakes across the Dumbbell Lakes drainage, up to Cataract Creek Pass, then down to Amphitheater Lake and further down through the Cataract Creek drainage to the JMT/PCT trail is a cross country section. A fainted use trail exists in a few spots, but overall the hike is off trail. Navigation is pretty straight forward but it is advisable to support the hike with a GPS enabled hiking phone App or a GPS navigation device providing off-line maps (Or a paper map and compass if you want to go old school). The cross country terrain is easy to traverse up to Cataract Creek Pass, after which the descent to Amphitheater Lake entails navigating through boulder fields and steep slopes above the Lake. The cross country route continues down the Cataract Creek drainage to the JMT/PCT trail. For this later part the terrain is not difficult but navigation requires some attention to pick the best route on either side of the creek for the different sections.

Day 5: Dumbbell Lake, Dumbbell Lakes basin, Cataract Creek Pass, Amphitheater Lake, Cataract Creek, JMT/PCT Trail, Golden Staircase, Lower Palisade Lake

Trip Section Stats:
9.5 mi, Approx. 2500 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:
Day five of this backpacking trip was again very spectacular with a variety of terrains and landscapes but it was also pretty hard because of the extended cross country section followed by the climb to the Lower Palisade Lake from the bottom of the canyon. The morning section from Dumbbell Lakes to Amphitheater Lake through Cataract Creek Pass was very beautiful. The route down to the lake required attention as the terrain presented steep sections and boulder fields. Amphitheater lake is magnificent with impressive rock faces on the same side of the pass. Particularly tiring was the descent of the Cataract Creek drainage to the JMT/PCT trail in the early afternoon. The upper part was beautiful and fairly easy but the middle and lower sections required some route finding with bush waking, walking over dead trees and vegetation along the creek. Once down to the JMT/PCT Trail it was all smooth sailing all the way up to the Lower Palisade Creek camp despite the substantial elevation gain. The Lower Palisade Creek camp site was gorgeous with beautiful evening light and golden hours. Beautiful red clouds in the AM as well. But it was obviously busy, as I was on the main JMT/PCT corridor. Overall another very beautiful day in the high Sierras.

Music:
Awash by Gavin Luke
Licensed by Epidemic Sound.

#dumbbelllakes #hiking #backpacking #sierranevada #cataractcreekpass #amphitheaterlake #cataractcreek #lowerpalisadelake #jmt #pct #kingscanyonnationalpark

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
01:27 – Trip Highlights
04:51 – Dumbbell Lakes to Amphitheater Lake via Cataract Creek Pass
07:05 – Amphitheater Lake to JMT/PCT Trail via Cataract Creek
10:22 – JMT/PCT Trail to Lower Palisade Lake