HLRGazette Archives

Relive some of our best stories.

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

Holly Lake couple hikes in Calif. Nat.Park

E-mail Print PDF

Damian & Shantell Harmon, with friends Sean and Maggie in Kings Canyon National Park near Fresno California. See the "teaser" story at btm. of page which ran in 6-4-11 issue of the Gazette. The story below is from the actual event (hike) which just ended. W.C.

What a week! Damian and I just got back from our hiking trip and it was definitely an unforgettable time. We went there with a plan and it just didn't happen our way. We arrived at Road's End at about 11am Thursday morning, after stopping to see the General Grant tree, 3

rd largest tree in the world. We walked up to the ranger station, and immediately talked to the ranger on duty, Christine, and told her our plans to complete the Rae Lakes Loop. She told us that the Loop wasn't passable in the upper regions, close to the John Muir Trail. There was still snow that hadn't melted yet. Damian's face had disappointment written all over it. We were all disappointed, really. Though, later we'd learn that it was a blessing in disguise. We decided to go as far on each side of the Loop as we possibly could. We rented our bear canisters and put all our food inside them and added that to our packs. It was probably noon before we actually set out on the trail. We hiked toward Mist Falls first. I'm not going to lie, it was much harder than I was thinking. The physical demand was higher than I thought I could handle, but we pushed on. The first day we covered 6.5 miles and ended up at Lower Paradise. We set up camp there and decided to day hike the next day. We were exhausted, to say the least. My body was done, my muscles were sore and I knew this was going to be a long week. Despite all the physical pain, our camp spot was beautiful. We were probably 100 feet from King's River. Lower Paradise was sort of a clearing, trees everywhere, straight up to the sky. I've never seen trees like this. They were a rich red color, it was like we were surrounded by works of art. The next morning, we all got up, ate breakfast, and washed a few clothes before we took off. While I was standing around I noticed this animal run past me into a cave near us. It ended up being a marmot. It kind of looks like a furry beaver. It was a cute little thing. After getting several pictures of it we got our packs on and set out to see what we could discover in the back country. While we were walking, we all heard a roar, which stopped us in our tracks. Even though we were hoping to see a glimpse of a bear from afar, the thought and the reality is totally different. After hearing the roar 3 times and looking every which way and not seeing anything, we continued on our way. We came into a clearing where there was sort of a pond away from the river. We took a break there and just soaked in the beauty. We saw several fish swimming around as the water was crystal clear to the bottom. After that, we came to a meadow. There was green grass everywhere with lush green leafy plants growing in spots. We had to stop and marvel for a little while. The awe we all felt never ceased that whole day. Just when we thought nothing could be more amazing we stumbled on something else that literally took our breath away. We were headed to upper paradise, about 5 miles away. We came across a rattle snake on our way to find a lunch spot. Of course, he warned us with a rattle and we got a few pictures and let him be. That's the good thing about rattle snakes, they're courteous enough to give a warning before they bite. We ended up seeing 6 rattle snakes the whole trip. We stumbled across the perfect spot to take a lunch break. It was a waterfall and we were able to sit on top of it. It was the most beautiful sight. We probably stayed there 45 minutes just enjoying the sound. Afterwards we headed back to camp. We all decided when we got back to climb the mountain behind us to find one of the upper waterfalls. There wasn't a trail, just brush and trees to climb through. That was straight incline and very hard. But we were able to get some pictures of the waterfall and make it back to camp before dark. We ate dinner that night and filtered some water. Probably 5 minutes after drinking the water, Damian and I both got sick to our stomachs. That was not fun. We both went to bed early and I laid in the tent for 2 hours straight praying for us to feel better. After 2 hours, my stomach settled and I felt better and Damian woke up the next morning all better. We were so thankful. Needless to say, we used our friend's filter the rest of the trip.

Day 3, we went back down the mountain to Road's End. With all of our stuff in our packs, they weighed around 40 lbs and made for a torturous hike down. We ended up going to Cedar Grove to the market and snack bar to eat a burger , do some laundry and take a shower. After getting all of that done, the day was gone and we just camped out at a local site for the night. We saw several bats flying over head, pretty cool.

The next day we packed up and headed toward Bubbs Creek, the other side of the Loop. It was a 4 mile hike to Sphinx Junction, where we camped. That hike was totally uphill. I had to push myself the whole time because it was kicking my butt. I was using muscles I didn't know I had. After 3.5 hours, we finally arrived at a campsite. It was settled in untouched forest, gorgeous. And we were right beside the roaring river. After we set up camp, Damian and I went exploring. We took pictures of various flowers and cool looking trees. A lot of the trees had been burned. It looked like they had been struck by lightning. We were hoping to spot a porcupine or a ring tail or maybe even an owl. But no such luck. We went back and joined our friends around the camp fire and roasted marshmallows and just enjoyed the night.

Day 5 I woke up feeling drained and not sure that my body was going to let me do anything. I think maybe I had hit a wall. My calves were sore and my energy was zapped. We started out going toward Avalanche Pass, which was a 5 mile hike straight up the mountain. One of our friends, Sean, his Achilles tendon was bothering him and I was not going to make it. So 15 minutes in, we decided to go back down and just have a lazy day. I think by this time everyone was feeling the exhaustion. We took a nap and just hung out on the bridge by the river. It was nice.

The last day, we woke up planning on going the opposite direction of the day before. It was a going to be a 7 mile hike to Junction Meadow. I woke up feeling pretty good. Damian and our friend, Maggie were the ones who I consider the real hikers. Sean and I were in over our heads. We all started out on the hike and I was the first one back. Sean came walking back about 45 minutes after me. Damian and Maggie probably hiked about 5 miles out and 5 miles back. While they were gone, they ran into other hikers who had just seen several bears out and about. Unfortunately or maybe it was fortunate, they didn't see any of the bears. They came across a few rattle snakes though and fell into the river while they were crossing on a tree trunk, but all was okay. No one got hurt and they made it back to camp all in one piece. I have to admit, I was more than ready to come home by the end. Sean and I were the first ones up the next morning getting everything packed up and ready for our decent back to Roads End. Next time, I definitely want to keep it no more than a 4 day trip and I want to be in better shape now that I know what to expect. I'm so glad we got the opportunity to go on this hiking trip. It's a lot of fun to be away from civilization for a while and just enjoy what God has made. But I'm glad we're back home. It's made me appreciate all the many things we take for granted on a daily basis. But in the end, I encourage everyone to go and see Kings Canyon National Park. There are no words to describe what you see there.