Kern-Kaweah and Kaweah Basins

On the Whaleback section of trail I could look back at Big Wet Meadow, the Cunningham Creek cut and on the low point on the horizon, Avalanche Pass.

The Shoulder of Whaleback

Kern-Kaweah and Kaweah Basins via Colby Pass, September, 2000.

The trail curved left and again met the young Roaring River, a more difficult wet crossing early season. The crossing featured at least two signs informing us the trail ahead was unmaintained by the park, although it was later obvious somebody was doing some maintenance due to the good quality of the trail. After the rock hop across the stream, a spur trail to the right headed up-canyon. It was obvious that this was the point the trail was to begin climbing over the shoulder of the Whaleback and up to Colby Pass, so we dropped our packs for a short rest and a bite to eat in the shaded environs of the ford.
After our short rest we mounted up and began the trudge upward to our left on the good trail. This section of the trail was some of the best of the trip, and one of the best in the Sierra. The trail is well graded and interesting with good views down canyon and up ward towards our goal. At first the trail merely traverses a fair distance to the left on a shaded moderate grade before it begins to switchback upward in earnest. Soon, the trail took on the classic high Sierra rock garden look of white granite studded with picturesque trees decorating the well-engineered switchbacks and hand-hewn steps. I remembered one point where I turned a rocky corner and I could look up to see a wide ledge on a steep face and then realized the ledge was the trail. Where the ledge turned the corner above on the left, all I could see beyond the trail was blue sky. This was another Sierra staircase to heaven, and another moment that made the sweaty last few days worthwhile.

A high corner of trail allows impressive views. Here you see the trail and across the canyon is Glacier Ridge.

After making its way up small but steep granite faces, the trail finally turned the corner around the shoulder of the Whaleback on switchbacks and ledges, but not without first giving us a grand view down-canyon of the large and beautiful meadows at the bottom of the perfect "U" of the glacier shaped Cloud Canyon.