Brewer Basin in Kings Canyon

After the foggy night (which I noticed cleared up during the night when Dave woke me up "walking the dog"), the morning greeted us with a perfect Sierra morning. This is lake (10514) looking towards the slightly higher large Sphinx Lake.

Sphinx Lakes Basin

20 Sept., Day 2, up Sphinx Creek from Avalanche Meadow.
The second day on the trail went as expected (See The "Sphinx Lakes" feature in Sierra Trails) except to say I STILL missed finding the old trail that takes you up the headwall above Avalanche Meadow. I found it as the headwall was crested, which was way too late to do us any good, but we did follow the trail, still in fair condition, to the meadow below the next headwall. The trail ended at an old horsepacker campsite that had not seen use for years. Beyond we could see the next headwall and after a short conference discussing my experiences with the two routes up the headwall, we decided to take the left (eastern) route. This turned out to be the best choice because after navigating through the meadow and some scant amount of bush, we came on a section of broken slabs that offered a rough and wild stairs up the steep slab face above us. Once at the top it was a short walk to the lowest Sphinx Lake (9609). The temptation there is to stay at this excellent lake, one of the best jewels in the crown of the Sierra, with its ample excellent camp sites and wonderful views all around. However, we wanted to be higher to be in a better position to take on Sphinx Pass the next day, so we reluctantly decided to move on. Once again there is a choice between going left or right, but the previous year at a stay at this lake, I had scouted the west side for just this eventuality, so we turned the lake to the right. Another excellent decision as it turned out because the going was a very manageable class 1 walk that soon brought us to the next lake (9996) and camp. After a short rest we turned east (I have to remember to climb a little higher before beginning the traverse next time) and began the climb upward over clean white granite slabs to the largest Sphinx Lakes. Dave had gotten his second wind and marched ahead while I was trying to find mine in the rarefied air above 10,000 feet. It always takes me longer to acclimate than Dave. Soon enough I was dropping my pack in the excellent camp by the lake (10514) (see the previous page) while Dave looked for that elusive better camp. Eventually we settled in and were set up with the hopes of seeing an excellent alpen-glow show in this lake filled bowl surrounded with 12,000+ foot peaks, but we were doomed to disappointment. Near sunset it began to cloud up, and soon we were engulfed in a thick fog that poured upward from below. Eventually we were forced to bed in the frigid foggy gloom, our headlamps boring holes into the thick fog soup.