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Backpacking over Bishop Pass to LeConte Canyon

December 30, 2014 By Jeff H 8 Comments

Muir Taco Adventure - Bishop Pass to LeConte Canyon

I admit it. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Sierras.

I fell in love with the Sierras on my first backpack trip there back in 1978. The first time I thru-hiked the John Muir Trail in 1980, it was official. I was hooked.

Earlier this spring I attended the first ever JMT JAM event in the Santa Barbara backcountry. There were a number of people who were JMT alumni as well as folks getting ready for their first trip this summer, and dreamers looking forward to hiking it in the next few years. And while I knew I couldn’t do a third thru-hike this year, I did start thinking about a way to stay connected — by bringing some trail magic to JMT thru-hikers.

img
Trail Details
Distance: 43 miles
Time: 4 days
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation gain: 7,650 ft
Dogs: Yes, outside of Kings Canyon NP
When to go: July-September
Thus was born the #MuirTaco Adventure. Our goal was simple. Hike in to the John Muir Trail, carrying fresh carne asada, avocados, cheese, tortillas, cilantro — all the fixings for tacos — AND some cold brews to wash it down. Thru-hikers call it trail magic — that welcome gift of something you thought you wouldn’t see for another week or two, in the most unexpected of places. 

Our plan was to hike in over Bishop Pass, down into LeConte Canyon in Kings Canyon National Park. If all went well, we’d hike up to Muir Pass and cook up some tacos at the Muir Hut, then hike back down to camp and back out over Bishop Pass the next day. It was a tall order. 

Day One – South Lake to Bishop Lake

The first day, I drove up the 395 to Bishop and picked up the permit. My co-horts in this adventure, Derek and PD, arrived the night before and struck out earlier in the day, so I would be hiking solo until I caught up with them.

I was starting out with a much heavier-than-normal pack weight. With water and food, it weighed about 50 pounds. Ugh.

I started out at the South Lake trailhead west of Bishop. South Lake itself is a water source for Bishop, and due to drought conditions was shockingly low. Fortunately the other lakes upstream are not drained for water and still looked healthy.

50 Pound Backpack
Bishop Pass Trailhead
A Very Dry South Lake
Entering the John Muir Wilderness

I was climbing in the heat of the day, but there were some spots of shade along the way. When I reached Long Lake, I dropped my pack for a short break and a snack.

Taking a Short Break on Long Lake

Recharged, I hit the trail. There are a lot of beautiful lakes along this trail and some interesting spur trails to places like Treasure Lakes and Chocolate Lake. I made a note that this would be a great place to explore in more depth sometime in the future.

After 5.5 miles, I reached Bishop Lake. Now to see if I could find Derek and PD. I dropped my pack and clambered up the highest nearby hill to get a better view, and saw the campsite they had found on the south side of the lake.

Not a Bad View

The view from my tent was not too shabby.

The sun soon dropped below the mountains, casting long shadows and a golden glow across the way.

Bishop Lake Camp

Day Two – Bishop Lake to Little Pete Meadow

In the morning, I setup my GoPro to record a little time-lapse video of the sunrise as we cooked breakfast and fueled up for the day.

PD making his way across the inlet to Bishop Lake

PD making his way across the inlet to Bishop Lake

From Bishop Lake, we had a fairly short (but steep) climb to Bishop Pass.

Looking back toward Bishop Lake
Looking back toward Bishop Lake
Steps up to Bishop Pass
Steps up to Bishop Pass
Climbing
Climbing
Break time at Bishop Pass
Break time at Bishop Pass

Bishop Pass is just under 12,000 feet, but we weren’t feeling any ill effects of the altitude. In some years, there can be snow up year through the summer, but this was a dry year with low snowfall. It looked more like a moonscape.

From the pass, it was all downhill to LeConte Canyon. We cruised through Dusy Basin.

Looking Down on Dusy Basin

Like an amphitheater for giants, Dusy Basin is dotted with lakes and a few clumps of trees, but ringed with rugged, craggy peaks.

Dusy Basin Panorama

Finally we dropped down below 10,000 feet and under the tree line, and began the final series of switchbacks into LeConte Canyon.

LeConte Canyon Panorama

At the bottom, we finally reached the junction with the John Muir Trail. We had descended nearly 3,600′ — and Derek’s feet were feeling it.

Heading Down to LeConte Canyon
Water Running Down the Granite
Junction with the JMT
Kings River

Down in LeConte Canyon, we followed a relatively gentle trail up the Kings River to Little Pete Meadow — just a mile, mile and a half further. Our campsite? Pretty perfect. We were able to take a cold plunge in the snow-fed river to wash away the grime and sweat from a long, hot day on the trail, as deer meandered through our campsite, paying no attention to us whatsoever.

Deer at Little Pete Meadow

The best part? Being below 10,000 feet, we were able to have a campfire to keep us warm through dinner and well into the night.

Day Three: Tacos y Cerveza

Our plan for day three was to hike 7 miles and over 3,000 vertical feet up to Muir Pass, where we would cook up some carne asada tacos, share some beer and then hike 7 miles back down to camp. We wouldn’t have to carry all our gear, but it would still be fairly heavy (in case you’re wondering, a single six-pack weighs in just over 5 pounds).

Early morning light in LeConte Canyon

Derek’s foot was still a little touch-and-go, so we played it by ear. We headed out, knowing that we would have to stop and turn back by 11am.

Heading toward Muir Pass
Heading toward Muir Pass
Up the canyon
Up the canyon
Unnamed Lake south of Muir Pass
Just below Helen Lake
Just below Helen Lake

As it turned out, we made it within about a mile of Muir Pass. Derek’s foot was hurting. He offered to hang out while PD and I continued on, but we did the smart thing and stayed together. What was originally a #MuirTacoHut adventure was now simply the #MuirTaco adventure.

We headed back down toward Little Pete Meadow, keeping a eye out for the “Whale” we had heard and seen photos of.

The JMT Whale in LeConte Canyon

We had been looking for it on our way up, but somehow hiked right by it. It’s clearly visible from the trail, and in fact there’s a nice campsite at the spot. Fortunately, we spied in on our return and decided that this would be our kitchen for our pop-up taco stand.

I brought out 3 lbs of marinated carne asada, corn tortillas, fresh cilantro, fresh grated cheddar cheese, two ripe avocados and hot sauce. After cooking up the meat, I used a little olive oil in a fry pan to soften the tortillas. Derek and PD took our cans of beer and found a clever way to cool them in the ice-cold stream.

Pop-up Taco Stand

Soon, we were handing out hot tacos and cold beer to ecstatic JMT thru-hikers.

Happy Thru-Hikers

Thankfully, we had enough for ourselves, too.

Tacos on the JMT

After cleaning up, we headed back down to our camp. We had decided that rather than hike a long 14 miles out on the fourth day, we’d make our way up towards Dusy Basin as far as we could.

We ended up camping just below 10,000 feet — allowing us to enjoy a campfire again but cutting Day Four’s climb to just 2,000 vertical feet.

Day Four: Back Over Bishop Pass and Home Again

Our final day was a long, slow climb up Bishop Pass. We had to climb over Bishop Pass, hike down to our cars, and make the drive back to SoCal — all in one day.

Morning on Day 4

Most of the trail through Dusy Basin was exposed, and the sun was shining brightly.

Lower Dusy Basin
Lower Dusy Basin
Upper Dusy Basin
Upper Dusy Basin
Headed down from Bishop Pass
Headed down from Bishop Pass
Through an Aspen Grove
Through an Aspen Grove
Burger Barn in Bishop
Burger Barn in Bishop
Headed home on the 395
Headed home on the 395

We stopped for a snack at Bishop Pass, where another hiker suggested we try the Burger Barn in Bishop.

Our appetites properly whet, we hoofed it back to our cars at the trailhead.

Post Script

The first #MuirTaco Adventure was an experience I’ll never forget. Was it a little crazy to carry all the tacos and beer so many miles? Maybe. But it was worth it. In fact, I’m already at work planning the 2015 #MuirTaco Adventure.

Who’s in?

Bishop Pass to Little Pete Meadow Trail Map

© OpenStreetMap contributors
Download file: bishop-pass-to-le-conte-canyon-9414-120130pm.gpx

Photo Gallery

Click on any photo to view a larger version. You can also leave comments on any photo.

Deer at Little Pete Meadow
Kings River
Junction with the JMT
Water Running Down the Granite
Heading Down to LeConte Canyon
LeConte Canyon Panorama
Lunch Break in Lower Dusy Basin
Dusy Basin Panorama
Looking Down on Dusy Basin
Break time at Bishop Pass
Break time at Bishop Pass
Climbing
Climbing
Steps up to Bishop Pass
Steps up to Bishop Pass
Looking back toward Bishop Lake
Looking back toward Bishop Lake
PD making his way across the inlet to Bishop Lake
PD making his way across the inlet to Bishop Lake
Bishop Lake Camp
Not a Bad View
Below Bishop Pass
Bishop Lake
Taking a Short Break on Long Lake
Chocolate Lake Junction
Switchbacks
Inyo Trail Marker
New ECCO Ulterra GTX Boots
Treasure Lakes Junction
A Very Dry South Lake
Entering the John Muir Wilderness
Bishop Pass Trailhead
50 Pound Backpack
The JMT Whale in LeConte Canyon
Tacos on the JMT
Happy Thru-Hikers
Pop-up Taco Stand
Just below Helen Lake
Just below Helen Lake
Unnamed Lake south of Muir Pass
Up the canyon
Up the canyon
Heading toward Muir Pass
Heading toward Muir Pass
Early morning light in LeConte Canyon
Headed home on the 395
Headed home on the 395
Burger Barn in Bishop
Burger Barn in Bishop
Through an Aspen Grove
Through an Aspen Grove
Headed down from Bishop Pass
Headed down from Bishop Pass
Upper Dusy Basin
Upper Dusy Basin
Lower Dusy Basin
Lower Dusy Basin
Morning on Day 4
Muir Taco Adventure - Bishop Pass to LeConte Canyon

More Bishop Pass to LeConte Canyon Resources

  • I hiked this trail with Derek from 100Peaks.com and his friend PD. Be sure to check out Derek’s trip report for a different perspective on the trip.
  • A lot of people like to stop at Schatt’s Bakery in Bishop, but I have to say, Burger Barn really hit the spot — and we didn’t feel out of place even with a couple days of trail grime.

South Lake Trailhead Weather Forecast

The location could not be found.

Filed Under: Backpacking, Trail Guides Tagged With: Backpacking, Bishop Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, LeConte Canyon, MuirTaco, MuirTacoHut, trail magic

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Jeff H

About Jeff H

I'm an avid hiker and backpacker. My wife Joan and I are on the trails every weekend. I started SoCal Hiker to share my passion for outdoor adventure.

Comments

  1. Darren says

    January 2, 2015 at 12:51 pm

    Great writeup! I missed the whale as well on my thru-hike.

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    January 2, 2015 at 7:12 pm

    Sounds like an awesome adventure, and beautiful scenery! Now I want tacos….

    Reply
  3. 100peaks says

    January 4, 2015 at 4:05 pm

    What an amazingly scenic trip that was. Thanks for being so adaptable to my foot situation. Two cortisone shots and there’s still some pain, so the condition was real at least! Thanks again for dreaming this up and showing me a new and memorable part of the Sierra. Now I want to go back and spend some time by Chocolate Lake and Dusy Basin.

    Reply
  4. Traci says

    January 6, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    Looks like an awesome, trip! I want to explore more of the Sierras in the future! How did you store the meat and cheese? Those tacos look good!

    Reply
    • Jeff HJeff Hester says

      January 6, 2015 at 10:37 pm

      Traci, I actually grilled the carne asada on my BBQ in the backyard, then cut it up and froze it. The cheese was just cold when I packed it in the bear canister. Since the first night was above 10,000 feet, it was pretty cold even though it was September.

      We served the tacos on Day 3, and the meat had just thawed.

      One thing I learned on the JMT is that many cheeses can last for days without refrigeration. They can’t handle direct sunlight or real heat, but in the Sierras, that’s not too hard to avoid.

      Oh, and those tacos WERE so good! 😉

      Reply
  5. Peotravel says

    May 29, 2015 at 1:29 am

    The trip looks amazing, the photos and the scenery everything is just perfect. And I imagine how those tacos felt perfectly.

    Reply
  6. Tracey says

    June 9, 2015 at 11:27 pm

    What permit did you need to get to do this trip? I’ve had one for south lake to bishop pass only, but I’m not sureweekday I need to do the whole trip.

    Reply
  7. Fereshteh Abadi says

    June 13, 2019 at 2:30 pm

    While I was searching for an answer, I got here. Great site and information. I desperately need an answer to my question and thought you might be able to help.
    Do we need to have permit to camp somewhere between Bishop Pass and LeConte Canyon? Are there many campsite from JMT to BISHOP Pass to make sure we can stay over night in one of them?

    Very much appreciated,

    Reply

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