Adventure · July 2025 · Kings Canyon

Rae In a Day

The Rae Lakes Loop compressed into one continuous push: river crossings, pre-dawn miles, snow, and Glen Pass. Forty-one miles through Kings Canyon, traced here directly from the day’s GPX file.

41.0 miDistance

9,930 ftElevation gain

11,978 ftHigh point

16h 35mElapsed time

View on Strava ↗ Download GPX ↓

The route

Kings Canyon in relief

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Building the terrain from elevation tiles…

Route from the supplied GPX track · Terrain rendered with MapLibre

Field notes

One very long day

Dark trailheads, cold water, a bear sighting, high lakes, and a snowy crossing over Glen Pass—all before returning to the start.

View over alpine lakes and snow from Glen Pass — Looking down from the high point.

Hiking the Rae Lakes Loop before sunrise — Starting in the dark.

Crossing a river on the Rae Lakes Loop — One of the day’s river crossings.

Rae Lakes surrounded by Sierra peaks — Rae Lakes.

Snow crossing high on the Rae Lakes Loop — Snow near the pass.

Wide mountain view on the Rae Lakes Loop — The scale of the loop.

Black bear encountered beside the trail — A trail-side encounter.