Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Mike White
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Eagle Lake
Turn right at the junction and wrap around the hillside to steep switchbacks that climb through pockets of meadow alternating with stands of red fir and lodgepole pine. The grade eases on the approach to Eagle Sinkhole, where Eagle Creek mysteriously disappears. Resume the climb, and soon reach the Eagle Lake junction, 1.75 miles from the parking area.
Climb mildly away from the junction alongside Eagle Creek to the far side of a meadow. From there, a steeper, switchbacking ascent of a hillside covered by red firs and lodgepole pines leads to an expansive talus slope. The trail makes a long ascending traverse across the talus slope toward the lip of Eagle Lake’s basin. Along the way, the open topography allows for excellent views of Mineral and Sawtooth Peaks and the silver thread of cascading Crystal Creek across the canyon. The grade eventually eases beyond the talus, as you pass through pockets of grasses and shrubs, scattered boulders, and rock slabs amid a light forest of lodgepole pines. One final, steep pitch leads to the concrete dam and then along the west shore of Eagle Lake.
The stunning scenery of the steep-walled cirque is complemented by the soaring summit of Eagle Crest immediately south of the lake. Opposite, multicolored rock peaks rim the deep cleft of Mineral King Valley. Just past the dam, a use trail branches uphill to a primitive, screened pit toilet. Camping between the lake and the trail is banned; the best sites are about midway down the west shoreline. Anglers can fish for small to medium brook trout.
MINERAL KING TRAILHEAD
TRIP 10
White Chief Canyon
DISTANCE: 7.5 miles, out-and-back
ELEVATION: 7,815′/10,030′, +2,360′/-150′/±5,050′
SEASON: Early July to mid-October
USE: Moderate
MAPS: USGS’s Mineral King or SNHA’s Mineral King or Tom Harrison Maps’ Mineral King
TRAIL LOG
1.0 White Chief Canyon Trail junction
1.75 Eagle Lake Trail junction
3.75 Upper meadow
INTRODUCTION: All trails in the Mineral King area are blessed with fantastic scenery, and the White Chief Trail is no exception. Visitors will experience wonderful vistas, delightful meadows, and off-trail routes to exquisite lakes. To top it off, this trip offers caves, a rare feature in the area. Some of the caves are naturally occurring stone caverns, while others are mines—all are potentially dangerous. Hikers with caving or spelunking on their agenda should contact the rangers in Mineral King before embarking on an adventure into one of the caves. Additionally, some of the mines are private property, requiring the owner’s permission for entrance.
DIRECTIONS TO TRAILHEAD: From the east end of Three Rivers, leave Highway 198 and turn onto Mineral King Road. Follow the road past Atwell Mill Campground, Silver City, Cold Springs Campground, and Mineral King Ranger Station (which issues wilderness permits and has food storage areas) to the Eagle-Mosquito Trailhead parking area at the end of the road, 23.5 miles from Highway 198.
DESCRIPTION: Just south of the parking area, a dirt road heads past the Honeymoon Cabin and climbs gently up the East Fork Kaweah River Canyon through sagebrush scrub dotted with red firs, mountain maples, and a few western junipers. After a quarter mile, you cross Spring Creek on a removable wood bridge. Within earshot of the bridge but out of sight above the trail is Tufa Falls. The creek originates higher up the hillside and then follows a subterranean course through a band of marble before emerging a few hundred feet above the trail.
Just beyond Spring Creek, pass an unsigned lateral descending toward the river and proceed up the canyon, with good views of Crystal Creek cascading down the slope across the valley. Hop across willow-lined Eagle Creek and shortly arrive at the signed White Chief Canyon junction, 1 mile from the parking area.
From the junction, head south on the White Chief Trail. If you thought the mile-long climb to the junction was tough, just wait; the next stretch of trail is as steep as any section of maintained trail in the parks. The excellent view of the canyon and the peaks above may temporarily distract you from the grueling ascent.
White Chief Meadow from the White Chief Canyon Trail
Eventually the grade moderates, as you head across sagebrush-covered slopes dotted with junipers and pass outcroppings of dark metamorphic rock. The grade eases even more on the approach to White Chief Meadow, 2 miles from the trailhead.
The ruins of Crabtree Cabin, on a low rise just west of the lower end of the meadow, is all that remains of a structure built by John Crabtree and used as a bunkhouse for miners working the nearby White Chief Mine. The trail soon crosses the creek and proceeds along the fringe of the flat. Over the years, numerous avalanches have swept the slopes above clean and littered the meadow with snags. The trail soon climbs a rib to a bench overlooking the meadow, where campsites nestle beneath red firs and lodgepole and foxtail pines. A resident deer herd can often be seen here around dusk.
Quickly leaving the trees behind, head across open, view-filled slopes, carpeted with wildflowers in season, including gentian, yarrow, and bluebell. The creek plays a game of cat and mouse in the canyon below, frequently disappearing and then reappearing; the seemingly erratic behavior is common for streams in areas of marble and limestone. At 2.75 miles, the trail crosses the main branch of the creek.
Ascend the far hillside beyond the creek and pass through tailings directly below the White Chief Mine, which was blasted out of a huge vein of marble. Do not explore the privately owned mine without permission from the owners.
Past the mine, ascend rocky slopes across the west wall of the canyon. The tread may be hard to follow here, but cairns should help to keep you on track. Continue up the canyon, passing numerous mine shafts, sinkholes, and caves to another creek crossing. Moving away from the creek on the east side of the drainage, you climb a grassy slope before returning to the creek and following it to a meadow-rimmed tarn at the head of the canyon. The upper canyon has ruins from old mining cabins and natural marble caverns.
WHITE CHIEF MINE
John Crabtree and two companions claimed that a giant Indian spirit led them on an all-night vision quest to a natural marble cave with veins of pure gold. As ridiculous as the tale may seem now, their relation of their experience in San Joaquin Valley sparked the first wave of gold rush fever in Mineral King. Despite all the hoopla and the millions of dollars in investment capital, the mines never produced a single bar of either gold or silver.