The hook
A forty-mile loop out of Kings Canyon climbs to a chain of alpine lakes under a spire called the Painted Lady, over a twelve-thousand-foot pass, on some of the best trail in the Sierra.
01Why it's worth it
The Rae Lakes Loop is the classic Kings Canyon backpack: about forty miles from Roads End at the floor of the canyon, up Bubbs Creek and down Woods Creek in a big circle, with the Rae Lakes themselves as the centerpiece, a string of alpine lakes strung under the granite spire of the Painted Lady and the dome called Fin Dome. It tops out at Glen Pass, just under 12,000 feet, on a stretch shared with the John Muir and Pacific Crest trails, which makes it a greatest-hits reel of High Sierra scenery packed into three or four days. It's a permit-gated wilderness trip and a genuine physical undertaking, not a stroll, but for a lot of California backpackers it's the loop they measure the others against.
02How to experience it
The trailhead is at Roads End past Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon, about six hours from the Bay. You need a wilderness permit (quota season late May through September, reserved on recreation.gov), a bear canister, and the fitness for forty miles and a near-12,000-foot pass. Most take three to five days, going counterclockwise so Glen Pass comes on rested legs. Pair the long drive in with the Cedar Grove sights at the bottom of the canyon.