The Evolution Loop begins at the Bishop Pass trailhead and ends at the Piute Pass trailhead. This 54-mile loop packs in many of our favorite spots. We hike over Bishop Pass and enter Kings Canyon National Park. Then we drop into Le Conte Canyon and meet up with the John Muir Trail. We climb over Muir Pass to arrive in the Evolution Basin. We pass by Wanda Lake, Sapphire Lake, and Evolution Lake. From the Evolution Basin, we follow the San Joaquin River into the Evolution Valley. On day 5 we leave the JMT and head up Piute Canyon to the Humphrey’s Basin. On the final day, we hike over Piute Pass and enjoy our descent to the trailhead.
Inclusions
Price includes guiding, shuttle, permits, group camping gear, tents, kitchen gear, and all meals. Our meals are healthy and prepared by your guide before the trip. We use good quality dehydrated ingredients to make a variety of delicious, protein-packed meals. We rarely serve pre-packaged dehydrated meals.
Prerequisites
No prior backpacking experience required, but you should be in good physical shape. For proper acclimatization, we suggest spending at least one night at a moderate altitude, higher than 8,000 feet, just prior to the start of the journey. See our detailed tips on acclimatizing an physical training in the “Resources” tab.
Shuttle:
We will leave our vehicles at the Bishop Pass trailhead for the duration of the trip. On the final day, we will pick you up at the North Lake trailhead and bring you back to your vehicles.
Day 1 South Lake to Bishop Pass
Our hike begins at the Bishop Pass trailhead. Our first camp is at Bishop Lake, just below Bishop Pass.
4.5 miles, 1,600 ‘of gain, 200 ‘of loss
Day 2 Bishop Pass to Le Conte Canyon
We climb over Bishop Pass and enter Kings Canyon National Park and Dusy Basin. We enjoy the long steady descent through glorious Dusy Basin and down into the depths of Le Conte Canyon. Once we hit the Middle Fork of the kings River it is a pleasant wander through the forest to our second camp at Big Pete Meadow.
9.5 miles, 1,200 ‘of gain, 3,300‘ of loss.
Day 3 Le Conte Canyon to Evolution Lake
The trail follows the Kings River past meadows and waterfall cascades. We climb the 11,976’ Muir Pass, and snag a photo with the small stone hut. This is the only structure on the John Muir Trail between Tuolumne Meadow and Mount Whitney. The views from the pass are simply tremendous. The trail drops down into Evolution Valley past the giant peaks of the Evolution Valley to our camp at the end of Evolution Lake.
12 miles, 3,000’ gain, 1,400’ loss
Day 4 Evolution Lake to Evolution Valley
We hike down into the Evolution valley, following the South Fork of the San Joaquin Rover to the mouth of Piute Canyon.
12 miles, 300′ gain, 3,000′ loss
Day 5 Evolution Valley to Humphrey’s Basin
We leave the JMT and head up Piute Canyon. We follow Piute Creek to Hutchinson Meadow. There we turn into Humphrey’s Basin to our camp at Lower Golden Trout Lake.
9 miles, 3,000′ gain, 300′ loss
Day 6 Humphrey’s Basin to Trailhead
We hike over Piute Pass, before a long steady descent to the North lake trailhead. There our shuttle is waiting to bring us back to our vehicles.
7 miles, 700′ gain, 2,000′ loss
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