Mineral King and Big Five Lakes

This trip had it all—drama, adventure, and a few good laughs. It was the second time we tackled the Mineral King and Big 5 Lakes loop, so naturally, the universe threw in some curveballs to keep it interesting. We had the full Los Boyz crew, six of us, though Steve E. (Egg) was only in for Day 1.

We kicked things off with a lunch meet-up in Three Rivers before heading out on the infamous winding Mineral King Road. But, of course, Snyde (Bryan) and Mitch managed to make things harder than they needed to be, missing the turn forMineral King and ending up deep in Sequoia National Park before realizing they’d gone way off course. Once back on track, they hit another snag—this time a fallen tree blocking the road. So there they sat, waiting for the hero with a chainsaw to clear the way.

They eventually made it to the car campsite just in time for a cold beer from the cooler – that’s right the Boyz had saved a few for the late arrivers! The next day, we all headed out for Franklin Lake, the first stop on our loop. From there, we trekked to Forrester Lake, setting up camp by early afternoon. That’s when Mother Nature decided to welcome us with a hailstorm of monstrous proportions—followed by an all-night thunder, lightning, and rain extravaganza.Turns out that same storm sparked the massive 2021 fire that tore through Sequoia National Park.

By morning, the skies had cleared, and we dried out over a hearty oatmeal breakfast before making our way to the mouth of Lost Canyon, where we’d basecamp for two nights. From there, we day-hiked out to Big 5 Lakes, threw rocks at trees for fun (don’t ask), and even had a run-in with a ranger looking for our permits. That second night, we sat around playing hearts and hashing out plans for the next day’s trek over Sawtooth Pass to Monarch Lake, where we intended to camp.

But the heavy smoke we’d been noticing all day kept getting worse, so the executive decision was made to skip Monarch Lake and hoof it the final 4 miles to the cars. The thought of burgers and a bed at Silver City Resort was just too tempting. We settled in at the restaurant, fully satisfied with our adventure, only for the resort manager to come out and announce we all had to leave immediately—fire evacuation! We scrambled out of there, but luckily found rooms in Three Rivers at a hotel that had hosted none other than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

LikeI said, this trip had a little bit of everything!

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