Mineral King Franklin Lake Loop

Our first shot at the legendary Franklin Lake, Lost Canyon, Sawtooth Pass loop was everything we hoped for and then some. After winding our way along the long, curvy Mineral King road to the ranger station, we hit the trail for Franklin Lake—about six miles in. We snagged a sweet campsite right by the water and spent an epic first night enjoying some scotch and Eric’s Fran and Ollie jokes.

The next day, we climbed up and over Franklin Pass and into a valley that felt straight out of another world—think lunar landscape vibes. Naturally, we decided to ditch the trail and do some off-trail scrambling. Who's idea was this? Who knows. Probably one of those "hey, let’s save time and get to camp quicker so we can crack open the scotch" moments. It turned out to be a solid call. We made great time, and the fishing? Spot on. The weather couldn’t have been better either.

Lost Canyon was a show stopper—this place feels like a land time forgot. Rugged, untouched, and seriously beautiful. After making it through Lost Canyon, we reached the summit of Sawtooth Pass, and that’s when the fun really began. Egg and Mitch turned the hike into a scree skiing session, gliding down the back side of the pass like pros, treating the scree like powder snow and our hiking boots like skis. It was a total blast!

On our second attempt at this loop about ten years later, a ranger warned us against doing the scree run—apparently, it’s not allowed anymore. Well, lucky for us, we got to shred that virgin scree in its prime. Dope!

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