The hike up to
Hell For Sure Pass, at the NW border of
Kings Canyon National Park, is very strenuous and incredibly beautiful. With the trailhead at Courtright Reservoir at 8,200' and the pass at about 11,300' you are looking at lots of elevation gain and the risk of altitude sickness if you don't drink enough water and give yourself time to acclimate. Luckily, the John Muir Wilderness and national parks have lots of amazing campsites to stay at and there are some nice lakes with trout along the 14 mi. route up to the pass.
We spent one night at Rae Lake (not to be confused with the Rae Lakes which are 32 miles away and spectacular) and then camped the next night at Disappointment Lake which, while possibly not as stunning as Hell For Sure Lake, is more hospitable for camping and saves you 500' feet of elevation and another mile with your pack on. After ditching our packs we made the trek up to Hell for Sure Lake and swam in its frigid, deep waters. There are some islands nearly 100 yards offshore and we nearly got hypothermia swimming out to one (and didn't want to swim back). After that we hiked up to Hell For Sure Pass to take in the amazing views of the lake and the majestic, dark, and rough looking ~2,000' deep
Goddard Canyon. The next day we hiked part of the way out and camped at Rae Lake again.
If you hate in-and-out backpacks, you can turn this into a
longer, more strenuous loop by heading south into
Bench Valley and out along North Fall Creek.
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| Hell For Sure Lake |
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| Hell For Sure Lake |
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| Goddard Canyon |
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| Disappointment Lake (Not That Bad) |
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| Rae Lake |
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| View from Island in Hell For Sure Lake |
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| Rae Lake |
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| Bear (from same trip, but not this hike. Actually in Sequoia Ntl. Park) |
