{"id":4450,"date":"2016-01-01T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2016-01-01T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/?p=4450"},"modified":"2022-11-14T10:07:04","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T18:07:04","slug":"sequoia-eagle-lake-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetrailmaster.com\/trails\/sequoia-eagle-lake-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Sequoia and Kings Canyon: Eagle Lake, Mineral King"},"content":{"rendered":"
Eagle Lake, a popular weekend backpacker destination, is reached by one of Mineral King\u2019s easier trails. Relatively easier, that is. A 2,200- foot gain at high altitude in 3.5 miles is a good workout to say the least.<\/p>\n
The lake lies in cirque, a basin formed by glacial erosion. When the light is right, the lake mirrors some of its scenic surroundings: weathered foxtail pines and polished granite walls, their shaded cracks and crevices patched by long-lingering snow.<\/p>\n
Eagle, like many a Sierra lake, was \u201cimproved\u201d to render it more reservoir-like. The Mt. Whitney Power Company built a rock dam to better control waters flowing down to their hydroelectric plant located near Three Rivers.<\/p>\n
The moderately steep path has three branches: to Eagle Lake; to Mosquito Lakes (see hike description); to White Chief Canyon.<\/p>\n
En route to Eagle Lake, you\u2019ll encounter two strange waterways. The path crosses Spring Creek, which emerges as if from nowhere. Geologists speculate that it\u2019s of subterranean origin. If the sudden appearance of Spring Creek isn\u2019t strange enough, Eagle Lake Trail hikers also witness the disappearance of Eagle Creek into a large sinkhole. The creek reappears down the hillside, leading to speculation that is channeled through a network of underground passageways in the marble rock below ground and emerges as…Spring Creek?<\/p>\n
Very mysterious.<\/p>\n
Experienced hikers, familiar with cross-country travel, can make a loop of this hike: climb a ridge from Eagle Lake then descend into Mosquito Lakes Basin. You\u2019ll arrive at Mosquito Lake #4 and follow the lake chain north until you join the Mosquito Lakes Trail that returns you to Mineral King.<\/p>\n
From Highway 198, about 3 miles northeast of the town of Three Rivers, turn right (east) on Mineral King Road. (If you drive up to the park\u2019s Ash Mountain entrance station, you\u2019ve gone a tad too far; double back.) The mostly paved road (it reverts to dirt in several places en route) leads about 24 miles to the Mineral King Ranger Station. Continue east on Mineral King Road another 1.3 miles and across a wooden bridge to the trailhead parking area.<\/p>\n