Bubbs Creek Gear Checklist

What shapes your gear on Bubbs Creek

Distances, and where sources disagree

The Park Service puts the first allowed camp at Sphinx Creek Junction, 4 miles from Roads End. Its Rae Lakes mileage table lists Charlotte Creek at 7.5 miles, Junction Meadow at 10.3 miles and Vidette Meadow at 13.2 miles via Bubbs Creek. A 2014 blogger passed a sign at Junction Meadow reading twelve miles from Roads End, and a 2013 post used the same number.

From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions, National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Rae Lakes Loop, Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon and Mid Sierra Musings: Kings Canyon Park: The Bubb's Creek Trail

Switchbacks and stairs

A 2013 blogger says the trail climbs gently apart from switchbacks past Bailey Bridge near the 2.5 mile mark and once more beyond Junction Meadow. A 2014 overnighter described over 1,000 feet of switchbacks, then another section of stairs climbing about 1,000 feet before Junction Meadow. A day hiker timed the first stretch as 3 kilometers of flat sand, then 3 more kilometers and 1 hour 10 minutes of switchbacks to the Sphinx junction.

From Mid Sierra Musings: Kings Canyon Park: The Bubb's Creek Trail, Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon and Piero Scaruffi

The Bubbs Creek crossing to East Lake

The East Lake trail leaves Junction Meadow and crosses Bubbs Creek. In early September of a drought year, one hiker said the crossing could still have taken him off his feet. Another blogger said it takes a low snow year and late summer to cross safely, and he turned back on two attempts in high snow years. A September 2021 hiker crossing near Vidette Meadow found low water that was still not trivial.

From Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon, Mid Sierra Musings: Kings Canyon Park: The Bubb's Creek Trail and Lance Simms

East Lake

A blogger lists East Lake at 9,472 feet. Sites run from a use trail down and to the right of the sign to spots along the lake, and he found a bear box at two of them, the south end included. The route continues to Lake Reflection by a two mile climb he called a trail only by courtesy, and he found no tent sites at Reflection.

From Mid Sierra Musings: Kings Canyon Park: The Bubb's Creek Trail and Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon

Bears and no signal

One blogger says he has seen more bears between Roads End and Junction Meadow than in the rest of the park combined, and that even a satellite phone had no connection in the canyon. A 2008 party noted that finding a flat camp of their own along Bubbs Creek was hard.

From Mid Sierra Musings: Kings Canyon Park: The Bubb's Creek Trail and Adventure Stories

Getting the permit

The Park Service issues Bubbs Creek permits only at the Roads End Permit Station. In September 2021 a walk-up hiker arrived just after 6:30 am to find two groups in line, and rangers who showed up at 7:00 had plenty of permits left. A visitor in 2019 met a ranger checking permits at the Sphinx Creek crossing.

From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Trail Descriptions, Lance Simms and Piero Scaruffi

Food storage, as the Park Service pages state it

The Park Service counts the Bubbs Creek valley on the north side of Forester Pass among the places that require an approved container. The food storage page says rentals are at visitor centers other than Cedar Grove, while a 2008 party rented a carbon fiber canister at the Roads End ranger station.

From National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Minimum Impact Restrictions, National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Wilderness Food Storage and Adventure Stories

What hikers carry on Bubbs Creek

• A bear canister

  A 2008 party rented a canister at the Roads End station. A 2014 overnighter found a bear box at East Lake, at two spots along the lakeshore. The Park Service lists this drainage as one that requires a container.

  From Adventure Stories, Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon and National Park Service, Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Minimum Impact Restrictions

• A plan for wet feet at the creek crossing

  The creek crossing at Junction Meadow nearly cost a 2014 hiker his footing in a dry September. A 2021 hiker crossing near Vidette found slippery ledges on the return and ended with one wet shoe. A 2008 party took their time at the same creek.

  From Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon, Lance Simms and Adventure Stories

• Gnat and mosquito protection for the switchbacks

  A 2014 blogger called the swarms on the canyon switchbacks a chronic problem. A 2021 hiker felt mosquitoes for the first time at the horse camp past Junction Meadow, and a day hiker found a swampy meadow along the nearby Sphinx trail that he ranked as the park.s worst for mosquitoes.

  From Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon, Lance Simms and Piero Scaruffi

• A filter, with water bottles filled at the trailhead

  A day hiker noted a water spigot beside the Roads End ranger station. A 2013 blogger found ready access to Bubbs Creek along most of the trail, and a 2008 party made sure someone had packed a filter after meeting hikers sick from untreated water.

  From Piero Scaruffi, Mid Sierra Musings: Kings Canyon Park: The Bubb's Creek Trail and Adventure Stories

• A heat plan for the afternoon climb

  A September 2021 hiker slowed in the afternoon heat on the way to Vidette Meadow.

  From Lance Simms

• A map and a plan for no signal

  The East Lake to Lake Reflection stretch lost the 2014 hiker for about a mile, and the same blogger lost the trail near Bubbs Creek on a return from East Lake. He also reports no signal, even for a satellite phone, in the canyon.

  From Mid Sierra Musings: Overnight Hike To East And Reflection Lakes: Kings Canyon and Mid Sierra Musings: Kings Canyon Park: The Bubb's Creek Trail

Gear questions for Bubbs Creek