Crown Valley – Page 2 – Not Your Average Engineer

The sun rose early and through a layer of clouds.

Some pretty late spring wildflowers.

We decided to hike over to the Obelisk. I have long heard about this granite dome looking over Tehipite Valley from my parents. It is an interesting, seldom climbed dome on the boundary between the wilderness area in the National Forest and the National Park. The knob of the Obelisk can be seen in the distance in this photo.

Some pretty alpine columbines.

The Obelisk gets closer. The little hanging basin on one side of the Obelisk is a lush and rich area that is very seldom visited. At one point in time, people used to hunt back in here. It’s probably been twenty years since someone hunted deer or bear in the area.

Pretty flowers abound!

Up on top of a basalt outcrop above Geraldine Lakes.

Panorama from the top. Crown Rock is over to the left.

Looking back toward the Middle Fork of the Kings.

The tree in the notch that we had climbed to the day before.

The top of the basalt ridge was strangely flat.

Looking toward Tea Kettle Dome.

The Obelisk draws near!

Interesting basalt.

It’s been a few decades since my dad was here last.

Down in the basin near the Obelisk.

We went through a lush meadow that during a normal year would be full of water. There were only a few trickles this year because of the drought.

It’s hard to get a sense of scale of how big the Obelisk is. Standing next to it, the monolith of granite soars hundreds of feet into the air. On the far side, the dropoff is probably over a thousand feet. This is the shorter side that people usually climb.

On the boundary with the park.

Looking out toward Tehipite Valley.

Big rock!

It’s a huge, impressive rock that is hard to put into perspective. Maybe someday I’ll come back and climb to the top.

One of the longer faces of the Obelisk.

Mud Lake down in the bottom of the little hanging basin on the shoulder of the Obelisk.

It’s a pretty little basin that almost no one visits anymore.

Looking out toward Tea Kettle Dome and the high country.

A better view of how massive the Obelisk is.

Lots of pretty lupine.

Goodbye Obelisk. Until next time.

An old hunter’s camp used to be here. No one has stayed at this camp in probably 30 or 40 years.

Heading up through the tall plants.

Back at Lower Geraldine Lake. The clouds started to roll in. We figured we might get a little weather although it never came.

A whole boatload of old cans near where we camped.

Looking back toward Mount Goddard, 11998′, and a few other peaks in areas where I hiked as a child.

My dad and I decided to hike into Crown Valley where he worked for a summer back in the 70s at the US Forest Service guard station. We went in for a few days to check out his old patrol area.

Lots of flowers and mosquitoes on the way from the trailhead up to the ridge guarding the entrance to Crown Valley.

Crown Rock, the namesake of the valley.

Looking south into Crown Valley. The Obelisk is poking up right in the middle of the frame.

My dad hiking along the base of Fin Ridge toward Geraldine Lakes.

Looking out toward the Middle Fork of the Kings River.

Lots of interesting geology out here.

Walking through a meadow down the drainage from Geraldine Lakes.

Lower Geraldine Lake.

We hiked up above Lower Geraldine Lake to check out the old mining prospect hole that was made in the 30s.

Looking down the shaft that a couple prospectors sunk over a summer.

Lots of small rock from the blasting.

Looking up toward where the miners used to camp under a big rock.

Part of an old shovel. The prospectors left their gear here figuring that they would come back the next summer. The money must have run out because they never did get their gear.

Looking into the little cave where the miners camped for a summer.

The little hearth and griddle where they cooked and stayed warm. They even built in a chimney.

My dad sitting in the little alcove.

Looking out from where the miners camped.

We decided to hike around a bit more.

Lots of interesting geology. There is a metamorphic intrusion into the granite here. Lots of nutrients in the soil here make for lush meadows where big trophy bucks and plenty of does like to hang out.

Walking through the deep, lush understory.

Plenty of wildflowers.

We found a spring here in the rocks with plenty of cold, flowing water.

Back down at Lower Geraldine Lake where we setup camp.

Looking down the drainage into Crown Valley. The big mountains in the background tower above places that I hiked before. What a beautiful view with all of this lovely white granite.

Those mountains are up in Crown Basin and Black Cap Basin, if I have my geography correct.

We hiked up to Upper Geraldine Lake after lunch to check it out. This is a higher lake that is more alpine than where we pitched our tent at Lower Geraldine Lake.

What a pretty lake and circ.

A beautiful old weathered stump on the hill on the right side of the lake.

Looking down the drainage.

Looking out into the high country in the Middle Fork of the Kings.

We hiked up to the notch between the drainage of the Geraldine Lakes and the Kings River (and Kings Canyon National Park). This is looking out toward the park.

A panorama showing Upper Geraldine Lake on the left and Kings Canyon on the right with the ridgeline in the middle.

My dad looking out toward Kings Canyon. We are on the flank of Spanish Peak. Supposedly there’s an old lost Spanish gold mine down below us. No one has ever found any signs of it although many have tried. Since we were here, a fire came up out of the canyon and has burned over this whole area. Maybe someone will find the old mine now that all the brush and thick timber have been burned out.