Lester Creek to North Fork Wilson Overnight 3/12/19

[sizzler]

We wanted to do a little trial run to test our backpacking gear and skills, so we chose to start at Kings Mountain trailhead and make our way west on the Wilson River Trail and camp on some designated campsites along the North Fork Road. We were originally going to start out at Elk creek but got a later start than we wanted, so we chose to bypass that stretch and start at Kings Mountain trailhead. I'm sure everyone on this forum has done some of this trail but it was our first time on it

Here is the Gaia gps link: https://www.gaiagps.com/public/mIlBG5i05yRFzml1vA2FpvXI

We knew the weather wouldn't be the best so we came well prepared with many dry layers in our packs.

The elevation gain at the start of the trail was a good workout to start out the day. There was a decent amount of snow at the higher elevations but quite manageable in boots.

The sun came out before Lester Creek and we had a good view from the trail:

It was still nice when we reached the pinnacles:

After Lester Creek crossing it was a much easier downhill walk to the Wilson River Suspension bridge:

After a brief break at the picnic table by the bridge we left the Wilson River Trail and headed north on the North Fork Wilson River Road for about 2.5 miles until we reached the designated camping spot. The road had a decent amount of snow in some spots.

(I can't figure out how to rotate the iphone images)


By the time we set up our tents it was raining harder than it had all day and we could not find enough dry wood to start a fire. It seemed to rain much of the night. We decided to wake up at 6:30 and if it was still raining to go back to sleep for an hour. We ended up doing this a couple times

Getting water in the North Fork in the morning:

I didn't take many pictures on the way back as I was tired and it was raining when we reached the pinnacles, so we didn't stay long. The uphill portion at the start on the way back was tiring but I really started to feel it in the legs about halfway through walking uphill in the snow. I'm going to make sure my pack weighs less next time! We only encountered one other person on the trail the whole time.

[bobcat]

Thanks for the report. Good to know about the snow situation there. Snow slogs sure take it out on your legs!