Sphinx Lakes, Kings Canyon National Park

(Copyright © 2013 Piero Scaruffi | Legal restrictions)
If you would like to purchase the original, high-resolution pictures, contact me

Notes of this hike

Roads End
Water at the trailhead of Road's End
The ranger's house at the trailhead
Trailhead

The trail
The flat part
The flat part
Paradise Valley junction

The bridges
The bridges
The bridges
The bridges

The bridges
The bridges
The bridges

The bridges
The bridges
The bridges
The bridges

Beginning of the switchbacks
The sphinx
The sphinx
The switchbacks

The switchbacks
The switchbacks
The switchbacks
The switchbacks

The switchbacks
Bridge over the Sphinx Creek
Junction with Avalanche Pass trail
Junction with Avalanche Pass trail

Junction with Avalanche Pass trail
Junction with Avalanche Pass trail
Junction with Avalanche Pass trail
Junction with Avalanche Pass trail

Junction with Avalanche Pass trail
Chipmunk
Deer on the trail
Sphinx

Kings Canyon at sunrise
Deer on the trail
A whole family of deer

Click here to continue to East Lake

or continue below for the Sphinx Lakes

On the Avalanche Pass/Sphinx Creek trail


The rapids along Sphinx trail
Series of waterfalls and rapids along Sphinx Creek trail
The Sphinx rapids
The rapids from the Sphinx trail

The Sphinx Creek trail
The Sphinx
Sphinx rapids
The pyramid in front of it

The pyramid in front of it
Sphinx rapids
Sphinx rapids
Sphinx rapids

Sphinx rapids
Sphinx rapids
Sphinx rapids
Sphinx rapids

Sphinx rapids
Sphinx rapids
Crossing the tributary
First creek crossing after leaving the trail

Up the river of boulders
Up the river of boulders
After the river of boulders back into the forest towards Lake 1
The meadow

The meadow
Waterfall
Approaching Lake 1
Flowers

The view behind
Lake 1
Sphinx 1
Sphinx 1

The marshy side of the lake
Still the first lake
Up the tallus
The view behind us

Sphinx 2
Above lake 2
Above lake 2
Above Sphinx 2 to the southwest

Above Sphinx 2 to the southeast
Sphinx 2 from above
Lake 2 from above
Lake 2 from above

The wall above Lake 2
View from the top of the wall
Towards the twin lakes

Towards the twin lakes
Sliced granite
Looking up (south) from Lake 3 (to Sphinx Pass stay to the right of the little black pyramid

The bridge between the lakes
The bridge between the lakes
Lake 3
Crossing the twin lakes

Granite slab above Lake 3
The trail on the northern (lower) side of Lake 3
Lake 3
Vestiges of a trail by Lake 3

The hill behind the twin lakes

Lake 3 and 4 (the twin lakes)

The twin lakes

Looking up (south) from Lake 3 (Sphinx Pass is roughly under the lower cloud)

The natural bridge between the lakes
Lake 3 and the abyss we emerged from
The white clouds point to Sphinx Pass (stay to the right of the oblique pyramid)
Exploring the eastern canyon (there are two lakes here, but no access to Sphinx Pass)

The eastern canyon
The eastern canyon
The eastern canyon
Sphinx 8 (lower lake of the eastern canyon)

The eastern canyon
The eastern canyon
Sphinx 9 (upper lake of the eastern canyon, with island and ducks)
The oblique pyramid

Walking to the right of the oblique pyramid (leaving the eastern canyon for the western canyon, which is the one leading to the Sphinx Pass)
Up the western canyon (right of the oblique sphinx). Sphinx Pass is the bottom of the V on the left
Up the western canyon from the twin lakes
Sphinx 3

Sphinx 4
Further up
Above the twin lakes
Above the twin lakes

At Sphinx 5
Sphinx 5
Approaching Sphinx 5 up the western canyon
Submerged stones in Sphinx 5

Sphinx 5
Looking up (south) from Sphinx 5
Sphinx 5

Sphinx 6
Sphinx 6
Sphinx 6
Sphinx 6

The wall above the pond (Sphinx Pass)
Sphinx Pass (you can almost see a natural route on the left hand side)
Sphinx Pass

At the last pond
At the last pond
Sphinx 6
The last pond from above

Sphinx Pass
Sphinx Pass
The very last pond
The very last pond

Sphinx 6 and the Sphinx drainage from above

View of the last little Sphinx lakes from above the last one

Sphinx Pass
Sphinx Pass
Towering on the left handside
The last lakes from further above

Sphinx Pass
Sphinx Pass
The very last boulders of Sphinx Pass

Mt Brewer on the other side
Mt Brewer on the other side
The south side of Sphinx Pass

The south side of Sphinx Pass
The south side of Sphinx Pass
The south side of Sphinx Pass
The south side of Sphinx Pass

The south side of Sphinx Pass
The south side of Sphinx Pass
The south side of Sphinx Pass

The north side (going back down)
The north side (going back down)
The north side (going back down)

Returning from Big Brewer Lake and Avalanche Pass

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(Copyright © 2013 Piero Scaruffi | Legal restrictions)
If you would like to purchase the original, high-resolution pictures, contact me