Kibbie Lake, Yosemite: Early Summer & Full Moon Backpacking

Happy National Parks Week! Yosemite National Park is currently closed help stop the spread of COVID-19. The whole situation is a bummer, but that does allow more time to look at old photos and plan future trips.

To be honest: Yes, I have canceled multiple trips because of the quarantine orders. Even some of the local hikes I was looking forward to are now off the table because the Stanislaus National Forest has closed recreation areas and many roads – including Cherry Lake Road which is used to access the trailhead to Kibbie Lake. 

Right now no one knows when the roads and the national park will reopen, or if there will be changes to entry practices when it does. It is a difficult time to plan new trips, especially ones that require high demand permits or lottery drawings.

That is why I wanted to look back on this trip to Kibbie Lake. Curtis and I backpacked this one as a quick overnight hike in June 2019. We received out permit to hike into the Yosemite Wilderness from the Stanislaus National Forest the day before we headed out.

Unanticipated perk: It just so happened to be a full moon that weekend – there is something magical about the bright moonlight bouncing off Kibbie Lake and into the dark night sky.

Kibbie Lake Trail Topo Map, click for larger.

Backpacking Kibbie Lake, Stanislaus National Forest & Yosemite National Park

Trailhead: Access is from the Stanislaus National Forest, not the park. From Hwy 120 travel 14 miles east of Groveland and turn Left down Cherry Lake Road just after the bridge past Rainbow Pools. Follow the winding Cherry Lake Road for 23 miles until arriving at Cherry Lake and Forest Road 1N04. In winter the road is closed at the Cherry Lake Dam. In the summer season you can drive across the dam and follow the road uphill to a left turn to stay on 1N04. During our visit in June 2019 the Forest Service had blocked the road at an unnamed trailhead between the Lake Eleanor Trailhead and the Shingle Springs Trailhead due to a washout. I think the Forest Service has repaired the washout in late 2019, so the road will be open to the Single Springs trailhead. Google Map, Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map

Distance: The unnamed trailhead was ~2.25 miles away from the Shingle Springs trailhead, then 4.75 miles to Kibbie Lake. Elevation gain from the trailhead to the lake measured in at 1955 ft, but 900 of that was before reaching Shingle Springs. Primarily downhill on the return trip, my GPS watch showed 500 ft gain total. From this trailhead it was about 14 miles round trip. The actual distance changes with selected campsite location.

Curtis and I backpacked to Kibbie Lake just before Tioga Pass opened to traffic in 2019. Consequently it was a much busier hike than it might have been if the pass, and all those other trailheads, were open. Permits are from Stanislaus National Forest, with a normal daily quota enforced. Note wilderness permits are not available presently (April 2020) due to COVID-19.

The unnamed trailhead we started from was a bit hard to follow and had a good amount of overgrowth and downed trees.

Our hike to Shingle Springs brought us through blooming bear clover and up a gradual, steady, and sweaty climb. Right before reaching the Shingle Springs trailhead we needed to push through clusters of white throne. It really adds an adventure element to the hike (AKA: potential for open wounds).

Pro tip: ALWAYS cover your legs before traversing white thorn bushes. It doesn’t matter if your backpacking pants rip, right?

The trail after Shingle Springs is much better defined. This area has been a part of recent fires, so tree falls and new vegetation may mean it is still necessary to bushwhack and navigate on this segment of trail. After about a mile of switchbacks the trail levels out, and enters into Yosemite.

The trail ultimately leads to a crossing of Kibbie Creek, where it is then a off trail hike to numerous Kibbie Lake campsites on either side of the creek. On this trip we stayed on the south side of the lake, finding a small campsite in a granite overlook of the lake. Many people had set up along Kibbie this weekend, but the lake is large enough that it didn’t feel crowded.

Don’t come here expecting a high elevation lake, Kibbie Lake is at 6515 ft in elevation. Nestled in granite domes this was a wonderful early summer hike, made even more spectacular by the bright full moon.

Today while walking around our neighborhood in Groveland, I felt like it was the first hot day this spring. Sweat, sunshine, and the potential for sunburns – it feels like summertime backpacking season is just around the corner.

More photos in the gallery below: