Rae Lakes in a Day: No Permit, Just PAIN

Hiking to Rae Lakes is one of the most famous and beautiful backpacking trips in California. Well, a backpacking trip for those who actually manage to snag permits...For those of us who don't and who still want to experience Rae Lakes, it's an epic single day ultra marathon!
There are two main hiking routes for Rae Lakes:
1)The standard Rae Lakes loop that starts in King's Canyon National Park at Road's End. Most hikers will do this as a 4-5 day Sierra backpacking trip, but this requires a permit and Rae Lakes permits are notoriously hard to win
2) A single day ultra starting at the Onion Valley Campground, hiking through Kearsarge Pass and Glen Pass down to Rae Lakes and back. This route totals between 26-30 miles and 7000 feet of climbing. Permits may be a bit easier to get if you camp further away from the lakes, but we still had no luck getting one!
It may have been rough and there may have been pain, but we are fairly confident that this has to be one of the most beautiful hikes in California, if not the country. The Eastern Sierra is truly magic!
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#raelakes #californiahiking #kingscanyon