Middle Fork Kaweah Trail

The first 3 miles to Panther Creek are fairly easy. This is the first place with campsites along the trail. Shortly after passing Panther Creek the trail increases in difficulty, climbing from roughly 4,000' to 4,800' in about 1.5 miles to Mehrten Creek. This creek has a few camp sites and is in tree cover with views of the valley below Castle Rocks and the Middle Fork River. Continuing on, the trail ascends and descends for the next 2 1/4 miles, crossing 3 unnamed drainages, with a campsite and fire ring in tree cover at the third drainage. After another 1/2 mile the trail ends at the 9.4 mile mark at a fork. This fork is not marked, but the left climbs up to Bearpaw Meadow and the High Sierra Trail while the right leads to Redwood Meadow. Heading right, the trail descends to an area with an obvious campsite in tree cover with a fire ring, log seats, and water access. There are multiple places to camp in this area. This trail follows the river for its duration but there is no river access until this point due to the steep banks. There are creeks along the way with flowing water and some of them collect in pools that would be nice to take a dip in during warmer months.