MILL TRAILHEAD
TRIP 5
Atwell-Hockett Trail to Hockett Plateau
DISTANCE: 20 miles, out-and-back
ELEVATION: 6,600′/8,510′, +3,690′/-1,785′/±10,950′
SEASON: June to late October
USE: Light
MAP: Silver City
TRAIL LOG
1.25 Cedar Creek
2.5 Deer Creek
7.25 Clover Creek
8.5 Tar Gap Trail junction
8.75 Horse Creek
10.0 Hockett Meadow
INTRODUCTION: Backpackers along the Atwell-Hockett Trail pass cascading streams and quiet forests with giant sequoias on the way to the Hockett Meadow, one of the largest and prettiest meadows in the park. The few backpackers and equestrians who visit the plateau usually access the area from Mineral King on the Tar Gap Trail, missing the scenic canyon of East Fork Kaweah River and the stately sequoias of the East Fork Grove.
After the first mile of descent to the East Fork, the remaining 9-mile trek along the Atwell-Hockett Trail is mostly a steady, pleasantly graded climb through mixed forest with occasional breaks in the trees allowing fine views of the surrounding terrain.
Once at pastoral Hockett Meadow, backpackers will find pleasant camping, stunning scenery, and unmatched serenity. A base camp here provides a fine outpost for additional hikes to attractive Evelyn Lake and tranquil Hockett Lakes, Cahoon Rock to enjoy its expansive views, or more remote destinations along the southern fringe of the park. Another highlight is the chance to see wildlife. Deer frequent Hockett Meadow, and hikers occasionally see bears along the trail.
DIRECTIONS TO TRAILHEAD: From the east end of Three Rivers, leave Highway 198 and turn onto Mineral King Road. Follow the road for 8 miles to the Atwell Mill Campground entrance and then continue another 0.2 mile to the signed trailhead parking area, which has a bear box, at the east end of the campground.
DESCRIPTION: Walk down a road toward the campground, which has water and vault toilets, for about 250 yards to the beginning of the signed Atwell-Hockett Trail. Follow a path past redwood stumps to a small meadow filled with relics from the long-abandoned Atwell Mill (see the sidebar in Trip 4, for historical information).
Through a mixed forest of black oaks, white firs, sugar pines, ponderosa pines, incense cedars, and sequoias, you veer away from the old mill site and descend around a hillside, soon dropping to diminutive Deadwood Creek. The descent continues through forest another half mile to a stout steel-and-wood bridge spanning the granite cleft of East Fork Kaweah River, 1.25 miles from the parking area. The bridge offers a picture-postcard view of the cascading river plummeting over slabs and boulders down a narrow, sequoia-lined gorge.
Beyond the bridge, proceed through the East Fork Grove on a mild to moderate climb away from the creek, passing a pair of rivulets on the way to Deer Creek. Leaving the creek, the trail climbs through a mixed forest of sugar and ponderosa pines, white firs, incense cedars, black oaks, and giant sequoias. The trail switchbacks and curves high above Deer Creek, leaving the Big Trees behind. Across a hillside above the East Fork, the climb continues through mixed forest with an understory of chinquapin, mountain misery, thimbleberry, bracken fern, and hazel nut. Occasional breaks in the forest allow fine views down the East Fork and out to the San Joaquin Valley (haze permitting), including cars snaking along Mineral King Road.
Rounding a ridge, you find yourself above Horse Creek, with periodic views of Cahoon Rock and the backside of Homers Nose. After crossing a number of tiny brooks, the trail eventually reaches the densely vegetated banks of Clover Creek, 7.25 miles from the parking area. Above the near bank, a short use trail leads to a secluded campsite.
From Clover Creek, a steady half-mile ascent leads past a flower-filled, sloping meadow and continues to Corner Creek, where head-high wildflowers and plants carpet the drainage. Continue through fir forest and pockets of meadow for the next 0.75 mile to a signed Y-junction of the Tar Gap Trail from Mineral King, 8.5 miles from the parking area.
A few steps beyond the junction, you pass the indistinct junction with the abandoned Horse Creek Trail to Ansel Lake. The lake is very scenic, but the route is quite obscure and difficult to follow. A cross-country route from White Cloud Basin provides an easier way to Ansel Lake (see Trip 10). As you continue on the Atwell-Hockett Trail, a gentle descent leads to a series of spacious campsites along Horse Creek with a food storage cable nearby. Reach a ford of Horse Creek a short distance beyond the camp.
Deer at Hockett Meadow
From the ford, cross a boggy area on a wood-plank bridge and begin a short climb around the nose of a red fir–forested ridge. A gentle descent through lodgepole pines follows, leading to the signed junction of the Evelyn Lake Trail near the north fringe of a large meadow. A short stroll beyond the junction brings you to the wide, open expanse of Hockett Meadow.
The signed trail toward Evelyn Lake and Cahoon Meadow leads to campsites not far from Whitman Creek, with a pit toilet and bear box. However, with a little effort, you can find better, more scenic sites around the fringe of Hockett Meadow.
The views are quite rewarding, especially if the usually hazy skies are clear from a recent shower or zephyr. The distant peaks of the Great Western Divide and the more immediate summits of Quinn Peak, Soda Butte, and Vandeveer Mountain fill the eastern
