Forester Pass is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

. Located on the Kings-Kern Divide and on the boundary between

Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing ...

and

Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings ...

, Forester Pass connects the drainages of

Bubbs Creek Bubbs Creek is a -long tributary of the South Fork Kings River in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Kings Canyon National Park. The creek originates near Junction Pass (east of Forester Pass), in northeastern Tulare County. It flows nort ...

(a tributary of the

South Fork Kings River The South Fork Kings River is a tributary of the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada of Fresno County, California. The river forms part of Kings Canyon, the namesake of Kings Canyon National Park and one of the deepest canyons in North America wi ...

) and the

Kern River The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfiel ...

. The pass is traversed by the

John Muir Trail The John Muir Trail (JMT) (Northern Paiute language, Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, ...

and the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

, which are coincident between Crabtree Meadows and

Tuolumne Meadows Tuolumne Meadows () is a gentle, granitic dome, dome-studded, sub-alpine meadow area along the Tuolumne River in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park in the United States. Its approximate location is . Its approximate elevation is . The ter ...

. At , Forester Pass is the highest point along the Pacific Crest Trail. It is also the last of the six high mountain passes above 11,000 feet on the John Muir Trail, along with

Donohue Pass Donohue Pass is a high mountain pass on the boundary between Yosemite National Park and the Ansel Adams Wilderness. Its elevation is . It is situated between Mount Lyell and Donohue Peak. The John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail both t ...

, Muir Pass,

Mather Pass Mather Pass is a high mountain pass in the U.S. state of California, California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. It lies within far eastern Fresno County, California, Fresno County, inside Kings Canyon National Park and the Sequoia-Kings Canyon ...

Pinchot Pass Pinchot Pass is a high mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, in the United States. It lies within far eastern Fresno County, inside Kings Canyon National Park and the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness. Pinchot Pass ...

, and Glen Pass. The PCT/JMT ascends the pass slowly from the north and switchbacks precipitously down its sheer southern side.

History

Originally documented by a group of

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

workers, it was subsequently named in their honor. On August 26, 1930, four men—including 18-year-old Donald Downs—were injured during construction of the trail over the pass. A boulder let loose during blasting of the trail crushed Downs' arm. The men were evacuated by stretcher, Downs to Baxter Cabin and the others to

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. Mr. Down's arm was amputated. He died on September 2, 1930, from complications of surgery. A plane crashed at Tyndall Creek after dropping medicine for Downs. A plaque commemorating his death is found on the southern side of the pass, most easily seen while walking in a northerly direction.

References

External links

* Kings Canyon National Park Mountain passes on the John Muir Trail Sequoia National Park Landforms of Tulare County, California {{US-trail-stub