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The trail briefly leaves the North Fork and climbs south toward Portal Lake to join its outlet stream. As the grade levels, the path leads to a picturesque and expansive meadow where a campsite marks the junction with the Crown Basin Trail (10,170’). Go left (southeast) toward Portal Lake; just beyond this campsite is the easy-to-miss ford (difficult during high water) of Portal Lake’s outlet. (Hikers have missed the ford and simply followed the granite slabs southeast toward Portal Lake.) Beyond the ford, the trail climbs via short switchbacks to the small, scenic campsites on the north shore of Portal Lake (10,340’; 11S 343726 4101161). If Portal Lake’s sites are full, continue northeast cross-country 0.2 mile to the banks of the neighboring unnamed lake (10,390’).

EXPLORING BLACKCAP AND CROWN BASINS

From Portal Lake, you can take several easily traversed cross-country routes into Blackcap Basin and Crown Basin:

To journey deeper into Blackcap Basin: Leave Portal Lake along the barren granite slabs northeast and follow gentle terrain before briefly ascending 200 feet south of the headwaters of North Fork Kings River as it cascades below Pearl Lake (10,631’). From Pearl Lake’s northwest finger, the easiest route climbs due north past a minor knoll and into the Division Lake Basin. From there, Regiment Lake (10,960’) and Battalion Lake (11,050’) can be reached by ascending the inlet cross-country upstream.