I decided to celebrate the completion of my first year of college with a solo overnighter up to Black Rock Reservoir. And better yet, during finals week!
The reservoir itself is used almost solely for the purpose of generating hydroelectricity. It begins all the way up above 8,000 feet with Courtright and Wishon reservoirs, with the Helm's hydroelectric plant between the two. The water then falls down through the Haas underground power-plant to Black Rock Reservoir at around 4,000 ft. The water continues down to Balch powerhouse, and then finally down to the Kings River power plant at the head of Pine Flat Lake slightly above 1,000 ft.
I left my truck about halfway between Kirch Flat and Balch Camp, which took about 1hr 45min to drive from Clovis. From here, it would be about 15 miles and 3,000 ft elevation gain to Black Rock Reservoir. Despite the fact that this was all road travel, it was far better than what I had expected. First off, it can hardly be classified as a road. One lane, exposed cliff-faces, gorgeous views of the valley from the North Fork of the Kings River, Patterson Falls, and...only ONE car went by in my two days of travel!
