Place: CA-Kern

Kern River (Mount Whitney, Olancha)
(Long, Lat)

Description:
Named by John C. Fremont for Edward M. Kern, topographer and artist of Fremont’s third expedition. (Fremont: Memoirs, 1887, p. 455.) Kern was with the detachment under Talbot and Walker that crossed from Owens Valley by Walker Pass in December, 1845, and camped for three weeks on Kern River.

“From these circumstances the pass in which Walker and Kern were encamped was called Walker’s Pass; and, as no name was known to Colonel Fremont for the stream which flowed from it, he named it Kern River. This stream was, and is now, known to the native Californians as the Po-sun-co-la, a name doubtless derived from the Indians.” (Williamson: Report of Explorations in California, Pacific Railroad Surveys, 1853, V:1, p. 17.)  From Place Names of the High Sierra (1926) by Francis P. Farquhar

The spot [Keysville] is picturesque—the granite mountains are steep and high, and the Kern River runs through a wild, picturesque canyon. From Up and Down California: The Journal of William H. Brewer, 1860-1864, Book 4, Chp 2

Trips:

• June 25, 2014 - Ten day trip along the High Sierra Trail and Colby Pass-slept above Kern Hot Springs
• June 26, 2014 - Ten day trip along the High Sierra Trail and Colby Pass
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References:

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Pictures:

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