Paul, what a godsend. I have all kinds of questions for you since the Kern river canyon is still on my bucket list. Hmmm, where to start?

The trail down to the Kern from the confluence of GT & Volcano creeks is overgrown & unmaintained? How was it on the way down from Horseshoe & Trail pass via Mulkey?

How is the trail up the Kern river? Are you able to access the river for fishing? (I would go in August during low(er) water.)

You mentioned that you thought the return along the PCT from Wallace to Rock creek to Cottonwood pass was the best part of the trip. This concerns me, because that section of the PCT is my least favorite in the S Sierra.

I much prefer going over NAP, through Miter and up/down the Crabtree watershed. If you think that section of the PCT is nicer than the Kern river canyon itself, then I should probably re-think this entire trip.

My plan was to continue up the Kern river trail to the Milestone basin area, and then head east to Shepherd and down to the Symmes trailhead. (I'd plan on shuttling my car.)

My other concern is how fast I could expect to go given existing trail conditions. My plan would be to hike 15-20 miles day 1 to either the Kern bridge crossing or down GT creek past the Volcano merge.

Day 2/3 would be the next 18-23 miles to Junction Mdw (I calculate 38 miles to Junction from Horseshoe).

Day 4 would be the Milestone area @ 7-10 miles, and the last day (5) would be 17 miles over Shepherd and down to Symmes.

I'm familiar with the upper Kern, so I know the terrain, mileage and my speed/time, having done it before. I guess my concern would be the expected time/effort in the sections I haven't done before.

If I know I'm going x-c, then I plan my time accordingly (around 1mph), but for the main part of this trip, I was thinking more along 3+ mph - especially the 20 miles from Horseshoe to the Kern bridge.

If you think this is unrealistic given the trail conditions, then I might have to shelve this idea. I can't (and don't really want to) go slow(er) and spend more than 4-5 days out. (My last day would entail getting in the car and driving home.)

Any thoughts/ideas/insights would be greatly appreciated.