High Sierra Topix

I know it took forever for me to get these posted but I had my daughers wedding to perform so it got pretty crazy for a while.

This is so far, the nicest hike I have taken (even with the 40 trail runners).
It was absolutly beautiful in every way. when we got to the basin at Pear Lake all I could was "oh man, oh man..." about the 10th time I said that my sis pointed out that "man" had nothing to do with it. God truly did some great work here.


The rest of the shots are here
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/554757999zsxIIw

MM, looks like a nice area to hike. I have not done much on the west side, so its nice to see photos of the area. Thanks for posting! Cool pano!

That area truly is a gem. Cool pano and nice pics. Thanks for sharing

Very nice, Mountain Minstrel! Isn't Pear Lake a frequent cross-country skiing destination? Perhaps the ranger station doubles as a winter cabin? Also, what's the "Watchtower?" I couldn't find any summit with that name on Topozone. However, as a fellow person who has "issues" with heights I can sympathize with the "I can't believe I took this picture" emotion!

The unknown white flower (tiny flowers in compact head) is some kind of buckwheat, but I can't tell which kind from the photo.

The Watchtower is a rocky pinnacle that extends out from the main cliff; if I can remember back, I'd say about 1500 or so feet drop off the sheer edge. Pretty spectacular overlook! Not for acrophopics!

Thanks everybody.

BSquared- Yes it is a frequent Xcontry ski destination. Though to be honest I can't see anyone making the climb over "the hump" in skis, but then a year ago I couldn't see me hiking over it so... And yes, the ranger station doubles as a winter cabin. as for the watchtower, trekker nailed it correctly. You wouldn't find it looking for summits as it is a trail that goes past the huge dropoff that Trekker mentioned.

BTW thanks for the info on those giant Q-tips.