TR: Moose Lake 7/11-7/12
Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 1:40 pm
Day 1 - Wolverton to Moose Lake
Easy going on the trail until Alta Meadow, everything was clear of snow. Northern side of Alta Meadow was covered with wildflowers. The forested section between the end of the meadow and the climb to the ridge was tough going. We had to cross a tributary of Buck Creek that was surprisingly raging for how far upstream it was, it seemed to have caused a lot of recent erosion. After making it through the forest we were greeted with the tough climb up to the ridge, a taxing effort in the mid-day sun. Once at the ridge we were greeted with the marvelous view over Buck Creek canyon and the divide, and got a first glimpse of the snow coverage. We were able to pick our way up to frozen Moose Lake avoiding all snow. Weather was beautiful so we found a flat spot out on rock on the south side of the lake to camp overlooking the valley. The sunset was hazy due to the controlled burn going on down in the Giant Sequoia Forest.
Day 2 - Moose Lake to Wolverton via Pear Lake
Our initial plan was to stay up 2 nights at Moose Lake and explore around the Tablelands, but seeing the expanse of sun-cupped snow everywhere, we decided that we would just head out that day. We traversed around the south side of the lake and then followed the north ridge of the lake out into the Tablelands. There seemed to generally be 6-8 feet of snowpack in the area northwest of the lake. We dropped down past a few other frozen lakes, eventually making our way out following the raging Marble Fork of the Kaweah River.
A fantastic way to start the season.
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/P98dV8u362tAgZU56
Easy going on the trail until Alta Meadow, everything was clear of snow. Northern side of Alta Meadow was covered with wildflowers. The forested section between the end of the meadow and the climb to the ridge was tough going. We had to cross a tributary of Buck Creek that was surprisingly raging for how far upstream it was, it seemed to have caused a lot of recent erosion. After making it through the forest we were greeted with the tough climb up to the ridge, a taxing effort in the mid-day sun. Once at the ridge we were greeted with the marvelous view over Buck Creek canyon and the divide, and got a first glimpse of the snow coverage. We were able to pick our way up to frozen Moose Lake avoiding all snow. Weather was beautiful so we found a flat spot out on rock on the south side of the lake to camp overlooking the valley. The sunset was hazy due to the controlled burn going on down in the Giant Sequoia Forest.
Day 2 - Moose Lake to Wolverton via Pear Lake
Our initial plan was to stay up 2 nights at Moose Lake and explore around the Tablelands, but seeing the expanse of sun-cupped snow everywhere, we decided that we would just head out that day. We traversed around the south side of the lake and then followed the north ridge of the lake out into the Tablelands. There seemed to generally be 6-8 feet of snowpack in the area northwest of the lake. We dropped down past a few other frozen lakes, eventually making our way out following the raging Marble Fork of the Kaweah River.
A fantastic way to start the season.
Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/P98dV8u362tAgZU56