Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

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riverwalker
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Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by riverwalker »

My wife and I will be taking our boys (6,4,4 years old) here soon and was wondering if anyone has been up there recently. I am wondering about bugs and creek conditions. I am hoping things aren't too dry. We will be coming in from Sample Meadows. I am assuming/hoping bugs shouldn't be issue.

Any other suggestions for the area. Our plan is 3 days and two nights.
I was considering the hike to Kaiser Peak from there. Is it pretty obvious to the trail and does anyone have suggested routes from Upper Twin?

My oldest has been to Dinkey Lakes with me two years ago and this will be the twins first multi-day trip. They have all been camping and hiking since birth (ok maybe not hiking since birth but as soon as they were walking sufficiently).
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Re: Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by lostcoyote »

i used to go there nearly every weekend while growing up in fresno.
that was a long time ago, but the region trails have not changed.

after twin lakes, head on up to george lake. good campsite on the east side.

from there, head up (west 800' easy climb) to college lake, then head south (level) a bit and then back west up (the final 380') to the obvious saddle. this is where you connect with the kaiser peak trail. nothing greater than easy class 2 here.... heck, maybe it's still class 1.

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.29198,-119.17814&z=15&t=T

also, from this saddle, consider climbing the twin peak 10079' (shown below) to the south east which has a 400 foot face looking back down onto george lake.

i've always done twin lakes from potter pass.

not sure abot the bugs, i do not remember them being a problem back in the day,,,, but with an especially dry year, who knows. have fun.

Image
Last edited by lostcoyote on Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by AlmostThere »

The bugs are minimal, but you should plan to camp somewhere other than at upper Twin - no camping within 200 feet of the lake. The easiest, shortest, flattest route is from Sample Meadow area. Potter Pass is the steep/hard route. Hiking to Kaiser from George is pretty straightforward and requires no climbing.

Last time I was there I pulled a zillion little rainbows out of the lower lake. Be careful of the sinkhole where the outlet disappears. The caves near the lakes used to be deeper but it seems there have been some cave-ins.
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Re: Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by lostcoyote »

potter pass is about 1200 feet of elevation gain over 2 miles.
not very steep imo.
sample meadow also involves around 1400' elevation gainover abot 2 miles.
also not very steep imo.

george lake is at 9100'
kaiser is something like 10,200'
so ya, there is some climbing up involved here - LOL - what, climbing, elevation changes, in the montains????
Last edited by lostcoyote on Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by AlmostThere »

lostcoyote wrote:potter pass is about 1200 feet of elevation gain over 2 miles.
not very steep imo.
sample meadow also involves around 1400' elevation gainover abot 2 miles.
also not very steep imo.
I don't know what trail you are thinking of, but the one I took from sample meadow involved maybe 100 feet of gain.

1,200 feet of gain is a moderate amount of gain for some, a strenuous amount for others. I run a hiking group - believe me, I know that everything (and I mean everything) is relative.

george lake is at 9100'
kaiser is something like 10,200'
so ya, there is some climbing upinvolved here - LOL - what, climbing elevation changes in the montains????

I am distinguishing between using your hands and hauling yourself upward, vs. hiking up steep slopes.

Yes, it is a steep "climb" but it is not a class 3-4 climb. On my last backpacking trip, I friction climbed a concave granite face, groping for toe holds, while a friend dragged my pack up with a rope. That is CLIMBING. From George Lake, I would merely wear my pack up to Kaiser Peak, walking all the way. That is HIKING. And this is why we have the class 1-4 system.
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Re: Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by lostcoyote »

here's a map....
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.31864,-119.16055&z=14&t=T

sample meadow is around 7900'

did you start out on the spur dirt road that climbs up north of avalanche lake to cut down on the elevation gain to twin lakes? i don't see how it can be only 100' of climbing from sample meadow to twin lakes.
-confuzzed coyote.
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Re: Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by AlmostThere »

Correction - my topo map puts our route to the junction between the lakes as having 733 feet of gain. I remember it being darn near dead level. Easiest place I've ever humped a SAR pack. The last bit is not a steep climb, probably why I don't remember it as being hugely difficult.

We parked at the road near the pit toilet, prior to arriving at sample. The trail from the meadow itself has it routed over a couple of contour lines, but not a ton of gain either.

We pulled a newbie backpacker out a few months ago, after his more experienced friend could not find him. The newbie did what he should - sat in Round Meadow waiting. When we found him we walked him out the easy way, to the Sample Meadow road, and loaded him a Jeep.
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Re: Has anyone recently been to Upper Twin Lake - Kaiser?

Post by riverwalker »

Thanks...I guess:) Has anyone been up there recently with some info?
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