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TR: Lakes Trail to Pear Lake 10/13-10/14

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:18 pm
by nightowl
Wanted to squeeze in one last backpacking trip for the season. I've always wanted to do the Lakes Trail, but working a full time job makes it risky to try for a walk up permit for the Lakes Trail in Sequoia National Park. This trail is un reservable in advance, so now that permit quota season has ended, I thought it was the perfect weekend getaway.

The beginning portion of this trail is nothing particularly special, but the forest did have that distinct dry and brown Sequoia forest feel, and I love the way forests like these smell - dry and cedar-like! We passed a large group of deer grazing right by the trail.
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1.75 miles in, we reached the first trail split. We opted for the Watchtower Trail and headed left at this fork. Even though this route is 0.4 miles longer we thought it would have better views than the Hump Trail.

About 1.5 miles from the split, we reached a clearing in the forest and suddenly found ourselves on the edge of a large cliff and an insane view of the mountain range in the distance. The views all along this rim were spectacular, and looking down at the sheer, almost overhung, drop off below us definitely got our blood pumping!
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The next part of the hike is one of my favorites, as the trail hugs the side of the cliff and continues climbing above the valley below. Once we reached Heather Lake (9,265’), it was only a mile more until Emerald Lake. On our way there, we also passed over Aster Lake (9,101’), a deep dark lake fed by Emerald Lake.
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There is no camping at Heather or Aster, and when we finally reached Emerald Lake (9,229’), we saw there were quite a few backpackers who had already set up camp, so we decided to push on the final mile towards Pear Lake. This was the hardest part of the trail, as we actually lost some elevation heading down towards Emerald, and now had to climb up the steepest part around a bend to get to Pear Lake!

In total, the hike in took us around 5.5 hours, which included plenty of stops to take photos and explore the Watchtower. 6.4 miles from the trailhead, we finally arrived right as the golden light started to hit the top of the mountains and create the most perfect reflection in Pear Lake, the largest lake in the area. Even this late in the season we managed to snag one of the last few campsites. Apparently a large group of 18 had taken over quite a few of the campsites.
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My favorite view of the lake is actually towards the southwest shore. The sheer ridge almost looks like the side of a jigsaw puzzle, with lots of jagged, dramatic pieces jutting straight up. Some mist floated into the valley that made for a great sunset.

The night probably hit just above freezing, which was actually quite pleasant for mid-October! The next day the hike back out was a breeze and took us under three hours coasting all downhill.
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Overall a nice 24 hour late season jaunt! Have you done the Lakes Trail? Would love to also explore Moose on another trip!

Full blog post with GPS, map, and more phots here: https://www.backcountrycow.com/blog/bac ... ke-sequoia

Re: TR: Lakes Trail to Pear Lake 10/13-10/14

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:10 pm
by davidsheridan
Great trip report. The pictures are beautiful, seems like a great time of year to visit that area. I'll have to add it to my list of places I need to see with my own eyes.

Re: TR: Lakes Trail to Pear Lake 10/13-10/14

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:48 am
by c9h13no3
Nice TR. My water bottle froze in my tent up near Crown Point this past weekend (was ~20F?), so I suppose being further south and on the West side saves you from sub-freezing temps.

Good to see TR's that aren't 1 week affairs. My weekender trips always seem paltry compared to most stuff on here, perhaps I should post them anyways.

Re: TR: Lakes Trail to Pear Lake 10/13-10/14

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2018 11:13 am
by nightowl
Appreciate it! I can tell why it's a popular spot, but I liked that it was a little quieter than normal going so late in the season
davidsheridan wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:10 pm Great trip report. The pictures are beautiful, seems like a great time of year to visit that area. I'll have to add it to my list of places I need to see with my own eyes.

Re: TR: Lakes Trail to Pear Lake 10/13-10/14

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2018 11:14 am
by nightowl
Hahah I always feel that way still, short weekend trips into the Sierra are also nice once in a while! Was also expecting it to get down to 20 degrees, but was pleasantly surprised that it didn't seem to get that cold, even up at 9k
c9h13no3 wrote: Wed Oct 17, 2018 9:48 am Nice TR. My water bottle froze in my tent up near Crown Point this past weekend (was ~20F?), so I suppose being further south and on the West side saves you from sub-freezing temps.

Good to see TR's that aren't 1 week affairs. My weekender trips always seem paltry compared to most stuff on here, perhaps I should post them anyways.

Re: TR: Lakes Trail to Pear Lake 10/13-10/14

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:59 am
by DAVELA
Nice... getting close to the cliffs edge...that's been in the news lately!

Re: TR: Lakes Trail to Pear Lake 10/13-10/14

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 1:46 pm
by tie
Nice! I was out there, for my first time, last weekend. Alta Peak, past Moose Lake out to the Tablelands cross country, then back to Pear Lake and down. Lots of footprints, but I didn't see another soul until Pear Lake (then 8 total). The Watchtower does have a nice view.