The kids and I were on our own for this first backpacking trip of the season. Historically I’ve avoided early season trips because I don’t love walking on snow and the weather is less predictable than it is in September, but after encountering an uncomfortable level of smoke at Royce Lakes in September 2020 and having our September 2021 trip cancelled when the forests were closed, I decided we needed to sneak in a trip while the forests were open, even if that meant tackling a light bit of snow travel. The plan was to hike over Bishop Pass to the Dusy Basin, a destination I’ve long wanted to visit, where we could do a little off trail hiking in relatively easy terrain to find our own quiet slice of the Sierras to celebrate the end of the school year for a night or two. We brought along microspikes to help with the snow but were aware that even with an early start the snow would be pretty mushy by the time we got to the pass.
6/3 - Drove from San Diego to the Four Jeffrey Campground.
6/4 - South Lake Trailhead to Bishop Lake
We woke up to cold, gray, cloudy skies having spent Friday night at the Four Jeffrey campground. One of our neighbors commented Saturday morning that it looked like it would rain, which I had to agree with, but continued to hope that the weather would hold since the National Weather Service promised me that it would be dry, though cool and windy, every time I checked in the days leading up to our hike.
The kids were in good spirits at the trailhead and my son took off up the trail at a pace neither my daughter nor I could match. My legs welcomed the call of “PICTURE BREAK!” from each of them as they turned a corner and found a new vista that required photographic documentation.
Even with the many stops, we made good time, for us, and took our first break just below the Chocolate Lakes trail junction. We continued to climb up past Long Lake and took our second break off the trail below the Timberline Tarns. The trail was busy with people heading in and out. We chatted with folks as we climbed and got mixed reports on the snow conditions on the pass. The general consensus was that it was a relatively straightforward climb to the pass but the winds at the top were vicious.
Just after our second break we got to put on microspikes, an exciting event for all of us since we bought them three years ago for an early season trip that we had to abort unepxectedly. The spikes weren’t needed, it was a well packed path, but we had carried them and were happy pretend that they were necessary while playing around in safe terrain to see how they felt.
Having tackled our first snow patch with ease we were ready for more. We continued up to Saddlerock and Bishop Lakes, both of which still harbored substantial ice coverage, listening to the wind build without encountering any more significant snow patches.
Arriving at Bishop Lake for lunch at around 11:30 we added layers to ward off the chill, to no avail. The clouds were low at the pass and moving fast.
Given than half the fun of getting up to a pass is the rest break at the top, the kids were not thrilled with the idea of going up and over in these conditions. Instead, we decided to set up camp at Bishop Lake for the day, despite the incredibly early hour. We set out toward the northern end of the lake and found a sheltered, established site, near the snow hut, to set up camp out of the wind. After getting the tent up and the sleeping bags and pads out we went to go filter water. That was when the National Weather Service let me down. Post-holing back through the snow we had just crossed to get to the lake, now with a bag of dirty water, in the rain, we all made as quick progress as we could to get back to the tent and dive in for an afternoon nap.
The rain fell off and on all afternoon but was mostly done by 4.
Emerging from the tent we found that a group of 6 had arrived and was in the process of setting up their tents right next to ours. I didn’t have the heart to make the kids hike another mile or so back to find a more remote site, so I surveyed the area and found an alternative site for us that was a short walk away and did not require packing up the tent. While not a perfect solution the new site was at least far enough for us to only hear distant voices, rather than distinct words, which made me feel a little better.
Since the weather was still not cooperating, we cooked an early dinner and went to bed.
TR: South Lake 6/4-6/6/2022 (part1)
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jlweinberger
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TR: South Lake 6/4-6/6/2022 (part1)
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Last edited by jlweinberger on Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:27 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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jlweinberger
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Re: TR: South Lake 6/4-6/6/2022 (part 2)
6/5 Bishop Lake to Ruwau and Chocolate Lakes
Sunday morning dawned with some hope to the northeast, but still awfully dark and cloudy to the southwest. I got up to wander around and snap a few pictures while the kids slept in.
By the time they finally got up it was clear that the weather, while improving, still wasn’t great for hiking up and over the pass as the winds were still pretty strong. I should emphasize here the hike would have been perfectly safe, just not particularly fun. With that realization we took out the maps and looked around to devise a plan C (or was it D or E at this point?).
We opted to have a lazy morning in camp before heading back down the trail to check out Ruwau Lake and the Chocolate Lakes where we hoped to find a place to camp, setting us up for an easy hike out to the trailhead in the morning.
The skies continued to clear throughout the day, and we reveled in the beauty and relative solitude of these side lakes off the Bishop Pass trail highway. We saw no one on our hike to Ruwau, which was our favorite of the bunch.
The hike up to the saddle between Ruwau and Chocolate was steep but fun.
Through the rest of the afternoon, we only saw another 4 people and ended up at a lovely established campsite at the middle Chocolate Lake by 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Once we set up camp, we had the lake to ourselves for the rest of the day and night, except for the three noisy ducks who kept us entertained with their quacking and splashing for hours on end.
Just a few puffy clouds remained, drifting harmlessly north through the valley at sunset.
Noting that the sun would not reach our camp until well after 8 in the morning because of the steep cliffs to the east of us we agreed that the kids would get out of their sleeping bags once breakfast was ready in the morning.
6/6 Middle Chocolate Lake to the Trailhead
The kids held true to their word, and we hit the trail by 9 am to head back to the car.
The trail was a bit washed out in places and when we lost it in a few spots I got to give a few map reading lessons which slowed our progress but was time well spent.
Soon enough we were back at the car heading south to Lone Pine for our traditional post-trip order-anything-you-want meal at the Frosty Chalet.
Despite the change in plans we all had a great time, loved visiting Ruwau and the Chocolate Lakes, and were pleased to return from a trip without a single mosquito bite.
Sunday morning dawned with some hope to the northeast, but still awfully dark and cloudy to the southwest. I got up to wander around and snap a few pictures while the kids slept in.
By the time they finally got up it was clear that the weather, while improving, still wasn’t great for hiking up and over the pass as the winds were still pretty strong. I should emphasize here the hike would have been perfectly safe, just not particularly fun. With that realization we took out the maps and looked around to devise a plan C (or was it D or E at this point?).
We opted to have a lazy morning in camp before heading back down the trail to check out Ruwau Lake and the Chocolate Lakes where we hoped to find a place to camp, setting us up for an easy hike out to the trailhead in the morning.
The skies continued to clear throughout the day, and we reveled in the beauty and relative solitude of these side lakes off the Bishop Pass trail highway. We saw no one on our hike to Ruwau, which was our favorite of the bunch.
The hike up to the saddle between Ruwau and Chocolate was steep but fun.
Through the rest of the afternoon, we only saw another 4 people and ended up at a lovely established campsite at the middle Chocolate Lake by 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Once we set up camp, we had the lake to ourselves for the rest of the day and night, except for the three noisy ducks who kept us entertained with their quacking and splashing for hours on end.
Just a few puffy clouds remained, drifting harmlessly north through the valley at sunset.
Noting that the sun would not reach our camp until well after 8 in the morning because of the steep cliffs to the east of us we agreed that the kids would get out of their sleeping bags once breakfast was ready in the morning.
6/6 Middle Chocolate Lake to the Trailhead
The kids held true to their word, and we hit the trail by 9 am to head back to the car.
The trail was a bit washed out in places and when we lost it in a few spots I got to give a few map reading lessons which slowed our progress but was time well spent.
Soon enough we were back at the car heading south to Lone Pine for our traditional post-trip order-anything-you-want meal at the Frosty Chalet.
Despite the change in plans we all had a great time, loved visiting Ruwau and the Chocolate Lakes, and were pleased to return from a trip without a single mosquito bite.
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Last edited by jlweinberger on Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Harlen
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Re: TR: South Lake 6/4-6/6/2022 (part1)
Congratulations on a great trip, in kind of rough weather. You are fortunate not to have suffered the plague of mosquitos trouble. I recall a time at Ruwau Lake when the mossies were so bad that I was trying to capture photos of the swirling clouds of them-- they were so dense!
We love so many of your images, and our only complaint is that we are not able to expand them to fill the screen for some reason.
My favorites are the two icy lake photos from the beginning of your second part; and that image below your words: "...just a few puffy clouds remained..." is the stuff of Sierra Club calendars!
Your kids sound like keen hikers, and strong-- where will you guys go next?
We love so many of your images, and our only complaint is that we are not able to expand them to fill the screen for some reason.
My favorites are the two icy lake photos from the beginning of your second part; and that image below your words: "...just a few puffy clouds remained..." is the stuff of Sierra Club calendars!
Your kids sound like keen hikers, and strong-- where will you guys go next?
Last edited by Harlen on Sun Jun 12, 2022 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.
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jlweinberger
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Re: TR: South Lake 6/4-6/6/2022 (part1)
Thanks Harlen. We commented several times during the trip that we were fortunate to avoid the mosquitoes. I think we traumatized the kids a few years ago at Thousand Island Lake when the swarms sounded like motorcycles speeding down the freeway. Needless to say they would like to avoid the conditions you described from your time at Ruwau!
I noticed the same thing about the pictures. I'll try to see if I can figure out what went wrong. It seems like only one of them will expand, but I'm pretty sure I uploaded them all the same way.*
As for our next trip it depends on where we can get a permit. We probably can't get out again until August, but if we can get a permit I'd like to explore the area west of Mammoth more: Ashley, Anona, Holcomb Lakes. That's where we were planning to go last September. Always looking for suggestions though!
*Edited - they should be fixed now. I had reduced the file size and picture dimensions so much that they didn't need to expand in the original post.
I noticed the same thing about the pictures. I'll try to see if I can figure out what went wrong. It seems like only one of them will expand, but I'm pretty sure I uploaded them all the same way.*
As for our next trip it depends on where we can get a permit. We probably can't get out again until August, but if we can get a permit I'd like to explore the area west of Mammoth more: Ashley, Anona, Holcomb Lakes. That's where we were planning to go last September. Always looking for suggestions though!
*Edited - they should be fixed now. I had reduced the file size and picture dimensions so much that they didn't need to expand in the original post.
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