High Sierra Topix

We liked this area so much that we went back for a series of dayhikes this weekend. We stayed at Kirkwood, and were two of only a handful of guests in the whole place. That was odd, and not at all unpleasant!

Day One: Arrived, checked in, and then hiked to Winnemucca and Round Top Lakes out of Woods Lake. This area is just jammed with people in the summer, but we only saw one large group of about ten people, and a few other couples. Lovely hike, and the snow they had ten days ago really made the mountains come to life. Five mile hike, with about 1000 feet of elevation gain and loss.

Day Two: A longer hike--out of the Blue Lakes trailhead to Granite and Grouse Lakes. Again, Granite Lake is only about two miles, so there are usually hordes of people there. We saw about ten, Past that, we saw a total of three guys in eight miles as we hiked out to Grouse Lake and back. And while the lake is nice, the traverse across those granite ridges is amazing...and the views to the south are simple some of the best I have seen in this part of the Sierra. Unbelievable. 12 miles, some of which was pretty darn steep...

Day ThreeL with a storm front on the way, we chose to take a shorter hike, to Lake Margaret. We began with frost on the ground, and some of the ponds with a thin coating of ice. If you really want to test your powers of concentraion, try walking across an ice covered log to cross a deep stream! But then the weather warmed up, and we had a great morning of it. 5 miles

If you are interested, I've posted the photos as an extension of the original group on Picasa. The new photos start here:

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balzaccom,
Great report! Those are some great hikes... I have to agree that the hike to Grouse is unbelievable. Did that hike two years go with packmule and the scenery is awesome. We did the hike after a snowstorm and hadtruble finding the trail at times. We couldn't see that last turn up that ridge before you make the last steep descent down to the lake so we ended up working our way down that boulder strewn and talus slope. Good thing I had the lake marked on my GPS. We did find the "trail" back up to the top of the ridge on the way back, though. packmule and I were talking yesterday about how we would like to go back.

John

Isn't Grouse Lake a gem? Perched above the N. Fork Mokelumne Canyon drainages...I enjoy wandering the open granite around there in a landscape otherwise covered in volcanic material. BTW, on one pic you are looking south at what is probably Sonora and *Stanislaus* Peaks (not Tuolumne Pk?). Looking south, Stanislaus in the first one and looks kind of like a shark fin. Sonora Pk. is just south of it and has a more rounded shape. If you get high enough, like summit of Round Top, the horizon views down the crest from Carson-Ebbetts area usually terminates with a view of Tower Peak. Hard to see much more than that- Silver and Highland Peaks south east, Sweetwaters to the distant southeast, on a good day maybe Tower Pk. south of Stanislaus-Sonora and then three Chimney's over toward the west, south Sonora Pass Hwy.

Guess deer season is over....

Thanks Mk for the pic's of Grouse I have not been there since the early 80's.
Nice car, what model and year is it?

Yes--thank you. Sonora and Stanlislaus Peak.

As for the make and model of the car...

I don't know, officer. Everything happened so fast! But I did get a good photo of the babe who was driving it!

Nice pics. I love that area west from Blue Lakes; took my son there (Granite Lake) on his first couple of backpacking trips. Grouse Lake is a gem. The "beautiful meadow" you're looking down on in the one shot is Snow Canyon, which is worth a visit in its own right.

Thanks Tom--Snow Canyon, and Summit Canyon--looked really interesting, if rugged. Any fish down there>?

Snow Canyon is a gem, surprisingly not that visited, and an easy hike after walking around Meadow Lake. Here is a photo from my last visit, summer 1985. I'm that hunk of tan bent over in front of my ex, smiling after a rainy night.