R03/R01 TR: Lamarck Lakes to South Lake Sept 2016

[marjolijn]

The Muir Hut has always had this strange attraction to me, and this year I finally got to see it! Labour Day weekend my husband and I took off from the bay area to bishop. Driving through Yosemite on a Saturday wasn't our best decision (I knew there would be a queue but man, was it long) but driving Tioga Road made up for it. Sunday afternoon we left the car at Parchers and hitched a ride to North Lake. Then we were off to Lower Lamarck to acclimate. We found a gorgeous campsite just past the creek crossing, perched on the mountainside. Couldn't have imagined a better start to our trip.

Next day we hiked up above Upper Lamarck and camped another night at low elevation. On Tuesday we went over Lamarck Col and down to Evolution Lake. With the weekend over, we saw few people all the way to Evolution Lake. Lamarck Col had hardly any snow...

bench before lamarck col

The Darwin Bench was beautiful and we contemplated staying there, but I was suffering from the altitude and heat (I always do, and the extra night didn't make a difference) so we carried on, and we didn't regret it. We stumbled upon another perfect campsite near the outlet of Evolution lake, and had an easy start the next morning. Evolution basin was stunning. Everything I had hoped for. We lingered a while at Wanda Lake and after that it was a quick climb up to the hut. Actually I regret not staying in the basin longer...

Glad we hiked north to south though, I don't think I would have enjoyed the climb as much from the south side: no wide vistas of the high country, and endless switchbacks down to LeConte. Beautiful, but not as stunning as the evolution side, imo. We camped near the ranger station. Hiking up to Dusy Basin the next morning was a joy. Lots of shade, not too steep, and views that stopped me dead in my tracks again and again.

The lower basin welcomed me with bright colours: red plants, yellowing grass, vibrant blue lake. A slice of heaven.

We took a long break to soak it all in, but went onwards and upwards. (It was hard to choose between upper dusy and juicy burgers, but in the end the burgers won.) The switchbacks on the east side were painful (bad knees), but it was a beautiful hike all the way to south lake. And the burgers at Burger Barn were excellent - a great find!

To sum it up: this hike is rightly famous. Stunning from start to finish, with lots of different landscapes to marvel at and places you wished you could linger. And if you do it right after a busy weekend it turns out there aren't really that many people around (and those that are around, are a joy to have a chat with and share the beauty with.) Looking back on it with a smile on my face, and a grateful heart. (And wishing I hadn't left the camera in the car - thank god for the iphone )

[ERIC]

Great report. Thank you so much for posting this, and the earlier TR too. The lower basin trail pic really drew me in - such vibrant colors featuring a beautiful red carpet entrance. Love late season color. Happy for you and your hubby that the two of you had such a memorable trip!

[BSquared]

Ah, "rightly famous" indeed! Beautiful country!

[bbayley80]

thanks for sharing!
great pics. love those panoramas-and that spot at Lower Lamarck...wow..nice one!