A few of my buddies have never been up to the Eastern Sierra, so I decided to break them in with an overnight trip up to Big Pine Lakes. Cruel, I know...
We headed up on Saturday and spent the day at Alabama Hills climbing rocks and getting somewhat acclimated coming from sea level.
Day 1 - 9/10
On Sunday morning we picked up the permit in Lone Pine and made our way north. The forecast had about a 40% chance of thunderstorms. Luckily nothing materialized during our trip
We made it to the trail head around 10:00 and were on our way.
View of the South Fork.
There were about 20 hikers we came across the first 2 miles that were heading back down the trail. Unfortunately, they did not have the luck of perfect weather the past couple of days at the lakes.
The creek was roaring!
My friends were having a very difficult time with the first leg of the climb and the first set of switchbacks. I made it to the ranger cabin before them and explored a bit and chatted with a couple from Ridgecrest.
I instantly regretted not bringing my fly rod with me after spotting some nice 10"- 12" brown trouts in the pools near the station.
Crystal clear pools behind the ranger station.
After a quick lunch of tuna and crackers we started back on the trek. I pulled ahead and would stop every half mile or so to wait for them to catch up. Not an inconvenience at all, the scenery was amazing; a roaring Big Pine creek to the left and immense talus fields to the right.
The talus fields past the ranger station are absolutely mesmerizing. They are just rocks, but damn.
Nefarious clouds rolling along as we approach the lakes. Thankfully they didn't open up.
We made it to the first lake at about 15:00. Since the lake is partially hidden by rocks and trees coming up from the trail I decided to play a trick on them by saying we still had about a mile hike to the first lake. The look on the exhausted faces of my buddies after seeing the emerald water was priceless. Hopefully they weren't too pissed off at me after dragging them through this. Regardless...I had a good laugh
First lake.
I've always wanted to check out the beach on the south side of the second lake. So we decided that is where we would make camp for the night. After navigating around the first lake we came across the series of bridges that lead us onto the ledge just above the beach.
Obligatory shot of the second lake with the Palisades peeking.
Base camp at the base of Temple Crag.
Pictures do not do this spectacular place any justice. The shear size of Temple Crag is awesome in every sense of the word.
Soaking our feet in the cool waters with Cloudripper looming in the background.
The sunset did not disappoint.
We had a feast on MREs and were in our respected tents by 21:00. The wind picked up during the night and continued into Monday morning. The water lapping against the shores on the lake lulled me back to the sleep multiple times throughout the night.
Day 2 - 9/11
I woke about around 6:00 and explored around the lake a bit while I waited for everyone to wake up.
Made some coffee and oatmeal while I watched the sunlight creep across the range. Again, the instant regret of not bringing my fly rod slammed home.
We packed up camp and headed out at 9:00. I came across a couple of backpackers and assured them we did not experience any storms. However, they seemed less than convinced as some clouds were coming in.
On the way out from the land bridge. Pesky clouds looming once again as a cold wind was blowing in from the southwest.
Hola!
We made it to the car at 11:30 and I could sense the favorably weather would not hold up. On our drive back we hit monsoon thunderstorms all the way back to Lone Pine. My heart went out to the poor souls on and around the Whitney range.
Overall it was a great trip and I was thrilled to introduce some of my friends to the beauty and awe of the Sierras, especially to those of who have never made it more than 100 miles outside Los Angeles.
Hope you enjoyed the report and I will have more to come!
