Not just Pear Lake

[KT5519]

I had to read all the comments to figure out where this Pear Lake is.
The one closest to me, and most familiar, is a on Turner Mountain, south of Mineral and Lassen Volcanic. It is a small pond, little more than a seasonal mudhole with road access.
Too many duplications in place names. There is one point near me you can stand on and see three different Black Buttes. I have 2 Blue Lakes within an hour drive. If I encounter another Rock Creek I may scream.

I guess they all cannot be named Crazy Woman Gulch, Jimjam Ridge, or Hambone Butte.

Ha! I should have known....Sequoia and Kings Canyon alone has TWO each Twin Lakes and Junction Meadows. Ugh.

[KT5519]

Pear lake is on my bucket list of places I want to hike to. How hard is it to get a permit?

Pear Lake in Sequoia National Park (making sure we're talking about the same one, since I just learned that there are multiple Pear Lakes scattered around) is a walk-up permit; the park doesn't take advance reservations for that trailhead. It isn't too hard to get a permit at all, the quota is pretty generous (25 people a day), although this location does get busy, so I always go the day before; the park releases walkups one day prior to the entry date, beginning at 1 PM. To get one, you would need to go to the Lodgepole Visitor Center's Wilderness Permit Desk. The trailhead is the Lakes Trail. Another nice option is what they refer to as the Pear Lake Pass Through, also with a 25 person per day quota. This permit requires heading off trail above the lake towards the Tablelands; it's a nice option for solitude when the lake is crowded. Another nice thing about SEKI is its boundary with Sequoia National Forest, so you can always head over there north on the Generals Highway and disperse camp for the night before your trip if you don't want to reserve a park campsite or hotel room.

[Shawn]

Pear Lake is certainly a special place and now KT's post makes me want to visit again. It been many years since I was up there to do the Alta/Pear Lake loop. A friend wanted to join me and I explained it could be a long day as the temps were going to be hot.

We descended from Alta to Pear Lake too soon, leaving us to scramble over the obvious barriers to circumnavigate the lake. At one point, we were caused to either ascend or swim around a rock outcropping (some of which is shown in KT's beautiful photo). Did I mention it was hot, that swim (with my day pack) felt so good, lol. My friend chose the vertical path and we met up minutes later at the open end of the lake.

I distinctly recall a few choice words my friend uttered as we hiked out while the sun was setting over the "hump".