R01 TR: 9/3/13-9/6/13 Rae Lakes Loop

[larroyo33]

This is a pretty popular hike, so I will keep the trip report short.

Day 1: We headed down to Roads End on Tuesday morning, hoping to complete the loop in four days. Our goal for the first day was Upper Paradise Valley. It was overcast for the whole day and sprinkled a bit on us as we headed up Woods Creek to Lower Paradise Valley. When we got to Lower Paradise Valley, we ran into a bear sitting right next to the trail. We decided it was a good time to turn around and go filter water. But shortly after starting to filter, it started raining and we began to hear thunder. The thunder must have scared off the bear because he was not there when we got back to the trail. We decided it was best to just set up camp at Lower Paradise, but after setting up the tent and eating dinner it stopped raining for a while and the weather began to look better. So we pressed on and made it to Upper Paradise right before sunset.

The Sphinx

Mist Falls

Me And Tak In Lower Paradise Valley

Day 2: The second day was somewhat overcast, but it never rained on us. We headed up to Castle Domes Meadow in the morning, took a break by the creek, and then made it to the JMT in the early afternoon. We wanted to make it to Middle Rae Lake that night, but we slowed down on the climb up the JMT and ended up making camp at Arrowhead Lake and enjoyed a good sunset.

Headed Down To Castle Dome Meadows

Looking Down The JMT

Dollar Lake

Arrowhead Lake's Outlet

Arrowhead Lake Sunset

Arrowhead Lake

Day 3: We woke up and checked out the three Rae Lakes and then headed up to Glen Pass. We both were definitely feeling the elevation hiking up to the Pass, but we made it to the top around noon and soaked in the views. We then hiked down to Bubbs Creek and made camp at Junction Meadow. We were the only two people there that night.

Morning Light On Fin Dome

Middle Rae Lake And The Painted Lady

Us At Rae Lakes

Looking Back At Rae Lakes

Us At Glen Pass

East Vidette From The JMT

Day 4: We got an early start and hiked down Bubbs Creek to Roads End. We made it to the car by 1 pm and headed home.

Kings Canyon

Woods Creek Behind Us

[justm]

Those photos are amazing !!! The water levels look really low. Thanks for the TR

[cloudlesssky]

Love the photos - thanks for the TR.

[kpeter]

You have some gorgeous photos. My favorite is "Looking down the JMT." Just something about catching the trail that lends some intimacy to the gorgeous backdrop. Nice!

[DriveFly44]

One of my fav parts of the jmt. You captured it beautifully. Thanks for sharing your TR.


Ladd

[larroyo33]

Thanks for the comments

[Bluewater]

Thanks for the beautiful photos! If you don't mind an amateur photography question, were you using a DSLR?

[Trailguru]

Along with Bluewater's question, did you also use any filters after the pictures were taken. Those pictures are incredible, btw. Thanks for sharing them

[larroyo33]

Thanks for the compliments. I use a compact system camera, a Sony NEX-7, it has an SLR equivalent sensor but is much lighter than an DSLR and better for backpacking. I did not use any filters but I do use post processing to make the pictures HDR.

[Bluewater]

Thanks for the information regarding your NEX-7. I've been considering that camera as the next step in upgrading my setup so it was good to see some actual examples of what it can do. Thanks again.