What Next?

 

We knew we couldn’t top the 20 Lakes Basin hike, at least as far as a hike to scenic alpine lakes is concerned, so there was no point in trying. Next we returned to Yosemite and Lembert’s Dome, this time dragging Debbie up a longer but not as steep two mile trail to the dome. It was every bit as much fun the second time around.

On the way we got to watch this guy for a good while. He wasn’t too concerned about us.

We were the only people on top of the dome when we first got there. We sat and admired the views for a while before a woman made it up and took our picture.

Hold on to your hat, it’s very windy up there.

Jim and I were so glad we did this hike again, and Debbie liked it, too. After the climb up, that is.

On another day we decided to check out Panum Crater, which is a plug dome, a two stage volcano with an outer pumice rim and an inner core of jagged obsidian layered with pumice. The first time we went it was very hazy and not good for photography. We enjoyed wandering around it so much we went back again yesterday, did both the rim trail and hiked to the plug.

It doesn’t look like much from the parking area.

But at the top of the hill the rocks in the plug come into view.

You can hike around the entire rim, about a mile and a half.

 

The rim trail affords some nice views of Mono Lake.

We then intersected the steep, sandy switchback trail up to the plug. It’s not every day you get to walk inside a volcano. It last erupted about 650 years ago and is now considered dormant.

Another day Debbie and I went to the Mono Lake bird walk. Jim finds bird walks a little too boring, especially at eight in the morning. We saw lots of birds, if we could only remember them. I took both the camera and binoculars, but didn’t take many photos.

In the woods we saw towhees, a hairy woodpecker, scrub jays and warblers. On the water we saw plenty of gulls, a few Wilson’s phalaropes, osprey, and the ranger estimated close to a thousand American avocets. He was great at bird calls, and said he also imitated people. He was low key but funny, and made an enjoyable leader.

There were also a few eared grebes in the water, and I didn’t realized they are strictly aquatic birds. The ranger told us after heavy rains they will sometimes find them alongside wet roads, as they landed there thinking the road was a body of water. He said when they find them like that they just pick them up and take them to the lake.

Not a bird, but I liked this chipmunk sitting on top of the tufa.

We plan to hang around here until next week as there are still a couple hikes in or near Yosemite we would like to do. A few people recommended visiting the ghost town, Bodie, about 20 miles from here. We talked about going some time this week but unfortunately the park is closed as of yesterday due to a lightning sparked wild fire that started on Saturday and has burned over 14,000 acres just 3 miles from Bodie. We have a good view of the smoke, but luckily so far the wind is keeping it away.

20 Lakes Basin Hike, Part Two

 

The last post left off just before we stopped at this nice spot for lunch.

Shamrock Lake, with its peninsulas and islands, was probably our favorite.

We had a couple of log bridge crossings, this one on the way to Excelsior Lake. It would probably be a much tougher and wetter hike in the spring.

There was a spur trail near here that went to the remains of an old tungsten mine, but we stayed on the main trail.

Then an unnamed pond.

Next up was Steelhead Lake. This one has its own waterfall on the other side, which had a group of people with tents camped nearby. This is a popular backpacking area and I can understand why. We did ask one of them how cold it got the night before. 34 degrees! Hope they have some warm sleeping bags.

Since we still had plenty of time before our 1:15 boat ride back, we walked down another trail right to the lake.

The last portion of the trail was easier since we were walking on the old mine road.

We weren’t finished yet, though, as we still had to pass by Wesco and Greenstone Lakes. Could even see Saddlebag Lake along with the other two at one point.

We all agreed, this had to be the most scenic hike we’ve ever done. Plus it is not an extremely difficult trail, although the high elevation makes it seem a bit harder. There are some tough parts walking on rocks and scree, but we ended up hiking almost 6 miles, and felt pretty good at the end. There is no shade anywhere along the trail, but the temperature was only 68 when we got back to the car and it probably doesn’t get much warmer.  If you’re a serious hiker, you can access Lundy Canyon and some other lakes from here. And if you’re really serious you can head to Mt. Conness and climb a glacier. Even if you just want to take a boat ride and a short hike, you won’t be disappointed in the scenery.

We did this on a weekday and didn’t see too many people until we were almost back to the boat. I suspect summer weekends might be crowded.

20 Lakes Basin Loop, Saddlebag Lake Resort, CA (Part One)

 

Warning: this post has too many photos, but it was so hard to choose which ones to leave out.

The 20 Lakes Basin hike had been recommended by the ranger at the Mono Basin Visitor Center, and by Diana at Life on the Open Road, who said it was one of her favorite hikes. It starts at Saddlebag Lake Resort, little more than a couple old buildings that house a small café and general store. A nice forest service campground is nearby. They rent boats and also operate a water taxi, a pontoon boat that takes you across Saddlebag Lake ($12 round trip). The taxi cuts 3 miles off the hike, so we decided to splurge and make it a “short” 5.5 mile loop instead of the 8.5 mile longer route. We’ve learned that at over 10,000 feet, 5-6 miles is more than enough hike for one day. Plus we wanted to take this one slow, since we knew it would be something special.

Cemetery in front of the resort.

From the boat heading to the trail. The lighter colored peak on the left is Mt. Dana, Yosemite’s second highest peak at 13,061 feet. Won’t be hiking up that one! It was 48 degrees out when we boarded the boat at 9 am.

We read that it was best to hike the loop counter clockwise, so that’s what we did. The trail only gains about 300 feet but it’s up and down the entire way. We quickly entered the Hoover Wilderness.

It wasn’t too long before we came to the first of many lakes or ponds. I believe eight of them were named.

The first, Hummingbird Lake.

Next up was Odell Lake.

The trail got a bit rockier on the descent to Lake Helen.

Too bad the flowers were just past their peak.

But the colorful lichen made up for it.

Good views of Conness Glacier, on the boundary of the Inyo National Forest and Yosemite National Park. Although it has lost half its surface area over the last two decades, it‘s still the largest glacier in the Sierra Nevada north of Tioga Pass.

Waterfalls after circling Lake Helen.

Interesting geology.

The trail became more difficult to find, crossing over lots of large rocks. We managed to find a few cairns, then finally came to this view of Shamrock Lake, maybe the prettiest one so far.

All of this scenery before we stopped for lunch, and at this point I think we had seen a total of five other people on the trail. Hikes don’t get much better than this.

To be continued….