My last blog entry was on the Labor Day Weekend hike my wife and I took to San Gorgonio (with Sam). Our final hike for the season occured about a month later during the second weekend in October. We went back up to Bishop with my in-laws, revisiting the town and starting spot of our seven-day hike along the John Muir Trail that we tackled this summer. This trip was planned, initially, to be a three-day, two-night hike, starting at Lake Sabrina on Friday and hiking up to Midnight Lake for the night. We then planned on coming back down and then hiking on another trail on the second night (such as heading up to Lamark Lake). And, like our trip to San Gorgonio, we brought Sam!
Lake Sabrina is a man-made lake at about 9,000 feet in the High Sierras with a paved road leading up to it and a bait shop/boat rental/restaruant structure and parking lot at the end of the road. The road up to the lake follows a stream whose banks were full of fishermen. We reached the parking lot around 11:00 am, parked, and enjoyed a packed lunch before getting started.
Our initial goal was to hike to Midnight Lake, which is about 2,500 feet above Lake Sabrina and a good nine miles or so inland. We got started and were making good time. The first two miles or so is very scenic as you abutt Lake Sabrina, climbing gently. The fall colors were out, the air crisp, and the sky bright and vibrant.
By the time we had passed Lake Sabrina the vegetation was thinning out. No more decidious trees, just pine trees, but mostly granite. Of course the mountains in the High Sierras are spectacular and the views really put San Gorgonio to shame. Despite having to get up early to reach Bishop at a reasonable hour and despite the much cooler weather, after hiking in the High Sierras you get spoiled and the run of the mill spots that used to seem so scenic now appear to be quite drab and listless.
Anyway, as we continued hiking, clouds started to roll in and the temperature started dropping pretty quickly. We pushed on a bit futher and decided to camp at Blue Lake, which was about three miles short of Midnight Lake (and maybe 600 feet lower). Here's the view from our campsite.
Shortly after setting up camp, the cloud cover thickened further and it started snowing. Shedding our heavy packs, we explored some of the trails around the campsite and traversed the length of Blue Lake. We returned to the campsite, had a warm meal, and then packed it in for the night.
The next morning the clouds were gone, but it was noticeably colder. After breakfast, we hiked up to Midnight Lake, leaving our gear at Blue Lake. From Midnight Lake you can see the back of Mt. Darwin, one of the highest peaks in California. This mountain is also prominently on display from Evolution Lake, which is a favorite spot on the John Muir Trail and a place we had camped during our week-long hike this summer. The water at Midnight Lake was crystal clear and there were a bounty of trout swimming around. The lake is a popular spot for fishermen, too, and we passed two heading out as we hiked toward the lake.
After dallying around the lake for an hour or so, we headed back to our campsite, packed up, and returned to the trailhead. As you can imagine, October in the High Sierras is coooooooold. We had adequate clothing and supplies, but regardless, it is still chilly, even with many layers on and 40 pounds on your back. So you can imagine our immense joy when we reached the parking lot to find that the bait shop/boat rental structure was very, very well heated from a big cast iron stove and served yummy, greasy, warming food (hamburgers, french fries, chili, and so forth). After eating we drove over to North Lake and contemplated pitching a campsite and hiking up to Lamark Lake the next day, but I think the longer than expected hike and cold weather had us all a little less than enthusiastic about another night out in the wilderness. So we drove on back to Southern California.
Overall, it was a good hike. Very cold, but majestic scenery, as always is the case in the High Sierras. Sam did well, although she was shivering pretty uncontrollably in the early morning and late evening. We brought a little dog coat for her, but she's not very amicable when it comes to accessories. Despite the cold, she kept up well and was able to put in the miles without needing to be carried (unlike the San Gorgonio trip a month prior).
And now it's winter time and while there are those who enjoy winter hiking, I am not one of them. So we are done hiking until May, probably. Our agenda for 2007 is to do the entire John Muir Trail, all 211 miles, in a three-week span. There's still a lot of details to be filled in, such as the exact starting date, securing a permit (can't apply until six months before the beginning of your trip), and so on, but we're fairly confident that this will be something we can knock out this year. Huzzah!