lambertiana
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 9,440
Yesterday a few friends went up early in the morning to Franklin Lake in Sequoia NP. I couldn't get off work, so I drove to Mineral King after work. Here is the view of Mineral King Valley
My goal was Franklin Lake, which is six miles up the trail and behind (to the left) the sharp peak on the left. There are a few good streams along the way, first is Crystal Creek
Then you cross Franklin Creek, which comes down from Franklin Lake
Going up you have good views looking back at Mineral King (trail starts where the valley makes a 90 degree bend toward the left)
And you pass VanDever Mountain
And then cross Franklin Creek again a little below the lake
It was pretty much dark by the time I got to the second crossing of Franklin Creek (daylight picture was taken today on the way back out). The stars were incredible, and when we got up this morning it was quite cool. Although the valley is sweltering in the summer, we were camping 10,000' higher. Here are the other guys when it got light this morning
Our original plan was to summit Florence Peak this morning (the highest one above the lake) but one of the guys had problems with his knee (not good for a bouldering summit) and the other wasn't feeling well, so we just took it easy around the lake for a while before heading back down. This is what the lake looks like from our camp
Looking down into the lake from camp. The shelf visible under water is about 20' down, the lake gets pretty deep
A water level view of the lake
One of my friends is an avid fisherman, but he quickly found out that although the lake is teeming with brook trout, it is overpopulated and none of the many he caught were very big. But to compensate, here he is making popcorn (with real butter melted on top) in our kitchen with a view
And the final shot, here I am with two of them on the rise you crest just before reaching the lake
I really like Franklin Lake, and I will be going back in two weeks for a similar overnight (but this time starting on Friday morning) with my son and a few friends - Ray, are you coming? I may have a space or two still open on the permit if someone wants to tag along. And this time we will summit Florence Peak.
My goal was Franklin Lake, which is six miles up the trail and behind (to the left) the sharp peak on the left. There are a few good streams along the way, first is Crystal Creek
Then you cross Franklin Creek, which comes down from Franklin Lake
Going up you have good views looking back at Mineral King (trail starts where the valley makes a 90 degree bend toward the left)
And you pass VanDever Mountain
And then cross Franklin Creek again a little below the lake
It was pretty much dark by the time I got to the second crossing of Franklin Creek (daylight picture was taken today on the way back out). The stars were incredible, and when we got up this morning it was quite cool. Although the valley is sweltering in the summer, we were camping 10,000' higher. Here are the other guys when it got light this morning
Our original plan was to summit Florence Peak this morning (the highest one above the lake) but one of the guys had problems with his knee (not good for a bouldering summit) and the other wasn't feeling well, so we just took it easy around the lake for a while before heading back down. This is what the lake looks like from our camp
Looking down into the lake from camp. The shelf visible under water is about 20' down, the lake gets pretty deep
A water level view of the lake
One of my friends is an avid fisherman, but he quickly found out that although the lake is teeming with brook trout, it is overpopulated and none of the many he caught were very big. But to compensate, here he is making popcorn (with real butter melted on top) in our kitchen with a view
And the final shot, here I am with two of them on the rise you crest just before reaching the lake
I really like Franklin Lake, and I will be going back in two weeks for a similar overnight (but this time starting on Friday morning) with my son and a few friends - Ray, are you coming? I may have a space or two still open on the permit if someone wants to tag along. And this time we will summit Florence Peak.
