lambertiana
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 9,395
My friend had another overnight trip in his plans and I tagged along. He went with another of my backpacking friends (and his two sons age 8 and 10) in the morning Friday to Pear Lake. Since I have limited vacation time, I followed up after work on Friday.
The trailhead starts at Wolverton in Sequoia NP. I got there early evening on Friday. During my drive up I could see the big thunderheads over the high country, and hoped I wouldn't get too wet on the way in. The first part of the trail is in typical sierra middle elevation forest:
I got close to the Watchtower at dusk, and the evidence of the earlier storm was obvious
At that point I put my camera away because it was getting dark and it started to rain on me. As I continued, the trail was covered by a couple inches of hail in many places. But by the time I got to Pear Lake the rain had stopped, the clouds broke up, and I was treated to fantastic stars. It's not often I can walk around by starlight alone.
In the morning the sun came out. Pear Lake is a really nice location:
We just took it easy around the lake. My friend had to be back in town by 5PM for a wedding reception, so we did not have time to do any serious side trips from the lake before descending. Right as we got ready to go back to the trailhead, the clouds started to build again, promising another afternoon storm:
On the descent we passed Aster Lake:
And Emerald Lake:
And Heather Lake:
More views on the way down:
The Watchtower is a big granite monolith, it is very difficult to get pictures that convey the size of the face:
I had heard that the Ents were ranging far and wide in their search for Entwives, but I did not know that they had come to Sequoia:
Finally, back down to the red fir forest before reaching the trailhead
The Lake Trail is one of the most popular in SEKI, and it is easy to see why. Despite the crowds, it is always a good trip.
The trailhead starts at Wolverton in Sequoia NP. I got there early evening on Friday. During my drive up I could see the big thunderheads over the high country, and hoped I wouldn't get too wet on the way in. The first part of the trail is in typical sierra middle elevation forest:
I got close to the Watchtower at dusk, and the evidence of the earlier storm was obvious
At that point I put my camera away because it was getting dark and it started to rain on me. As I continued, the trail was covered by a couple inches of hail in many places. But by the time I got to Pear Lake the rain had stopped, the clouds broke up, and I was treated to fantastic stars. It's not often I can walk around by starlight alone.
In the morning the sun came out. Pear Lake is a really nice location:
We just took it easy around the lake. My friend had to be back in town by 5PM for a wedding reception, so we did not have time to do any serious side trips from the lake before descending. Right as we got ready to go back to the trailhead, the clouds started to build again, promising another afternoon storm:
On the descent we passed Aster Lake:
And Emerald Lake:
And Heather Lake:
More views on the way down:
The Watchtower is a big granite monolith, it is very difficult to get pictures that convey the size of the face:
I had heard that the Ents were ranging far and wide in their search for Entwives, but I did not know that they had come to Sequoia:
Finally, back down to the red fir forest before reaching the trailhead
The Lake Trail is one of the most popular in SEKI, and it is easy to see why. Despite the crowds, it is always a good trip.
