Izaak Walton Lake to Big McGee Lake: Sierra Nevada

Camo and I retracing our steps back towards McGee Pass. Smoke returned.

Example of the dry Sierra. Seasonal pond dried up.

More dry Sierra meadows

Wildflowers grew in small pockets where moisture remained.

Hiking back over McGee Pass.

Over the pass, heading towards Big McGee Lake

Only Columbine I saw the whole trip.

Only glimpse of John Muir's favorite wildflower.

Flowers were there, but hard to find.

Camp for the night, Big McGee Lake.

 Continuation of a trip to the Sierra Nevada in August:

Camo and I woke up to another smoky morning in the Sierra at Izaak Walton Lake. Our time was up, so we planned on retracing our steps to hike back to Tully Lake, hike over McGee Pass, and camp at Big McGee Lake again. The next day, we would hike out of the mountains and meet Moosie at the parking area. The hike over the pass wasn't too bad. I mostly observed the dry Sierra, wishing for a good snow pack for the upcoming winter to alleviate some of the drought. Saw my first and only marmot around lunch time. Camo pointed it out. Looked for wildflowers, whose presence reminded me of my John Muir hike back in 2009. Once we reached McGee Pass, Camo was able to get cell service and contacted Moosie. She would be ready to meet us the next day around noon. The hike down to the like was nice, Camo and I found sites on the opposite side of the lake, making it feel like a brand new spot with new views... 

Afternoon Exploring at Izaak Walton Lake: Sierra Nevada

 

Camp at Izaak Walton Lake

found this old cache stored between some pines

view into Tully Hole

Izaak Walton Lake

Continuation of a trip to the Sierra Nevada back in August:

After Camo and I set up camp at what we thought was Hortense Lake, we decided to do some afternoon exploring. According to the map, there should have been another big lake adjacent to the one we were camped at. After hiking to the other side, the other lake was nowhere to be seen. We had views down into Tully Hole, but couldn't figure out where the other lake was located. Camo hiked back to camp and I decided to investigate a bit. After wandering around for a half hour or so, I found a small stream whose source had to be another lake up above. Sure enough, I found another large lake, looked at the map, and concluded Hortense Lake was in another small valley about a half mile or mile from where we were camped. We were actually camped at Izaak Walton Lake, and then the map made sense. After hiking back to camp, I told Camo where we were. It didn't really matter. We were away from anything and everything, with great views, and that was all that mattered. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening lounging around camp, talking, and watching the light change off the surrounding granite peaks.

Tully Lake/Izaak Walton Lake: Sierra Nevada

Sunrise

View from key hole opening

View of where we would be hiking later in the day. Cotton Lake below.

key hole opening view, sunrise light

hiking cross country

View of Izaak Walton Lake from above

Izaak Walton Lake. Camo and I thought it was Hortense Lake but would later be proven wrong.

Camp for the day/night at Izaak Walton Lake

 Continuation of a trip to the Sierra Nevada in August:

When I woke up early on a summer morning in August in the Sierra Nevada at Tully Lake, the wind had shifted over night, and smoke had filled the valley. I could smell it in my congested nostrils and my eyes felt puffy like softballs. Light was just starting to also enter the mountains, and I realized I had an opportunity to catch some sunrise pics. The first thing I noticed after waking up other than the smoke, was that I felt simply exhausted. Even after scrambling around the granite for 15 minutes taking pictures, I noticed I could not wake up and felt so fatigued. I spotted a keyhole notch up on ridge that looked doable for good pics. It was extremely steep, but not overly dangerous, it was like a steep grassy slide that went right up to the ridge. After scrambling and climbing for half an hour, I made it to the top, once again, absolutely fatigued. The keyhole offered really cool views into the valley behind the ridge, right at sunrise. I didn't stay long. I had another goal in mind- to get back to camp and go back to sleep. An hour later, after a downhill scramble, I was back at camp and fell asleep immediately. 

After waking up later in the morning, Camo and I had breakfast and our plan was to hike cross country to Hortense Lake. After scouting the area yesterday afternoon, I thought I had a good idea where it was. Once Camo and I starting hiking, I was deceived by the number of little lakes in the area and had trouble pinpointing exactly where we were on the map we had. The hiking was easy, and we reached an overlook with a beautiful large lake down below. We thought it was Hortense Lake, but found out later it was actually Izaak Walton Lake. We reached the lake around noon after a short downhill scramble. We were the only ones there at first. Camo went for a swim, I went for one a little later, felt completely re-energized, a Sierra baptism I like to call it. The water temp wasn't too cold. We set up camp on a flat, soft, grassy shoreline, ate lunch, and decided to do some afternoon exploring...