| |
| Sabrina Basin Trail to Dingleberry Lake, CA | |
|
| | Sabrina Basin Trail to Dingleberry Lake, CA | | | |
|
|
Sabrina Basin Trail to Dingleberry Lake, CA
| | |
|
| Hiking | 8.67 Miles |
1,843 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.67 Miles | 9 Hrs 23 Mns | | 1.07 mph |
| 1,843 ft AEG | 1 Hour 16 Mns Break | | | |
|
|
| |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | The Sabrina Basin has a lot to offer with trails leading to a number of remote lakes and vistas with remarkable views. The section of the trail that climbs up to Blue Lake has several staircases carved out of the granite hillsides most likely built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the late 1930s. These staircases are a work of art (in my opinion). This would be my third visit to the upper Sabrina Basin since 2018 and this time the destination was Dingleberry Lake which is close to my day-hike limit for distance and AEG with much of the hike above 10k ft.
I arrived at the trailhead at 7:20 am Saturday morning on the 4th of July Weekend and was surprised to see only a few cars in the day-hiker parking areas within 100 yds of the trailhead. The trail is well maintained and easy to follow to Blue Lake. At Blue Lake the trail crosses bare granite slabs where sometimes the only evidence of a trail are rows of rocks outlining its location. That and use trails that wander off to who knows where can be confusing. I find it useful to have a gps track to follow here to save time. Blue Lake is a popular destination and I passed several backpacker camps, one had 3 tents. On the way back in the afternoon just after passing that camp I encountered a group of young folks who asked me for directions through the maze of trails around the lake. I gave them what I hope was useful information and mentioned in parting that it was happy hour at the camp just around the corner to speed them on their way. I'm not sure my trail humor is appreciated by other hikers. 
The mosquitoes were becoming real pests on the section of trail between Blue Lake and Dingleberry where it passes numerous small ponds. This lead to a discussion with three seasoned hikers about mosquito repellents with the general agreement that the one I had been using containing Pircaridin would not do the job. The old standby repellant with 98% Deet was the best despite its tendency to dissolve some common plastics and synthetic fibers and cause "substantial but temporary" eye injury if it gets in your eyes. Fortunately I had found a small spray bottle stashed in my day pack that was about 15 years old but still worked quite well. While we were having this discussion a young lady day-hiker passed us in attire that provided substantial exposure to the blood sucking pests. My new hiking buddies and I looked at each other with quizzical expressions until I verbalized the thought we were all having, "We should have asked her what kind of mosquito repellant she was using!" But I suspect the breeze created by her fast pace kept the pests away (both insect and other).
Upon reaching Dingleberry I paused on a granite slab overlooking the lake to enjoy the views and have a lunchtime snack. A backpacker who I had talked to several times on the trail as we kept alternating leads joined me on the slab. He was loaded down with photography gear in addition to provisions for staying out 4 nights. One of his specialties was capturing the night time star displays when out in the wilderness far from light pollution. He showed me a couple examples of his work saved on his smartphone and they were outstanding. After volunteering to take a photo of me at the edge of the lake with my camera, he pulled a drone out of his backpack and proceeded to show me the cool video he could get as it buzzed over the lake. I had to dampen his enthusiasm by warning him that there was a sign at the trailhead stating that using or possessing a drone in the wilderness is against the law. He was a nice guy, just a little clueless fitting one of the definitions of dingleberry. I won't mention one of the other more disgusting definitions.
This hike was definitely a winner with reward vs effort being as good as any of any of the other day-hikes I've taken in the Eastern Sierras. It is a popular area so expect to see many other hikers although most of them don't get started until mid-afternoon. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
