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| Hiking | 8.55 Miles |
1,073 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.55 Miles | 7 Hrs 43 Mns | | 1.24 mph |
| 1,073 ft AEG | 50 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a repeat of a hike I did on Oct 4, 2014. It is a popular hike and for good reason being one of the most scenic in the Eastern Sierra featuring many beautiful alpine lakes and only a modest elevation gain. However, the trailhead is the highest road-accessible trailhead in the Eastern Sierras at 10,250 ft, so if the beautiful scenery doesn't leave you breathless, the hike will.
I arrived at the TH parking lot at 9:10am on a Monday to find plenty of places to park with a steady flow of arriving hikers. Most hikers were friendly, and I had numerous short conversations as they passed me during my stops to take photos. I would see a trio of fly fishers several times throughout the day and stopped to watch them fishing. The most successful of the trio was a middle-aged woman. I asked how she had done when we again crossed paths late in the day. She reported that she had caught and released 22 mostly Eastern Brook but also several she called Golden-Rainbow Trout hybrids. She showed me photos of the hybrids on her smart phone - a beautiful combination of gold and rainbow colors. Her two male companions were in good spirits despite not having fared as well. 
I passed 7 lakes over the 4.3 mile hike turning around at the largest of the Gem Lakes and not climbing up to Morgan Pass as I had in 2014 because the lack of oxygen at the 10,000+ altitude was tiring me out. Each lake is a beauty with Gem Lake having the most vivid blue-green color. This hike was definitely worth doing a second time for the amazing scenery but also to see if I still had the endurance needed for this high-altitude hike 9 years later. |
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