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| Kearsarge Pass Trail to Flower Lake, CA | |
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| | Kearsarge Pass Trail to Flower Lake, CA | | | |
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Kearsarge Pass Trail to Flower Lake, CA
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| Hiking | 6.39 Miles |
1,400 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.39 Miles | 6 Hrs 22 Mns | | 1.08 mph |
| 1,400 ft AEG | 27 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a day hike from Onion Valley up the Kearsarge Pass Trail to Flower Lake. I set up my basecamp at the Upper Grays Meadow CG and drove to the Onion Valley TH in the early morning for the hike. This CG has a few first-come-first serve campsites with the remainder being reservation only. I quickly found a FF site that met my needs with many sites open on a weekday this late in the season. The campground at the Onion Valley trailhead was no longer taking reservations but was open for FF camping. I chose not to camp there preferring the milder night-time temperatures at the much lower Grays Meadow CG. The Grays Meadow CGs also have piped water while the Onion Vally CG does not.
The drive up to Onion Valley on the paved road is a scenic treat with switchbacks climbing 3350 ft from Grays Meadow. I reached the TH parking lot at 8:30am and talked to a couple of deer hunters who were packing up to leave after an unsuccessful multiday hunt in the area. As I headed up the trail, I looked down on the parking lot to see the hunters just leaving while several deer scampered around about 100 yards from the parking lot. One was a nice sized buck.
This would be my third hike up this trail, the first being on Oct 8, 2014, all the way to Kearsarge Pass. [ photoset ] I keep coming back because of the beautiful scenery. However, I've found that after 10 years I no longer have the stamina for the 8+ mile round trip, 2700ft AEG hike to the 11,700 ft high pass. This time I hiked to Gilbert and Flower Lakes, approximately halfway to the pass, and perhaps the most beautiful of the lakes on this route. |
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