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Chocolate Lakes - 2 members in 5 triplogs have rated this an average 5 ( 1 to 5 best )
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Sep 28 2023
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 Guides 9
 Routes 473
 Photos 8,433
 Triplogs 626

79 male
 Joined Dec 07 2010
 Phoenix, AZ
Chocolate Lakes Loop, CA 
Chocolate Lakes Loop, CA
 
Hiking avatar Sep 28 2023
Oregon_HikerTriplogs 626
Hiking7.40 Miles 1,722 AEG
Hiking7.40 Miles   8 Hrs   45 Mns   1.10 mph
1,722 ft AEG   2 Hrs   3 Mns Break
 
1st trip
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This hike starts at the South Lake/Bishop Pass Trailhead at the north end of South Lake. There are great views of South Lake along the first mile of the trail. South Lake is a reservoir which provides water to a power plant on Bishop Creek. On several occasions during previous visits over the years since 2014 the water level was low. This year the lake was nearly full providing for some great scenic photos. At 2 miles from the trailhead, the Bishop Pass Trail intersects with the trail to Chocolate Lakes. The Chocolate Lakes Trail makes a loop around Chocolate Peak passing five lakes including the three Chocolate Lakes then reconnects with the Bishop Pass Trail at about 3 miles up that trail from the trailhead. I chose to take the loop counterclockwise at the advice of a couple backpackers because I'd be going downhill on the steepest sections of this trail.

The lake views along this hike are amazing like so many of the Eastern Sierra hikes. Chocolate lakes take their name from nearby Chocolate Peak which is the color of chocolate. It was probably the most exhausting hike of the six hikes I'd taken on this 3 week journey through the Oregon Cascades and the California Eastern Sierras because it reached the highest elevation at 11,358 ft. But, it was well worth the effort.

I had planned to go on three more hikes over the next four days in the North Lake, South Lake and Sabrina Lake areas before starting the drive back to Phoenix. But several hikers over the last three days had warned me that a cold front would be moving in late Saturday with snow at the elevations of my planned hikes. That was two days away so the next day, Friday, I drove far enough out of the mountains to get internet connection and checked the weather forecast. Their warning had been correct. I called my wife to tell her I would be coming home 4 days early but she suggested I go visit my son and his wife who live in San Luis Obispo. Evidently she wasn't ready for me to come home yet. So after a quick call to my son I returned to camp at North Lake to pack and started the 7 hour drive to San Luis Obispo arriving in time to enjoy a home barbequed steak dinner. :DANCE: Lesson learned, one should always have a backup plan (or two) on such adventures.
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Jul 21 2018
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 Guides 6
 Routes 183
 Photos 5,612
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male
 Joined Mar 12 2004
 Scottsdale, AZ
Bishop Pass Trail - South LakeSierra Nevada, CA
Sierra Nevada, CA
Hiking avatar Jul 21 2018
John9LTriplogs 1,647
Hiking11.29 Miles 2,627 AEG
Hiking11.29 Miles   5 Hrs   4 Mns   2.42 mph
2,627 ft AEG      24 Mns Break
 
1st trip
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On the second day of my long weekend getaway I headed over to South Lake with my sights on the Bishop Pass area. I started my day camping at Blue Lake. I packed up my gear and started making my way down around 7:30am. I cruised down and passed by Sabrina Lake and was back to the overnight parking lot around mid morning. I loaded up and headed over to the boat house where I enjoyed an omelette and ice tea. After that, I drove over to South Lake and found the area very busy. I ended up parking about a half mile away by Weir Lake. Note to backpackers, you have to park very far away at just over a mile. No shame in hitchhiking.

It was roughly 10am and rain and thunderstorms are in the afternoon forecast. I would like to be done around 3pm so I headed in and set a respectable pace. The trail heads south as it climbs & passes the east shoreline of South Lake. This is another impressive lake that is dammed on the north end. I continued up and came to a junction with Chocolate Lake. I decided to detour to this lake & this turned out to be really fun! The route passes a handful of lakes starting with Bull Lake, then Chocolate Lake and finally Ruwae Lake on it's way back to the main trail by Long Lake. The descent to Ruwae Lake was truly magnificent! It was a bit rugged with route finding and very scenic.

Once back on the main trail, I continued up & passed Spearhead Lake, Timberline Lake, Saddlerock Lake and finally my turnaround at Bishop Lake. This stretch of trail is very special! The lakes are breathtaking and the geology has crazy colors that include reds and browns. It's quite the contrast to your mostly white granite. I was in awe up here! I took a break at Bishop Lake and filtered water. It was early afternoon and the clouds were starting to darken. I knew I would have to race rain back to the car so I started my return soon after.

My return went well. It was nice heading back and looking down on several lakes. I took a variety of pics and passed several backpackers on their way in. This is a busy area! I continued down and heard thunder in the distance. I got back to the main parking and a light rain started to fall. I finished the last half mile back to the rental as the rain picked up. I loaded up and headed down the hill as it poured and lightning flashed. I timed it just perfectly!

This is a spectacular area and I'm really glad I got a good taste for it. The lakes are unreal and the area is surrounded by peaks topping out at 14K! For the future, I want to hike the North Lake / JMT Evolution / South Lake loop. This will complete a major loop along the JMT I've been thinking about for several years. The Sierras are pretty okay.
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  1 archive
Sep 12 2016
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 Guides 10
 Routes 673
 Photos 7,281
 Triplogs 4,660

67 female
 Joined Nov 17 2008
 phoenix, az
Chocolate Lakes & Treasure Lakes, CA 
Chocolate Lakes & Treasure Lakes, CA
 
Hiking avatar Sep 12 2016
trekkin_geckoTriplogs 4,660
Hiking11.97 Miles 3,076 AEG
Hiking11.97 Miles   6 Hrs   22 Mns   2.42 mph
3,076 ft AEG   1 Hour   25 Mns Break
 
1st trip
Partners partners
johnlp
Tortoise_Hiker
our third hike started from south lake, giving us a representative hike from each trailhead
we originally planned to go up to bishop pass and find the overlook into dusy basin
it was so windy monday morning that we got to long lake and executed another plan b, putting together two alternative hikes in denny's book: the chocolate lakes loop and an out and back to treasure lakes
every hike from north lake, sabrina lake and south lake goes up at a pretty good grade, and bishop pass trail was no exception
two miles and 1200 feet to scenic long lake, which the trail then followed
just short of three miles, we made the call to take the trail to ruwau lake, as clouds were racing by on bishop pass
a good ascent to the lake, where we took a short break
found the cairned use trail up and over a saddle to the first chocolate lake
a chain of three, and a nice basin before dropping to bull lake
we rejoined bishop pass trail and went back north, taking a little extra credit hike up to marie louise lakes
no one else there as we had some lunch
returned to the treasure lakes turnoff and discovered there was more elevation gain in store
descended to cross several drainages into south lake, then climbed several hundred feet to treasure lakes
well worth it, as this was a beautiful area
spent some time here for photos and snacks
headed back to bishop pass trail, enjoying good views of south lake and plenty of running creeks along the way
had originally planned to camp another night, but revised that to head home after the hike
done hiking at 2:00 p.m.
denny treated us to burgers at appleby's halfway home while we caught a little monday night football
back to the valley at 1:00 a.m.
nice bit of driving, denny :) thank you
three very different hikes from different trailheads, all within ten miles or so
enough we didn't do that could fill another trip
thanks to john for setting the pace and doing the off trail route finding, and to denny for doing all the research from his sierra book
since i was the only one who could read the fine print, i was map-reader and gps route-keeper
a great time with the boys :y:
what's next?
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hazhole
  2 archives
Sep 12 2016
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 Guides 1
 Routes 148
 Photos 9,924
 Triplogs 3,652

63 male
 Joined Apr 02 2005
 Mesa, AZ
Chocolate Lakes & Treasure Lakes, CA 
Chocolate Lakes & Treasure Lakes, CA
 
Hiking avatar Sep 12 2016
Tortoise_HikerTriplogs 3,652
Hiking11.97 Miles 3,076 AEG
Hiking11.97 Miles   6 Hrs   22 Mns   1.88 mph
3,076 ft AEG
 no routes
1st trip
Partners partners
johnlp
trekkin_gecko
This was our third day of hiking. Due to the accurate high wind advisory we chose a plan B hike again. We took two shorter hikes and added them together. They were rated 6&7 for scenery and 6&7 for solitude. Put them together and throw in a bonus lake and the hike should be at least a solid 8. A little cooler today but two layers seem to do the trick.
We started at South Lake with a steady climb for the first mile or so. We planned on hiking to the second Chocolate Lake turn off and then make a decision. We decided there to not do Bishop Pass. This is were Long Lake is. I think this was my favorite lake of the day. You had the long lake with lots of grasses and the Peaks in the background 8) . From there you take the trail to Ruwau Lake. From there you have to find a use trail to take over to Chocolate Lakes. Once John found the trail it was easy to follow. I thought Ruwau was nicer then the Chocolate Lakes but still all good. From there you hit Bull Lake then back to the main trail. Bull Lake had a good view of Chocolate Mountain. On they way back Kelly said we might as well hit Marie Louise lake too. She said it was only half a mile out. :roll: ;) Seemed longer :) . The trout taunted John and he almost went in after them. From there it was back to decide if we wanted to do Treasure Lakes. It's only 2.2 miles each way, what the heck. This was a cool area and had some nice creeks running. We didn't realize it was going to be as much climb as it was. It was worth it. Very nice. Took a nice break here and soaked it all in. From there John got his second or 3rd or ? wind and we were off. Our fastest two miles of the weekend were our last :o :lol: . Another great day hiking with these two. 12 hours with a stop for a burger and we would all be home safe and sound dreaming of next years trip. A big thanks to John and Kelly for making this another great trip. Like HAZ they Rock!! :y:
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Tortoise Hiking. Stop and smell the Petrichor.
  2 archives
Sep 12 2016
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 Guides 1
 Routes 14
 Photos 7,202
 Triplogs 5,208

68 male
 Joined Mar 16 2008
 chandler,az
Chocolate Lakes & Treasure Lakes, CA 
Chocolate Lakes & Treasure Lakes, CA
 
Hiking avatar Sep 12 2016
johnlpTriplogs 5,208
Hiking11.97 Miles 3,076 AEG
Hiking11.97 Miles   6 Hrs   22 Mns   2.42 mph
3,076 ft AEG   1 Hour   25 Mns Break
 no routes
1st trip
Partners partners
Tortoise_Hiker
trekkin_gecko
We started this hike from South Lake. The trailhead is before the bridge crossing the creek. We had a little trouble finding it.

Our hike went up to Long Lake, then to Ruwau Lake, then Chocolate Lakes and Bull Lake. Back to the main trail then over to Treasure Lakes, and back down to South Lake.

Another awesome day in beautiful surroundings. Kelly and Denny are always great company. Fun trip. Hard not to come back to the Sierras next year... :)
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“Good people drink good beer.” Hunter S Thompson
 
average hiking speed 2.05 mph

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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