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| Backpack | 17.51 Miles |
3,766 AEG |
| | Backpack | 17.51 Miles | 2 Days | | |
| 3,766 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This trip came together at the last possible minute and went flawlessly. Chumley told me about a trip he had planned and said I was welcome to join or go do my own thing. I gave this a lot of thought and came up with a list of places I wanted to see. I know the Eastern Sierra fairly well and I can be flexible. The week of the trip came quickly and I had some work issues come up. I couldn't commit to this trip until less than 24 hours before our departure. Everything came together and Chumley and I hit the road on Thursday around noon leaving directly from my work in uptown Phoenix. All the hours (very few) of planning were behind and we were on our way....
Chumley picked up a rental car for this and we pushed it all the way to Lone Pine where we met Scott and everyone else at a solid car camping site. It is called Upper Grays and its off the road to Onion Valley roughly five miles up. I would camp in the exact same site 33 on Saturday night. Anyways, we arrived around 9pm and said hey and got set up while enjoying a cold one. We talked about options and I said I'm heading north for Bishop. I'll stop by the BCO for a permit while the rest of the group heads for Mt Williamson. Everything was sorted out and we turned in for the night.
I woke on Friday morning and said goodbye and headed north for Bishop. It was about 40 miles and I cruised up following some very fast cars (it's a rental!!). I arrived in Bishop and picked up a free walk up permit for Sabrina Lake. I was fifth in line when they opened and several more groups arrived after me. It took about 30 minutes to get my permit and I was on my way. I headed up towards Sabrina. I am very familiar with this area. This is my fifth time returning. I arrived at Sabrina Lake and did a quick drive by and then headed back about a quarter mile to the overnight parking. I packed and finally I'm hiking...
My hike started a little before 10am and I headed in as the trail makes a steady climb. I was starting earlier than I anticipated. I decided to set a base camp by Blue Lake and then explore the upper lakes all afternoon. Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast but I'm hoping for the best. I headed in and Sabrina Lake is beautiful and was mostly full. The Sierras had a late winter with massive snow arriving in March. The trail makes a solid climb before arriving at Blue Lake a few miles in. Right as I got to Blue Lake a ranger passed by and we chatted and she checked my permit. I'm always glad to have it checked, especially since it was free. I continued on and selected an established site on the SW side of the lake. This site has a fire ring even though fires are not permitted. I will not be having a fire. I set up camp and then loaded up my day pack and I was off.
I initially returned the way I came but I detoured to the NW for the trail heading towards Midnight Lake / Hungry Packer Lake. I've been to Blue Lake before but didn't have time to explore these other lakes. I was excited to return. This is an amazing area and all of the trails are in excellent condition. I headed up and moved quickly. Along the way I had to cross a creek via a series of boulders forming a bridge. I love stuff like this as I skipped across. Surprisingly, I kept my feet dry. As I neared Midnight Lake, some dark clouds started to move in. I had a good feeling I'm in for some rain. That I don't mind. I don't like when its accompanied by lightning. I wanted to try an off trail route to Blue Heaven Lake but decided to hold off until I get a better sense on what the weather will do.
I finally arrive at Midnight Lake and took a break to eat some snacks. Midnight is a sweet little lake surrounded by massive walls. It was very picturesque. After a few minutes I decided to head for Hungry Packer. The clouds were even darker and I knew rain was close. I had to hike back roughly a half mile before detouring for Hungry Packer. A moderate rain started falling a few minutes later. I put rain gear on and kept going. A few more minutes and I hear thunder. I start to slow my pace and question if this is a good idea. I decide to keep going and a moment later there's a bright flash and the report follows a few seconds later. I stop cold in my tracks. I think it over and decided to hold tight where I am. I'm hoping the storm will pass and I can keep ascending. I take shelter in a grove of trees and I feel mostly comfortable. The trees are helping with the rain and thunder / lightning "only" hit every 3-5 minutes. Every hit is within 3-7 seconds. I sit for almost 45-60 minutes, which is a long time for me. I'm getting cold and it seems like the rain is falling harder. I decide it's in my best interest to return to camp at lower elevation.
With a solid rain and sporadic lightning I high tail it back for camp. I had about three miles to go so it took some time. I crossed back over the rock bridge and continued down. The weather look good straight ahead to the east but was still very dark & angry behind me. Over the course of the few miles the rain eased and it seemed the lightning was occurring less frequently. After an hour or so I got back to my camp and it's a light drizzle at this point and only 4pm or so. I decide to do a couple more miles and headed up for Baboon Lakes. This is another lake I haven't visited yet. The trail makes a steady climb and takes some work. You have to follow cairns near the top and you actually top out about 200 hundred feet above the lake. I have to say this view is spectacular! Baboon Lakes is a murky blueish-green and is partly surrounded by jagged peaks. I admired this view for several minutes and decided I've had my fill so I returned back to camp next to Blue Lake.
Once back at camp, it was roughly 5:30pm and I was beat so I laid down for an hour or so. There was a light drizzle and I didn't want to be in the rain. It finally stopped a little before 7pm so I got out of my tent and filtered water and started boiling water for my dinner. During this time, I'm being eaten alive by heavy mosquitoes. I brought a head net but they were still annoying. I pretty much ate dinner and climbed into my tent as night settled in. I believe it was around 8:20pm. I hung out in my tent and listened to music and read and turned in about 10pm.
I woke around 6:30am and had breakfast and thought of my options. I could head back to the upper lakes or I could bail completely and then drive over to South Lake to explore that area as a day hike. I have never hiked over there so I decided to go with that plan. I packed up and was on trail around 7:30am. The car was only four miles away so I made quick work of my exit. I was bummed I missed out on some of the harder to reach lakes like Blue Heaven and Echo Lake but I was excited to see the lakes off South Lake. I arrived back to the car around 9am and then had breakfast at the boat house and then made the drive over to South Lake.
The Sabrina Lake Basin will always be special to me! I made my first Eastern Sierras hike here six years ago and I was really excited to return. I looked at it differently this trip. After all my time in the Sierras, it's just not the same as that magical first visit. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful time and I'm glad I went. I just wish I had better weather and could have explored more. I'm not sure I'll get another chance anytime soon. I highly recommend this area, especially as a 2-3 day backpack. There is lots to explore. You won't be disappointed. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
. On to Hungry Packer 
. It's these higher lakes with the Peaks in the background that wow you 
. We took a break here and the clouds starting building. Now to decide on side trips. There is no slowing our fearless leader (LP) down. He found a use trail to Moonlight Lake better than anticipated so we went for it. It turned to rock slabs and boulders so it got harder to follow. You can kind of see where a lake might be and work your way over. Cool one. From there it was back to the main trail and then the Midnight Lake junction. Lets do it! John led the way and we were there in no time 
. The clouds were still building so we didn't stay long. We got a few drops of ice but never had to put on the rain coats. The clouds seem to like the higher lakes and we were good by the time we hit Blue Lake. A little cold for LP to swim but we filtered and got a break in. From there we cruised on back to the car and drove back to base camp. We had time to put on our Sunday best 
and head to Bishop. Kelly treated us to a nice meal 
and half a Cardinals game ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
. Good Times! 
