High Sierra Trail Day 4: Moraine Lake to Kern Hot Spring
Moraine Lake Morning View

High Sierra Trail Day 4: Moraine Lake to Kern Hot Spring

Today was a planned half-day of hiking, about seven miles down down down into Kern Canyon towards the Kern Hot Spring. The Kern river is a nice place to relax and fish, so we were looking forward to our afternoon off and started off the morning at a leisurely pace. I think we were the last ones to leave Moraine Lake. The one big concern about the day was rattlesnakes. It’s not common to find rattlers up high, but the trail would take us down to about 6500 feet while passing through a rattlesnake’s paradise. Several years ago the area burned, and now the trail is lined and overgrown with shady ferns that a rattlesnake would just love to nap under.
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High Sierra Trail Day 1: Wolverton to 9-Mile Creek
Great Western Divide from Panther Gap

High Sierra Trail Day 1: Wolverton to 9-Mile Creek

One of the biggest headaches when planning a longer hike is figuring out the car/parking/shuttle arrangements. Generally, these kind of hikes start and end hundreds of miles apart and it can be a nightmare arranging transportation. The High Sierra Trail is no exception. With the beginning and ending trailheads on opposite sides of a mountain range with no through roads, shuttling between the two is 10x the distance of the hike itself. We were prepared for this and had scheduled shuttle days, and although we weren’t looking forward to that part, we accepted it as a necessary evil in order to have the best trail experience possible.

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Tuolumne to Agnew Meadows, Day 3: Thousand Island Lake to Shadow Creek

Tuolumne to Agnew Meadows, Day 3: Thousand Island Lake to Shadow Creek

Banner Peak reflecting in 1000 Island Lake
Banner Peak reflecting in 1000 Island Lake

We had an easy day ahead of us on Day 3, so we took our time packing up in the morning. Pavla went for a swim, I wandered around with my camera looking for wildflowers, and David fished a bit. I think we hit the trail around 10 am and headed south along the JMT towards Shadow Creek. When I went through here in 2007 I was flying and barely noticed how amazing this stretch is. Ruby lake is a stunning deep turquoise color, Garnet Lake has a million little things that make it unique and different, and the wildflowers were just popping.
Once at Shadow Creek we left the JMT and headed up the Lake Ediza trail. The plan was to find a campsite somewhere in the area and stay for two nights, dayhiking some of the less popular lakes in the area. We found a nice legal site just before Lake Ediza where we could have campfires (so we could cook any fish we caught!), and set up.

After setting up, resting, and eating, we decided to dayhike up to Cabin Lake, which is a bit off the beaten track. It was stocked with golden trout in 2000 and David wanted to see if there were any left. Rumor had it there was an unmarked trail heading up to the lake, but we couldn’t find it on the way up. A bit of bushwhacking, scrambling around rock, and persistence finally got us to Cabin Lake. Of course, once we were there we saw the use trail. Figures.

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Tuolumne to Agnew Meadows, Day 1: Lyell Canyon

Tuolumne to Agnew Meadows, Day 1: Lyell Canyon

Lyell Canyon Reflections
Lyell Canyon Reflections

One of my goals for this summer’s backpacking trips is to get back to some of my favorite stretches of the John Muir Trail. I have two longer trips planned, and the first trip back was a five day stroll last week from Tuolumne Meadows to Agnew Meadows. The purpose wasn’t just to hike the John Muir Trail again – rather it was to take time to fish, relax, explore off-trail, and just enjoy the amazing surroundings. When I did the JMT I flew through this stretch in about 48 hours, so it was good to see it at a slower pace!
We drove out towards Mammoth on Wednesday night and crashed at the Glass Creek campground around midnight (less than a mile off of 395, it’s not perfect but it’s free and easy to get to in the dark). Alarms went off about 5:15 and we were quickly on our way to Mammoth to catch the 7 am YARTS bus after dropping a car at the Inn. At $8 a ticket for the one-way to Tuolumne, YARTS is a bargain.

We were in Tuolumne by 9 am and waited (and waited) in line for our permits. A group of 14 was hogging all the rangers’ time since they had come completely unprepared without a permit reservation and expected to get a walk-up for one of the most popular trailheads that day. Um, no. About an hour later I finally had my (reserved) permit in hand and we started up Lyell Canyon by 10:30.
Lyell Canyon is a perfect way to ease into a hike at altitude. For 8 miles it follows a flat and open canyon along the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. It is enjoyable and hardly strenuous. Hiking  the JMT through Lyell will eventually take you to Donohue Pass and out of Yosemite (into Ansel Adams Wilderness). It is about a 2500 foot climb to Donohue Pass from the canyon, and the beginning of the climb seems that much harder because you’ve been lulled into a sense of comfort and ease during those eight flat miles.

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Buck Island Lake Has No Fish

Buck Island Lake Has No Fish

Falls by Buck Island Lake

Falls by Buck Island Lake


After spending 30+ hours of the last month on a plane, I wanted to do an overnight backpack trip with minimal fuss and maximum relaxation. I wanted to go somewhere with a relatively easy hike, nice scenery, fishing, campfires, and swimming. I also wanted flexibility in the number of people and time, so I didn’t want to go anywhere requiring a complicated permit.
The destination was Buck Island Lake in El Dorado National Forest. Buck Island Lake sits along the trail just outside the Desolation Wilderness boundary, keeping it free from the Wilderness’s permit and other restrictions. The downside is that the Rubicon 4×4 trail runs along the other side of the lake. To be honest, that is one of the reasons I chose this lake – we had a potentially large group of people going on this trip, and I didn’t want to be ‘that group’ that disturbs the wilderness experience of others. I figured that no one camped at the same lake as the Rubicon folks would be expecting a peaceful night in the wilderness and I wouldn’t feel guilty if we stayed up a bit late chatting and laughing around the campfire.

The hike to Buck Island Lake is very easy – about 6 miles with 600 ft of elevation gain. The second half is on an exposed old road and covered in ankle-rolling rock, so I spent more time watching my feet than the view. It was a hot weekend, too, so the exposure was a bit annoying. When we got to the lake I was eager to jump in, and thankfully it was a perfect temperature for a swim.

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