Land Of A Thousand Alpine Lakes – John Muir Wilderness, CA

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”
John Muir

Terry poses by Heart Lake on the hike

I’m a sucker for a good mountain hike and totally jive with that John Muir quote. A couple of weeks ago, when we discovered the Virginia Lakes hike in the northern section of 395 we were so ecstatic we ended up doing it twice. Those kind of walks are a balm for the soul and I remember thinking at the time that the only possible thing that could make it any better was a little snow on those mountains.

Well, guess what baby….it snowed!

Hiking by Long Lake

We’re too far away from Virginia Lakes to do it a third time (not that I wouldn’t mind you), but here in Bishop we are right next to the gorgeous John Muir Wilderness which holds its very own in eye-popping beauty and heart-stopping-lake-fabulousness. In fact in many ways, this wilderness area is even more intriguing.

High country and high rainbows -> an awesome moment!

The John Muir Wilderness is a massive 581,000 acres (2,350 km²) in size, stretches over 100 miles of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, boasts 57 peaks over 13,000 feet (4,000 m) in elevation (including the tallest peak in the lower 48 states Mt.Whitney), contains 589.5 miles (948.7 km) of hiking trails and encloses the largest contiguous area above 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in the continental United States. This is high country, very high country…with all the stunning peaks, alpine meadows and literally hundreds of lakes in between. Many would claim this is some of the prettiest mountain country around.

Long Lake in all its’ glory

I was sure we’d be able to find a good hike here…one hike to rule them all if you will, and I headed down to the ranger station to seek out the very best one. A quick chat with the local ranger revealed “nothing compares to Little Lakes” so that won the contest hands down and promised lake-after-fabulous-lake on an easy 7 mile trail with only ~650 feet of elevation gain (practically flat by Sierra standards).

Hiking back to the car along Long Lake

And a pose for the picture books

So with snow on the mountain-tops (could it be any more perfect?) and the promise of a pristine day “the pack” headed out to tackle the trail. Our chosen hike started at Mosquito Flats, not the most alluring-sounding spot, but actually a lovely trail-head at  a creek at 10,300 feet that winds leisurely up a canyon past no less than SIX gorgeous lakes to Gem Lake (you can go much further of course, but this was as far as us intrepid hikers had planned). Given its relative ease it’s a popular hike, but our early start meant we got to enjoy most of the trail to ourselves and it was, indeed, amazing! View after gorgeous view, dramatic snow-topped peaks, and crystal clear lakes with reflections ad infinitum.

Five hours and four hundred photos later we made it back to the car, totally exhausted but completely visually satiated. A great hike in an awesome spot on a perfect lovely day. Mr. John Muir, I think you were onto something….

P.S. To get to Little Lake Hike, take Hwy 395 25 miles north from Bishop, turn left at Tom’s Place and follow Rock Creek Canyon 10 miles to the parking lot. The hike to Gem Lakes is 7-miles round-trip and is 100% paw-friendly.

Snow-covered vista

Paul poses at a stream crossing

Polly checks out the trail

More gorgeous lake reflections

Yet another grand view

And one more….need I say more?

New Bed, New Digs & New Fabulous View – Bishop, CA

Paul is a happy man in our new bed & new digs…

Well what can I say. We got the new Sleep Number bladder, inflated the bed and just like that Paul found himself out of the crypt and level with the world….Yeeeehaaaa! After almost 2 weeks of sleeping in the dumps it was skip-around-the-RV-frikkin’ miraculous! I no longer have to peer into the depths to find him and I can {{gasp}} sleep through the night without rolling into a ditch. Not only that, since we’ve replaced all “moving” parts in the bed, at this point it pretty much qualifies as a brand new mattress. I still hate the darn thing, but at least there’s nothing else that can really break.

But our streak of fabulousness did not end there….

Our first sunset at Horton Creek

While in waiting mode at June Lake I had been sleuthing the internet for our next RV site. I’m always looking for those hidden gems…the out of the way super-awesome campground that no-one seems to know about…and by pure dumb luck I seem to have whatever genetic quirk is needed for finding them. After a few hours of digging, up pops Horton Creek BLM on my radar. Small out-of-the-way spot….nice. $5/night…very sexy. Surrounded by mountains…oh yes, yes. Almost zero reviews anywhere…heart-stomping perfection! This simply had to be the spot I was looking for and I zoomed over to Lu & Terry to tell them the good news. Although not nearly quite as excited as I was with my “discovery” (which may, I admit, have been partially due to my crazy eye) they acquiesced to giving it a try.

And man, did we hit the jackpot.

Our new perfect site for only $5/night

We made it out of June Lake after one of our coldest nights yet and arrived to warm temps and mountain glory at our new BLM site. Tons of space, tons of oh-so-amazing 360-degree views. To top it all off we were greeted by one of the most spectacular light-shows I’ve seen in a while, followed a day later by a night of soothing rain opening up to stunning morning views of snow on the mountain-tops (we made it out of June Lake just in time it seems. Last night 5 inches of snow dumped at the higher elevations…eeeeek!)

Evening glow on the snow-topped mountains

Total RV perfection!

We’ll be spending at least a week here exploring the area before we head down to our next location at Lone Pine. In the meantime we’ll be enjoying a level bed, a spectacular view, and friends to share it with. Does life get any better than that?

Our RV “glows” in the afternoon sun

View of Mt Tom from right in front of our campsite

Morning snow at our campground!!!

Late colors on the distant White Mountains (taken from our RV)

First Inklings Of Fall Colors – June Lake, CA

The color show is juuuust starting!

We’ve made it to the Sierra’s and the show is about to begin! The weather is crisp and bright, the lakes are brilliant blue, the mountains bold and beautiful and the aspens are about the make their grand exit in a brilliant display of yellows and orange. We are at the very edge of the change, probably a week or so away from “full color”, but I can already tell it’s going to be good.

For whatever reason the Sierra’s, and in particular Hwy 395, never seem to attract RVers the way the other fall color spots do. It’s really an odd phenomenon and I can’t quite explain why. Granted the fall display isn’t as famous and varied as what you get on the east coast, but it’s still pretty darn fabulous and there are so few people here. This totally surprised me last year, but I can’t say I’m complaining. This is absolutely the time to be here -> few other tourists, gorgeous weather and a fall show with miles of hikes in the mountains all to yourself. I mean, what’s not to like?

Lovely June Lake in the early AM

This year we’re exploring a couple of new sites which we didn’t manage to get around to in our tour last year. In particular we’re spending at least a week (possibly more) in the lovely June Lake Loop area, a horseshoe-shaped canyon nestled in-between Mono Lake and Mammoth Lakes at ~7,600 feet. Carved by glaciers in the Pleistocene Epoch, this scenic little enclave is sometimes called the “Switzerland of California” because of its juxtaposition of valley, lakes and high mountain peaks.

Hiking from June Lake Loop

The entire loop is only ~14 miles around, but manages to pack in a ton of “stuff”. It has a cute little town and resort, ski area, multiple camping spots, and 4 mountain lakes. It even manages to throw in a few “oddities”, a balanced 150-ton boulder (right in the middle of town), a reversed creek that flows back towards the mountain (interesting little geology there) and the “Tiger” bar that holds one of the State of California’s two longest standing alcoholic beverage licenses (how about that for weird trivia?). It also happens to be a hidden gem for good fall color, sporting many steep, but lovely trails lined with groups of oh-I’m-just-waiting-to-change-and-dazzle-you aspens.

We’ve got deer in our campground that come around everyday

And nice sunsets too!

We arrived a few days ago and set-up the beast next to a couple of  trailers (we are, yet again, the biggest rig in the forest) in the very scenic Oh Ridge! forest service campground (thanks Suzy & Jerry for the recommendation!). We’ve basically been lazing around the lake and hiking trails ever since, enjoying perfect fall mountain weather and the very first sprinkling of color. I’ll be taking a ton more pictures (no doubt) as the color change progresses and we’ll add-in several day-trips to new spots as well. Our buddies Lu & Terry are on their way to join us too, so we’ll be hanging some social time as well. Good friends, good weather, lots of space and the first inklings of fall color…I am SO ready for the show to begin!

Paker Lake, one of the many lovely hikes in the area

There’s a doggie beach at June Lake…yeah!!

Afternoon by June Lake beach

The very first sprinklings of fall color

Hiking Off We’ve Gone, You See…

I must excuse our lack of be
‘Coz hiking off we’ve gone, you see
Flowers bloom and mountains call
To which our inhibitions fall
We tread the path where others fly
To reach beyond the skies a-high
Though we return in body true
Our hearts stay high within the blue
(Nina Fussing, July 2011)

We'll be in the mountains when you call..

It’s not often that poetry flows out of me like that, but I just can’t help getting inspired out here in the wilds. A late spring has the ground simply bursting with wildflowers, while the gorgeous Colorado mountains provide a stunning backdrop with no end of “oooh” and “aaahh” moments.

Aspen Trees frame the mountains on Lizard Head Trail

Yup, we’ve gone a-hiking. In fact it’s been the kind of week where “let’s go for a quick walk” has turned into 4 hour hikes up and over mountains passes. This is some of the most spectacular hiking I’ve done all year and it’s just darn near impossible to stop. There’s always something to see “right over the ridge there”.

Pooch of course has been everywhere with us, bouncing and playing in the mountain meadows while my camera has been clicking almost off the hook.

Driving on a dirt road to Dunton, CO

Interestingly enough almost all our hikes have been solo. There are literally hundreds of miles of hiking trails in Lizard Head Wilderness and the surrounding San Juan and Uncompahgre Forests, but only  a few seem to be frequented. Imagine our surprise therefore to make a connection at ~11,000 feet on the mountain.

It was a Wednesday morning and having seen no-one since we started out at 8AM, we stopped to chat with the couple coming up the trail. We exchanged stories, as things go, and eventually got around to the topic of RVing

Meeting Dick & Fran on the trail

“Oh yes, I have a son who RVs around in a Casita with his wife and dog” said Dick

“Really?!” I answered “that sounds exactly like this blog I follow…”

Polly soaks in the view at ~12,000 feet

And indeed it was. In a perfect example of unexpected fate we had just met the father of Imperfect Destiny half-way up a remote mountain in the Lizard Head Wilderness. They were even staying at our campground. We ended up having drinks and dinner over the next 2 days, getting to know yet another great couple on the road.

So yes, we’ve been out hiking..and driving…and exploring…and soaking our senses with all the colorful richness of the mountains. And it turns out we’ve met some people too. Don’t you just love those moments?

Coming next: 7 Links and another great campground review…

Columbines color the ground at Kilpacker Trail

Paul poses in the meadow in front of Lizard Head Mountain

View from the top of the world...

Early morning sun

Color in the meadow

Paul and Polly pose in the wildflowers

On the trail

Just another beautiful day...

Where No Signal Has Gone Before – Lizard Head Wilderness, CO

Hiking at 10,000 feet in the Lizard Head Wilderness

I’m blogging from the comfort of a cozy mountain café. Thanks to the wonder of free WiFi we are as yet connected, despite having gone where no signal has gone before. Yes, we’ve taken “the beast” into deep forest and are making attempts at contact with the local life-forms at ~9,000 feet and beyond. In technical terms that means: 

No internet
No phone
No satellite signal
No local TV stations
Not…even…a…single…radio…station

{{gasp}}

White dew and morning chill

I hear your astonishment and feel it too, but fear not. This does not mean we are without adventure. In fact we’ve had what you might call an “incident”, or one of those “you’ll find it funny later” stories. Once we’ve recovered and our mutual horror has subsided we’ll relate the entire debacle on the blog. In the meantime I’ll leave you with blissful pictures of high mountain scenes artfully arranged to give you the lulling impression that all is soft and fluffy in the world. And so it is…for now, anyway….

Out where signals do not go...

Early morning splendor in the mountains