We started at the Cathedral Lakes trailhead in the serene Tuolumne Meadows.
At an elevation of about 8850' the small, unmarked trail to Budd Lake and Cathedral Peak, splits east from the Cathedral Lakes trail, which is part of the John Muir Trail.
Mary ascends delightful slabs about a mile above the split.
Higher still views of Unicorn Peak (left) and the Cockscomb (distant right) appear.
We followed the climber's approach trail to Cathedral Peak, missing the faint turnoff to Budd Lake which is at an elevation of around 9520'. We realized our mistake fairly quickly but instead of backtracking we decided to make a cross country loop of it.
Mary cruises along while gazing at stunning Cathedral Peak.
On the cross country route.
Lots of pics of Cathedral.
At Budd Lake
Mary poses at Budd Lake with Echo Peaks rising behind (far right).
The Budd Lake trail follows delightful Budd Creek for nearly its entirety.
We made another stop on our way down for the fine views.
Mary heads down the granite path back to the trailhead.
Outstanding day!
We felt like we had the place to ourselves seeing no one until the last hour of our nearly five hour outing. It seemed as though we were a little early in the season for flowers, but not for the mosquitos! The buzzing bloodsuckers weren't bad while moving but were moderately annoying when we stopped for any length of time.
This is a wonderful, moderate hike. Off the beaten track but incredibly scenic.
