George Lake and Table Mountain

Sticking with the theme of unpopular trails from popular trailheads, I hiked up the George Lake trail from Lake Sabrina. Most folks head up to Blue Lake and beyond. For good reason. The scenery up there is spectacular (https://eastsidescott.blogspot.com/2016/09/trail-trot-to-blue-lake.html), but I was hoping to avoid the crowds and knew George Lake was plenty pretty too.

Left the car at 6:15. Loved the early start.

The clear, cool air was perfect for humping it up the steep trail to George Lake. 

I was feeling good, so I continued up the trail toward Table Mountain. Looking back down to George.

After another steep section of trail I emerged onto the huge plateau that is Table Mountain. To the east are the Inconsolables.

  
Northward to the Bishop skyline peaks. Emerson, Humphreys, Basin and Tom.

The sand here was perfect. As though it had been raked smooth.

There were sweet flowers in spots too.

Back down at George Lake I stopped for a snack and the views.

Took a short detour to Little George Lake and did a little skinny dipping. Felt like $$$$!

Above for the pounding descent back to Sabrina.

The end of the line. Lake Sabrina.

Saw no one on the George Lake trail, a few backpackers at George Lake itself, several groups on the main trail above Sabrina, most but not all practicing good protocol.

Flowers are still brilliant along creeks and in meadows and there were next to nill mosquitos. Ideal!

Golden Dragon Lakes

For yesterday's adventure we started from a popular trailhead, but headed up a not so popular trail.

From the Onion Valley trailhead we hiked the Golden Trout Lake trail, but instead of going to Golden Trout Lake, we instead went to the fine lakes near the foot of Dragon Peak.  We crossed paths with a intrepid friend who referred to the lakes as "Golden Dragon Lakes."  Works for me!

Where there's water there's flowers.

The trail is steep, rugged, faint and easy to miss in several spots.

At this pleasant meadow we veered northeast towards the "Golden Dragon" Lakes while the trail to Golden Trout Lakes heads west.

These little meadow sections provided a welcome respite from the steep rocky path.

Lower "Golden Dragon" Lake, with Dragon Peak center right and Dragon Tooth far right.

Upper "Golden Dragon" Lake with Dragon Tooth center.

The mid section of this hike is straight up gnarly.

A large rock slide obliterated the old trail forcing an excursion into the bush.

Dramatic scenery all the way down.

With a gain of 2400' in 2.4 miles this is no doubt a tough one. The route finding can be difficult in spots too. Keeps the crowds down!

Dog Lake

The local trails are as crowded as ever but Yosemite is a different story. The National Park instituted a quota system with day passes required to enter the park, so while there are still plenty of people, the crowds are definitely thinner than you'd normally find mid summer.

Neither Mary nor I were feeling especially ambitious so we decided to head up to Dog Lake from Tuolumne Meadows.

Cathedral Peak rises above the meadows near the start of our journey.

Mary saunters over smooth granite with Lembert Dome behind her.

A mellow hike leads up to Dog Lake which reminds me more of Montana than the Sierra.

With time and energy aplenty we hiked around the lake and found nothing but great scenery and solitude.

 We looped it on the way back by hiking up Lembert Dome. Looking north.

Fun hiking on the dome.

Heading down. We saw a lot of wildlife including two tiny fawns nursing.

After returning to the car we decided to check out the nearby Tuolumne River

We even took a dip! Felt like a million dollars.
It was a particularly fine day in "The Park."

Trailer Camping Up North

With a brutal heat wave underway I decided to get out of Bishop and head north to higher ground. My first stop was at my friend Reed's camp site near the top of Sherwin Grade. He has managed to find a quiet shady spot not far from the highway.

I spent a couple of days there going for short rides and hikes each day.

This is the wild and rugged stretch of the upper Owens River Gorge.

 Twilight views east to Casa Diablo and the White Mountains.

The nearby Sierra.

The northern end of Wheeler Ridge with Witcher Canyon cleaving upward. 

 Tuff and plumes.

Tuff windows.

Wheeler Crest and sage flats

Next up I met Mary and friends to camp up in Lundy Canyon. The followins morning Mary and I hiked from the Virginia Lakes area up and around the north side of Dunderberg on the Kavanaugh Ridge jeep trail.

I also had the pleasure of hiking up the Oneida Lake trail.

Lots of old mining ruins and machinery up there.

The dam at the outlet to Oneida Lake

Mining/milling machinery

The down valley view

There are several pleasant meadows below Oneida Lake

The trail affords big views of Lundy Canyon in its lower sections.

Temps were still pretty warm in the afternoon but nothing like in Bishop. Campgrounds and trails were busy. Nice getaway!