Did the North Lake to South Lake loop last week. Weather report was looking poor, but that just adds to the fun, right? Makes for good photos, too.
Thunder and lightning right out of the parking lot forced us to stop and camp below treeline and Piute Pass after only covering a couple miles. Dawn broke clear, and over the pass Mt. Humphreys was looking pretty good:
Still a lot of water up there - had lunch along Piute Creek:
The water is really warm everywhere - we swam in the San Joaquin, Evolution Creek, even Wanda Lake. Here's the Evolution Creek waterfalls north of the JMT as you climb up to Evolution Meadow:
Because we lost time the first day, we only made it to McClure Meadow instead of pushing on to Evolution Lake, but it was a nice sunset:
Next day we made it to the Wanda Lake outlet before the weather cut loose. Back into the tent again at 3 PM for a nap. But sundown, when the storm cleared out, it was friggin' gorgeous:
Mt. Mendel and Mt. Darwin at sunset:
Next days view, looking east from Muir Pass at Helen Lake:
Caught some cool sunrise god-beams at Dusy Basin:
And of course, the view from Bishop Pass:
Trip ended as it began, with me trudging down the road in a hailstorm to Parchers Resort to fetch the car.
Good time had by all!
Cheers,
Steve
More:
http://www.stevedunleavy.com/Landscapes/Evolution-Basin-Loop-Kings/24919598_rdvzZq