Highly recommended if you are ever there!
Julie and Bob's Sierra trip 2005
We landed in Reno, rented a car, and drove to Bishop. Our last real meal was a Walker-Burger in Walker, CA
Highly recommended if you are ever there!
Here
we are at the start, at North Lake (around 9,400 feet) . . .
and on the trail up to Piute pass.
Our first campsite, Piute lake area, above Loch Leven, about 11,000 ft:
on a small pond with a waterfall.
Cooking breakfast . . .
Packed up and ready to go the next day.
Upper Piute Lake - see the house? Just below the pass.
On the trail again, taking a break . . .
Looking back along the Piute Lakes to Owens valley from near Piute Pass.
Summit Lake, over Piute Pass, in Humphreys Basin.
Our second campsite, at Mesa Lake, high in Humphreys Basin (about 11,200 feet):
On the trail the next day above Mesa Lake, we headed cross country over Puppet
Pass . . .
The descent from Puppet Pass - a steep talus slope.
Our third campsite on Lorraine Lake in Puppet Basin (about 11,400 feet). We were getting some snow flurries as we made camp, but then it mostly cleared and became cold and windy.
The next day we descended this slope to Elba Lake
Looking from Elba Lake across French Canyon towards Pine Creek Pass. We
went up the pass . . .
And here we are on top - this is the view looking back (south) from Pine Creek
Pass.
Here are several different views of Triple Falls (taken on different days):
It comes into the middle of French Canyon. The first picture of this
series is taken from Elba Lake, the second on the descent into French Canyon,
and the others from French Canyon.
On the trail down Pine Creek Canyon towards Honeymoon Lake.
Honeymoon Lake as seen from the trail above.
Our third night at Honeymoon Lake (around 10,600 feet):
The view across the Lake towards Italy Pass.
A bad hair day (weren't they all) . . .
The fourth day we went back over Pine Creek Pass and into lower French Canyon. We camped by the Creek near where Triple Falls comes in (our lowest campsite, about 10,200 feet):
We took a day hike the next day up to Merriam Lake . . .
Now where the heck are we . . . ?
Several views of Merriam Lake:
The cleft in the first picture is the way to the LaSalle Lakes. This is
where we went. Here are the La Salle Lakes with Feather Peak and Feather
Pass towering above:
Feather Pass is over 12,000 feet. We didn't make it up there this trip.
The descent from LaSalle Basin back to to Merriam Lake:
I made it!
The beautiful meadow below Merriam Lake
and the view from the meadow. Julie contemplates terrain we have just done.
Looking back towards Puppet Pass.
Drying out camp after a cold night . . .
got almost all that stuff in there . . .
and on the trail - down to Hutchinsons Meadow, and back up to Puite Pass - a
long climb. This is the only time in our hike (except coming in and out)
that we dropped below 10,000 feet.
Our last campsite, just below Piute Pass on the highest lake, about 11,200 feet:
at the end, tired but happy (and a few pounds lighter, too!).