Classic Western Campsite at Gladys Lake

Thousand Island Lake in the Early AM Light
Slow disorganized start for us, bit tired after long climb up Donahue, and Justin and Patty aren't in any hurry either so we don't get going until 9:30.

We pass Garnet Lake on the way but it looks like Thousand Island Lake, are we going around in circles? It's also very pretty, we cross a footbridge at the outlet and then can't find the trail, does it go down a huge rock right beside the bridge or around the lake, Guthook soon sorts that one out for us.
Elena Getting Her Early Morning Bath

There's a long downhill down a small canyon where we find a nice spot to sit for a snack for a bit, a large group of older women hikers pass by as we rest in the sun.

We do a couple of small climbs before the trail noses downhill along a raging stream that cascades down a steep slope towards Shadow Lake, the trail diverts for a bit around a hill where we lose the stream and the sound of rushing water.
There's a nice little beach at Shadow Lake for
Snow Melt Feeding This Beautiful Lake

Afternoon Dip in Garnet Lake

Garnet Lake in the Afternoon Light

Our Classic Campsite By Garnet Lake
lunch and I take a nap while Elena swims in the "bit chilly for me" water. We can hear the water rushing into the lake but can't see the stream anymore

Then it's some switchbacks up towards Rosalie Lake, one passing hikers calls them ugly as we leave the lake, but they don't seem too bad to us, Rosalie Lake looks like a popular spot to stop for the night, there are lotsa campsites and lotsa campers, looks a bit crowded to us so we push on.

The next lake is Gladys and it takes about 45 minutes to get there uphill late in the afternoon, it turns out to be a great spot and there's no one else there for the moment.

We find an almost classic western campsite nestled in the pines close to the lake, the spot has a fire ring and the wood supply looks good so we'll have a toasty night.

The water is not too cold so I can actually swim, it's incredibly refreshing, especially after you get out of the water, and I resolve to try and swim more often, especially in the section coming up after we leave MTR where they'll be no laundry or hot water for almost 2 weeks.

After swim and some tea, we climb up on nearby rocks, there are amazing views for 360 degrees, including out over a side valley that rolls away into the distance.

We gather a nice bunch of firewood and get a great blaze going to see in the evening, great way to end the day.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Resupply and Small Party at Woods Creek Junction

Image
Trail Maintenance Crew Near Pinchot Pass First poop since being sick, bit of a struggle and not much shelter in this area, it's high and there aren't a lotta trees, the trail is always in sight. It's only a short jaunt up to Pinchot Pass, on the way up we pass a trail maintenance crew reinforcing a part of the trail, one of the workers is maneuvering a huge rock down onto the trail, it looks a bit scary, can't help thinking the thing is gonna roll down on top of the other workers. On top and there are a couple of hikers there, an English lady who turns out to be a writer, and young guy who calls himself Jojo, she asks about Trump and mentions that she hiked for a while with a guy who was a Trump supporter and how odd she found it that someone could be out in all this beauty and support Trump, knowing some of the hikers back in the DC area I wasn't so surprised. Jojo and I have a discussion about Fascism, what it is and how to fight it. Switchbacks on
Read more

Long Climb with Heavy Packs Over Glenn Pass to Vidette Meadows

Image
Finn Dome Reflecting Off Rae Lake Up early to catch Blake and get the spare fuel canister, meanwhile Sarah boils water for us for morning coffee. Blake shows up early too, guess he's keen to back to civilization after a few days in the mountains, the fuel canister is about 3/4 full, should be enough to get us through to the end. It's gonna be a long day, 9 miles and 3500' up Glenn Pass, nice to get an early start, we leave about 8:30 am, Sarah as usual lingers around the campsite. One of the highlights of the day will be the Rae Lakes complex, not too far from the pass, we hear along the bush telegraph how beautiful they are and they don't disappoint, there are some Asian fisherman trying their luck at the first one and we see a big rock formation towering over the lake, the fishermen tell us it's Fin Dome. Beginning to chafe a bit, undies have got too much salt in them so off they come and use Gold Bond medicated to try and keep it down, my experience in
Read more

Tough Day Over Forester Pass, Highest Pass on JMT

Image
Stream Gurgling Down Off Forester Pass Gonna be a tough day, another long climb making 2 days in a row, even though only 8.6 miles, so we're up and out relatively early. It's 6.8 miles up to the pass and it starts off relatively easy and get's steeper as we go up. We can see that the trail is getting ready to pop outa the trees and get steeper so stop for 15 minutes to calorie up with a car for 15 minutes before attempting. It's steeper and winds around and I'm already feeling tired, we pass a couple stopped to rest trailside, we'll see them again a few times. The trail twists and turns around small peaks on the way up, then we're suddenly at the bottom of a large snow bank, we can see tracks leading up in the snow and also some off to the side, the treadway on the bank looks kinda tricky to me so off to the side and stay on a bit of slope, one foot on the dirt and one on the snow bank, makes it a little easier. Majestic Views On the Way Up to F
Read more