Back to Where it All Started
This trail starts out west of Big Pine and happens to be my very first trail in this mountain range and very first backpacking experience when I was a field biology intern in 1999. That week I would be working for Fish and Game and it became clear from the start that I was completely unprepared for the altitude, the weight of my pack and the ridiculous swarm of mosquitoes we would be feeding. This trail seriously kicked my butt.
Almost every summer since 1999 I've returned to the Eastern Sierra to camp and play at places I used to work and any pretty places in between. It took me 13 years to come back to this trail though.
And years later it still kicks my butt...
Almost every summer since 1999 I've returned to the Eastern Sierra to camp and play at places I used to work and any pretty places in between. It took me 13 years to come back to this trail though.
And years later it still kicks my butt...
Day 1: Glacier Lodge parking to Third Lake
Day 2: Third Lake to The Palisade Glacier
And we're here!!
Botanical Geek-out Moment!!
The picture below was taken on the ridge above the glacier. These Polemonium eximium (genus is Latin for "out of the ordinary") were blooming alongside the white flowers at 12,380 ft. They only grow at high altitude...super high altitude. The common name is "Sky Pilot" which (per Sierra Nevada Wildflowers by K. Wiese) "is a nickname for a person who leads others to heaven." Makes perfect sense to me!
Overview of the Area
And then there was fishing...
Not much action at Third Lake but plenty of action everywhere else.
Day 3: Hike Out
Epilogue
It was good to come back. It was good to show Greg.
But really I don't think I ever left.
But really I don't think I ever left.