WRIGHT MOUNTAIN FROM GOBBLERS KNOB

 On Sunday, I joined Sean and some of the San Gabriel forum members (Eispiraten.com) for the 14th anniversay hike. The goal was to hike to Wright Mountain and eat grilled cheese sandwiches on the summit. Prior to the event, some of the members decided to camp out Saturday evening at Gobblers Knob. This required a drive on a very rough dirt road 3N31, off of Lone Pine Canyon. A high clearance vehicle is highly recommended.

On Sunday morning, Jeff and I carpooled and met the others at the camp site around 8am. 

We hiked on the PCT up to Lytle Creek Ridge to the summit. 

We were above the clouds from sunrise to sunset and we had 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains. As we ascended the ridge we could see Telegraph, Thunder, Harwood, Dawson and Pine. 

Descending the trail we had gorgeous views of the high desert with Gorgonio and San Jacinto peaks in the background. At one point we could see as far as the Panamints, the Eastern Sierras and Telescope Peak.

I highly recommend this route if you have necessary means of transportation. 

Once we reached the summit, Jeff made us grilled cheese sandwiches to enjoy on the mountain. We spent about an hour just admiring the views, having great conversation and a few laughs. The weather was perfect at the top with a littlle breeze to keep us cool. 

Stats: 10 miles, 2000' gain

Madison, Dima, Sondra, David, Jeff, Sean and Elwood

a tree lover

CLOUDS REST

Last weekend I spent three days in the Eastern Sierras. I was supposed to summit Mt. Whitney but my permiit was cancelled due to the recent fires. So, I decided to hike Clouds Rest which has been on my to do list for some time. 

 I had spent Friday night in Lee Vinning at the Yosemite Gateway Motel. It was pretty decent and had views of Mono Lake. Across the street was a place to eat BBQ, a market and a sporting goods store all conveniently located near the motel. 

Saturday morning I wolke up at 4:30am and met some hiking buddies at the Tenaya Lake trailhead alka Sunriise Lakes Trail. 

We started hiking at 7am and the skies were clear of smoke that morning. This was quite a relief after spending the previous night in an area surrounded by ugly skies and smokey air.

I really admired the entire trail. I was surrounded by beautiful trees and rock formations. The hike started out flat for the first couple of miles. The toughest part of the hike is the 1000 ft gain of switchbacks if you are out of shape. After the switchbacks, the route consisted of a series of ups and downs, lots of rock stairs and a couple of flat areas to take a break. Along the trail was a beautiful lake. I finally reached the saddle where a sign was posted that indidcated 2.5 miles to the summit. 

I felt like it was more than that but probably because the path continued to steeply climb and in the distance I could see the summit which looked so far away. 

Once I reached the ominous sign leading to the top, I felt excited as I looked up at the final push to the summit. It made me so happy to see all those cool rocks that I would be climbing on. This was definitely my kind of hike.

With every step I took, I could feel the adrenaline rush. I was not scared. I admired the steep drop offs on each side of the spine and coudl not wait to get to the top. 

Filled with happiness, I soaked in the 360-degree views. Half Dome, Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan could be seen in the distance. Even though it was a bit cloudy the views were breathtaking. 

I found two benchmarks, but no register. 

I stayed there for an hour, ate my lunch and took the obligatory summit pics. I met hikers from all over the United States and had some pretty nice conversations as we all took turns taking photos for one another. 

I can't wait to go back. I would highly recommend this hike. 

Stats: 15 miles

gain: ~1800 (believe it or not it may feel like you did more than that)

SABRINA LAKE TO DINGLEBERRY LAKE

 I spent four days in Bishop during the fourth of July weekend. I wanted to do some hiigher elevation hikes since I am training for Whitney in September.. On day two, the plan was to start at Sabrina basin and hike all the way to Midnight Lake, which I hear is spectacular. I invited my friend to go with me and after having breakfast we got a late start and arrived at the trailhead around 8am. I had been here before on a portion of the trail but never made it as far as i did today. 

The entire trail was very lush and green. There were still plenty of wildflowers and quite a few that i have never seen. Anyways, I did some reasearch before hiking this path and read that this was one of the loveliest trails in Bishop. True, True, True! 

After a short distance fron the start, the trail veers off to the left and goes to Lake George. We continued straight. As we continuted our trek we spotted a huge waterfall in the distance and we were covered in shade most of the way. Switchbacks along the steeper portions of the trail helped along with the countless sections of stairs that made it a bit tiresome. 

My favorite part of the trail was a section just before Blue lake which i called rock pass. It reminded me of the Army pass on the way to Mt. Langley, It had these cool short switchbacks just before getting to the top of the ridge. 

Sabrina Lakes

Piute Crags

Blue Lake

After hiking a few more miles we passed by Emerald Lakes and a few small ponds. Once we reached the section where the trail splits we headed to the right. The trail continued to climb but and there were sections of the hike were the path was unclear. However, someone placed these huge boulders that were easy to follow towards the our next destination

Emeral Lake

First glympse of Dingleberry lake a short distance around the bend. 

I decided to have lunch here at Dingleberry lake. It was so beautiful view and we could see Mt. Darwin above us. We spent about an hour admiring the views. By this time the clouds were starting to form above Mt. Darwin. We felt some light raindrops and decided to head back. We still had 1.2 miles and another 1000 ft of elevation gain to Midnight lake. I made the decision to turn back for safety reasons of course, so I will have to return to Midnight Lake antoher time and obviously start earlier. 

Dingleberry Lake 10,500 ft

On the return, the light rain never stopped. By the time we reached Blue lake it started to lightly pour, but not too heavy. We heard very loud thunder that was pretty scary. I can only imagine if we had made it to Midnight lake. As we continued our descent a group of backpakcers were making there way up. I spoke to a few of them asking how far they were going and was concerned. Most were camping at Blue Lake. 

Overall, it was definitely a breathtaking hike. Being surrounded the enitre time by gorgeous views. I just wished we had made it towards our planned destination.