Running Motto for the Trip: “I do love this granite” said by Brad, about a dozen times 😀
Note: This is a fairly high elevation, and we were dragging ass right from the beginning.
Ten Lakes via White Wolf Hike Itinerary:
We left work early on Friday to try and get a jump on the traffic up to Yosemite. It still took about four hours. I really think that hiking trails have been more crowded than usual due to Covid-19, because peeps are just desperate for some sort of fresh air and outdoor activity. One quick note, we spent the evening at White Wolf trailhead, and this place has the best restrooms we have come across. They were super clean, warm, and fully stocked with hand sanitizer. Well done rangers!
Pristine Grant LakeGolden meadow I’m coming for ya!
This was a beautiful hike. We particularly loved the sweeping views of the turquoise high sierra lakes, the wildlife, our campsite on a granite plateau overlooking the valley and the magical sunsets.
Second Yosemite Trip of the Year!Break time to take in the views of Ten Lakes!
A Gorgeous Campsite and a Magenta Sunset
We saw quite a few people at Ten Lakes, so we decided to branch off and find one of the smaller lakes in the hopes of finding a secluded campsite. On our way, we saw the cutest like marmoset sunning on a rock then playfully scrambing from rock to rock, following us along our hike. We also saw a stag amongst the pines, who wasn’t at all alarmed to see us, which I love. We originally set up our tent overlooking Grant Lake, but then found this beautiful plateau and had to set up camp here, knowing it would boast some unbelievable sunsets. Other bonuses of the plateau – very easy to set up your tent, and easy to walk on. Especially if you take off your shoes.
Our beautiful campsite
We picked a prime spot on our rock outcropping, had our coffee and Kahluas ready, breathed in the steam and took in the sunset as the colors changed from peach to magenta, to scarlet.
Can’t beat a mountain sunset
View from our tent ❤
During the hike back Brad spied this beautiful doe, nestled underneath a hedge. She wasn’t bothered by us all – just lifted her gorgeous head, stared at us with her golden orb eyes and continued lounging. Moments like this while hiking feel like such a fairy tale, they always make me feel like a Disney princess swanning about in the woods.
Can you spot the doe? This beauty was lounging underneath the hedge 😀
What I read: What kind of books do you take on vacation? While backpacking I tend to go for fantasies shock full of action or twisty-turny mysteries. This trip I read Red Sister and The Twisted Ones. This one is a bit of a slow burn. Red Sister is a fantasy about a secret sect of warrior nuns who run a school to educate young girls about the fine arts of assassination – you guys, I know, and a fierce little girl who finds herself the school’s most promising pupil. The Twisted Ones is a genre-bender – it’s a comedy/folk horror about a gal and her dog who must clear out their crotchety/hoarder grandmother’s home after she has passed away and find some very weird sh*t along the way.
Travel ensemble: I realized I have a go to ensemble when backpacking. The first day I usually wear a pair of black exercise pants, my bright pink “Team Sloth” t shirt – it’s a sloth hiking in the mountains that says “We’ll get there when we get there,” and a baseball cap. What do you like to wear when camping?
Next up on the blog – Backpacking Rubicon in South Tahoe for Labor Day.
Details: Kennedy Meadows – Stanislaus National Forest
Trail Head At: Kennedy Meadow’s Trailhead Parking Lot
Length: 15.5
Elevation Gain:1,991 Feet
Recommendation: Set up camp just before the lake, on the south side of the river. To avoid the foot traffic, we opted to find a campsite on a rushing river overlooking the gorgeous valley, before Kennedy Lake. If you want to hike to Kennedy Lake: stay left around the cabin on the high ground to avoid the bog. Stick to the upper trail ((listen to this sh*t guys!) We did this and we still hit the bog.
This was a great hike. Idyllic AF, really. Kennedy Meadows opens up into a lush sweeping valley, filled with crystal clear rivers. It felt like we were camping in a different state – like Colorado or Montana.
Just straight up flopped in the meadow as soon as we arrived
I mean, how magical is this sunset?
This is a horse trail – meaning people can book horse tours and then camp, which has it’s pros and cons. Pros: watching the horses grazing in the valley, slowly swishing their bristly tails was the stuff of dreams. Cons: A ton of horse poop and flies and dust, plus more foot traffic then we like.
Mountain cabin of dreams
Brad just looking so cool and at ease everywhere we go
One less then bright spot: it rained, and we opted not to bring the f**king rain flap. BIG MISTAKE. So, we had to fashion our tent into a tarp and sit underneath it. Brad did a great job of MacGyvering it, (his outdoors skills are on point) but the idea of sleeping huddled together under that tarp in the cold really bummed me out hard, guys. Luckily, luckily it stopped raining and we had blue skies for the rest of the evening.
Me, just watching the sky, celebrating when the clouds finally cleared
The morning was pretty frosty, so we read books, munched on dark PB protein bars, (the Nature Valley extra large ones are my new fav, because they are gluten free),and sipped our hot coffees. We packed up our tent and blasted through the hike. We took a break at this gorgeous spot for some raw nuts, dried cranberries and M&M trail mix and this view 😀
Break time view!
After a little over three hours, we arrived at the car. I somehow wrenched my knee going down the switchbacks and tore up my feet quite a bit so I was THRILLED to reach the car.
We got home, ate Trader Joe’s pesto veggie pizza topped with extra kalamata olives, sipped chilled Vino Verde and watched White Gold on Netflix. This has rapidly become our go-to meal after hiking. If you haven’t watched White Gold, it’s about a cocky double glazing window salesmen in Essex in the 80s. Ed Westwick or Chuck Bass, from Gossip Girl fame is in the titular role. He was a complete rogue, charming as hell and great fun. Turns out, when he gets to do a role with his normal accent, he’s bloody brilliant!
Opening scene. Wish I was this happy in the morning time! #lifegoals
What I read: I finished up Darkdawn, the third and final book in the Nevernight series, a rip roaring revenge fantasy, about an elite school of assassins in an alternative version of medieval Venice and a woman on an epic quest of vengeance. Fantastic finale to an explosive trilogy.
Note:This hike was quite popular. I do think backpacking trails are more crowded this year, because peeps just don’t have many other options for activities and are desperate to get outside. We found a site we loved, and around twilight as we were stretched out lounging in the meadow reading books, I noticed some dude stomping around in the tall grass who proceeded to set up a tent within sight of our campsite. Now there isn’t really much etiquette towards other backpackers when camping to follow, but a pretty major one is to keep your distance! If you put in 7 + miles of hard hiking to make it to the backcountry, you’ve earned some effing solitude. It was ridiculous. Alright – rant over.
THE INTERLOPER
Next up on the blog: Backpacking White Wolf, Yosemite!
Glorious, sweeping views over both lakes – lounging above the cloud line
Falling sleep under a sky slowing filling with stars and the glittering Milky Way
Deer prancing up to our tent, ground hogs playing
In July, I went on my very first back packing trip to Sunol Regional Park, and in a surprising turn of events fell completely in love with it! I went on this trip to prepare for an upcoming four day hike to Young Lakes Yosemite. I wanted to give myself a taste of what I might be taking on.
On Friday, we took a half day at work, and drove to Tuolumne Meadows (stopping at In-N-Out for dinner – oooh), and camped at the Tuolumne Meadows Campground so that we could spend the first evening at elevation adjusting. We woke up early Saturday morning, picked up our permit and were at the trail head and hiking by 8:30am.
Details: Young Lakes, Yosemite National Park
Trail Head At: Tuolumne Meadow
Length: 13.2 Miles Give or Take, 6.6 Miles Each Way
Elevation Begins At: 8,584
Top Lake Elevation: 10,218
First things first – this hike is insanely gorgeous
Really, about every two miles or so, you are rewarded with the most stunning, take your breath away, panoramic views.
The first half mile is a steep ascent, (keep in mind that this is a pretty high elevation, especially for a newbie, so I was absolutely dragging ass). When we came across this magnificent meadow, we knew it was the perfect break spot. Surrounded by verdant pines and snow capped mountains, a crystal clear rushing brook, violet wildflowers and a light breeze, we dropped our packs, collapsed and lounged in the grass, listening to the wind through the pines.
The First Lake
We carried on to the bottom lake, where we perched on a rock by the water’s edge and stopped for lunch. PB + crackers for me, salami and cheese for Brad. In and of itself, this lake is a gorgeous sight, but Brad insisted the upper most lake was even more gorgeous and so off we went.
The Middle Lake
We forged on to the middle lake. By this time we had walked about 6 miles, most of it steep. We stopped to choose a place for a tent, when mosquitoes swarmed. It was pure carnage. We had been attacked each time we stopped for a rest along the trail – and those little assholes bit me on every inch of exposed area, including through my pants, but we had managed to continue hiking. This time, it was a total massacre. There was nothing for it – we frantically put up the tent as we were covered by grey buzzing swarms and leapt inside. I tried not to cry.
While we rested in the tent, snacking on dark peanut butter protein bars and wondering what in the hell we were going to do, a massive doe ambled up to our tent, staring curiously at us with her golden eyes. “Hello, beautiful,” we whispered.
Shortly following the deer, two hikers tore by, shouting out that mosquitoes were much better if we could manage to make it to the topmost lake. Originally, we had planned to stop at the second lake, spend the night and hike the last precipitous mile to the top lake in the morning. We chose to trust the hikers. While Brad frantically dismantled the tent shouting “go, go go!” I hurtled up the mountain, scrambling over rocks and waterfalls, pulling myself up by handholds.
The Topmost Lake
When we first glimpsed the meadow, I gasped, overwhelmed by the natural beauty. This was some angels singing, Lord of the Rings magic, alpine beauty.
Alpine Meadow – first glimpse. Go on – tell me magic doesn’t exist!
As we breathed in the alpine air and basked in the beauty of this secluded lake, we quickly realized the mosquitoes were still attacking, and scrambled up another rock to the most glorious, sweeping views overlooking both the lower lakes. We found the perfect place to pitch our tent and lunged in.
Twilight at Young Lakes Yosemite
Exalting in the views – we made it to the top lake!
Once inside the tent, we finally relaxed. We made dinner, and shared chocolate mint Cliff Bars (which I highly recommend) while we reveled in Yosemite’s exceptional beauty. We sipped Kahlua and hot chocolate as the sky slowly filled with stars and fell asleep under the glittering Milky Way.
We woke up in the morning to fluffy ground hogs scampering and playing near our tent. We sipped Kahlua coffee’s (we needed to fortify ourselves you guys) and decided there was no point staying at the top lake, breathtakingly gorgeous as it was, if we couldn’t leave the tent. We put away our things and hurtled back down the mountain.
The Descent
The hike down was tough. We were exhausted and achy from the seven mile ascent the day before. Climbing down the waterfall was trickier than going up, and stopping for breaks was nightmarish because of the mosquito swarms, but during that final descent of switchbacks before reaching the car I felt a surge of adrenaline. This is why people fall in love with hiking, this feeling of accomplishment. You just hiked a mountain. You are strong, and capable and perhaps even a little badass. At the very least you have earned the title of Outdoorsy AF. And the first sip of icy cold diet coke once we reached the car was incomparable.
I HIKED to this gorgeous place! (Notice the outfit change. Yep. I’m wearing Brad’s pants and top. Take that mosquito f**kers.)
First lake done!
Young lakes, 1.5 miles to go!
Just some meadow hrumphing
I climbed that! It looks way less daunting than it actually was
Final notes
I am a car camping kind of gal. We usually go about 5 + times a year. We have our favorites: a very specific, stunning campsite at Henry Cowell in the Santa Cruz Redwoods with panoramic views, and Samuel P. Taylor under towering redwoods next to a a little running creek. We can leave work and have our campsite set up and toasting bubbles by sunset. We have our menu set, and there is something so fulfilling about watching the embers die in your campfire, while sipping vino and watching the stars populate the sky. We are also comfortable campers – we have a tent large enough to stand in, we have a blow up bed, it’s glorious. So when Brad first suggested backpacking I was very skeptical. I fancy myself outdoorsy, I love nature and wildlife, but I also like to be cozy. I want a soft bed. I want a restroom. I don’t want to do a massive amount of work. So, the idea of trudging up a mountain hauling over 20 pounds on my back sounded less then ideal. Shut that beautiful fucking mouth, was actually what I believe I said to Brad when he first floated the idea. Turns out, I was completely wrong. Yes, backpacking is tough. Yes, several times during each trip I thought – why am I doing this to myself?! But the feeling of absolute freedom gazing over a panoramic sweeping view above the cloud lines, knowing that you survived the trip is empowering as hell.
May the adventure continue! Stay tuned for more backpacking and hiking trips! Coming up – Hiking in Lake Tahoe and Beach Backpacking in Point Reyes.
Brie Bear International 