The Eastern Sierras

Hi Everyone,

On Friday, July 9th, Dad drove us up the same mountain we went up yesterday to the Cold Water Campground at the far end of Lake Mary. There we searched for the trailhead of Heart Lake, one of a series of alpine lakes high in Sierras on the eastern side of the range. We couldn't find a ranger to ask for directions, so I did my best to look cute as Dad and Mom sought directions from other hikers that were readying their gear to go hiking themselves.

Unfortunately, the directions we received were incorrect and we found ourselves on the Duck Pass Trail instead of the Heart Lake Trail. Both went up the mountain, but the Duck Pass Trail was much steeper and longer, so we turned around after about two miles and returned to the campground parking lot.

To our surprise, we found more Bristlecone Pine trees up on Duck Pass at about 11,000 feet.

The view was spectacular from up there, so high.

Notice the permanent snowfield on the mountain above. Even in mid-summer, the snow does not completely melt. Permanent snowfields are similar to glaciers, except glaciers move and snowfields do not. Global warming, however, is having an adverse effect on both of them as more of them melt and disappear each year.

In the parking lot, we found a ranger and through her guidance, we were able to find the right trailhead.

As we began to climb up another side of the mountain where we found several alpine meadows filled with wildflowers that were blooming for our entertainment.

Again, the views were very inspiring of the high peaks as we hiked up and along the trail.

Partway along we discovered that we were hiking on part of the famous John Muir Wilderness Trail.

For those of you who don't know, John Muir was a famous nineteenth-century naturalist, who had a great influence over the creation of our national park system, and friend of President Theodore Roosevelt.

At the top of a 1.2-mile hike, we found our destination, a pretty little alpine lake called Heart Lake because of its unique heart shape.

Dad's Fitbit watch says we hiked almost 8 miles today. Right now, I'm bushed and we are taking it easy for the rest of the day, while I take a nap. 

Tomorrow, Mom and Dad and I are going to explore some more of the lakes in this area of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains😅.