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| Middle Rae Lake |
Date: June 21, 2025
Place: Kings Canyon National Park, California
Coordinates: 36.836215, -118.406827
Length: 4.2 miles
Level: moderately strenuous
Getting to Dollar Lake from Baxter Pass was a strenuous ordeal, and it was not over yet because I still had to cross Woods Creek in order to get to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) / John Muir Trail (JMT) for the next part of my trip. Considering how tired I was when I arrived at Dollar Lake I had expected to sleep soundly through the night. I did indeed fall asleep quickly, but I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back to sleep for a long while. I wanted to sleep in a bit that morning but just before sunrise I was completely awake, so I got out of the tent and started my morning routine.
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| Sunrise at Dollar Lake |
I didn't have much of a dinner on the previous night so I was quite hungry in the morning, and I took time to cook for breakfast what I had planned for the previous evening's dinner. As I sat and ate I watched the line of sunlight slowly progress across the valley. I knew that the PCT was somewhere there on the western side of the valley and I tried to see where it was.
Soon I could see movement there - the early risers were already making their way north on the PCT/JMT. I would see many thru hikers that day.
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| Hikers on the PCT/JMT |
Woods Creek, the creek draining Dollar Lake, was gashing down some shallow cascade in a high, powerful flow. I would not dare crossing to the other side downstream of Dollar Lake.
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| Woods Creek |
After breaking camp I moved back to where I expected the Baxter Lake Trail to be and I found it - a faint narrow path that lead to the creek just south of the lake. I already was very doubtful that I could cross there but I figured I'd take a look. I guess I hoped to find some sort of a bridge there, or a more tame part of the creek.
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| My hike as captured by my GPS |
The path down to the water was partially blocked by overgrown bushes. I pushed my way through and assessed the situation. I could see backpackers on the other side. The crossing wasn't very wide, but it was pretty deep - I estimated that the water would reach my waist. Taking off the shoes was a given but I didn't want to get my pants wet either. I contemplated crossing bare-bottomed when I saw one of the backpackers coming to the water on the other side. I tried yelling to him that I was about to come across but he couldn't hear me over the rush of the water. I changed to sandals and took my pants off but kept my underwear on. I then hoisted my backpack and edged to the water. I looked at the deep, fast going creek for a long while before backing slowly away. I got cold feet before even stepping into the creek.
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| Woods Creek |
I donned my pants again and changed back to shoes and rolled in my mind other strategies for getting across to the PCT. Before me was the large swampy wetland area that I saw last evening when I came down on the Baxter Lake Trail. The flooded area was between my and the lake. I couldn't even see the actual lake from where I was. After some thinking I decided to try and circumvent the food zone and possibly the lake if needs be. I was concerned about the scree that covered the entire eastern slope going down to the lake, and also about a snow patch that looked like it was going all the way down to the water, but I figured I'll have a better idea of how passable the south shore was when I reached it and saw it up close.
I started circumventing the wetland area. I already resigned to the possibility that just getting to the PCT might take me the entire morning. I was certainly off trail now and needed to be careful.
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| Alpine Sheep Sorrel, Rumex paucifolius |
The swampy area was quite large and I had to remain on a bit higher ground to not sink into the mud. When needed I hopped from one clam of vegetation to another to get around without straying too far from the wetland perimeter. At times I paused and looked where I was and where I needed to go still. To the south I noticed a large, finger-like granite rock standing out from the rest of the nearby crest (top left in the photo below). This rock, labeled, 'Fin Dome' on my map, was a notable landmark that was visible to me almost throughout the entire day.
There were lots of wildflowers blooming in the outskirts of the flooded zone. The pink color dominated the area, with many shootingstar plants at peak bloom.
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| Alpine Shootingstar, Primula tetrandra |
Adding more pink were the Alpine bog laurels which grew in small, cushion-like clamps in the more stable soil areas, like little islands of color.
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| Alpine Bog Laurel, Kalmia microphylla |
The main area of the flooded zone was primarily green - dominated by grasses and rushes. I reached the side water channel that fed creek water to Dollar Lake and was the main source of the water that flooded the swamp area. Thankfully, it was narrow enough that I could sort of hop across with only a bit of mud sticking to my shoes and splashing on my pants. The day was warming up fast and by now I was starting to sweat. It never got really hot though, thankfully. I was getting hot from the exertion of moving across unstable terrain.
When I reached the eastern edge of the swamp I found to my relief that the snow didn't reach all the way to the water. On the other hand, the strip between the snow and the muddy waters was scree. Still, it looked passable, so I started my was across it, carefully placing my feet where it was most stable before moving my weight onto them.
A quick movement in the water caught my attention - it was a fish! It swam away too quickly to get a good photo of the fish, but I liked the ripple pattern caught on my camera.
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| Brook Trout |
Seeing how shallow the water was I got another idea - instead of struggling on the unstable scree along the shore I would wade in the shallow water hugging the shoreline on its wetter side. I changed my shoes to sandals once more, rolled my pants up, and entered the water.
Almost immediately I was rewarded with another fish that swam really close to me, allowing me a better look and a much better photo. At first I thought it might be the California state fish - the golden trout, but after examining the photos later at home I identified it as a brook trout, an introduced species that was stocked into the Sierra lakes for the purpose of fishing.
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| Brook Trout |
Wading in the swamp was a slow and very muddy ordeal. For the most part the mud wasn't too deep but I was cautious to test each step with my poles. Even so, there were a couple of times I sunk down to my hips. Extracting my feet from the mud with each step also took effort, and more than once I needed to move away from dense knots of vegetation at the risk of possibly getting more wet than I'd liked. Still, it was way better than balancing on scree.
All that time I was thinking that I wasn't at the lake proper yet, and that I still needed to get to the other side. I was hoping I won't have to hug the lake's entire perimeter. When I reached the south edge of the wetland area I found that there was a short stretch of Woods Creek there that connected Dollar Lake with the flooded zone I had just circumvented. That bit of creek was wide and fairly shallow. Jackpot! The stream was quite strong still, but I figured if I wasn't waist deep in it, I could manage the current. Taking a deep breath I started edging toward the other shore.
I used my poles to balance myself and leaned against the current. Unlike the swamp water, the water spilling out of Dollar Lake was very cold, and goosebumps soon rose on my skin as I waded deeper into the current. At the deepest point the water reached my thighs and my pants did get wet, but I wasn't about to back out this time - I could handle the current. As soon as I reached the other shore I took another deep breath of relief. Than I could turn to the lake and appreciate its gentle beauty.
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| Dollar Lake |
Far on the opposite, south shore of Dollar Lake I could see where the upstream Woods Creek spilled into the lake. Had I gone around the entire lake I would still have to cross that creek somehow. Good thing I was done with that problem.
I turned around to appreciate the distance I had just traversed. By direct line on the map, I didn't progress more than 50 yards. I couldn't go directly however. Taking the safer, longer route around the swamp to avoid the dangerous, cascading part of Woods Creek had taking me nearly three hours, but here I was, safe and sound |and partially wet) on the western side of Woods Creek, where the PCT/JMT was.
As soon as I emerged from the water I run into people - other backpackers were still hanging in the Dollar Lake camping area. Some of them were roasting for breakfast fish that they had caught in the lake. I sat down to change to shoes again. A couple of backpackers who saw me coming from the creek asked if I had come from Baxter Lake. They told me that they considered exiting the wilderness through Baxter Pass but were deterred by the creek crossing. They also told me that the trail junction sign said that the Baxter Pass Trail wasn't maintained. I confirmed their choice of avoiding that trail. They said that they would have to go back and leave the wilderness through Kearsarge Pass but that would be better than trying to meet the challenges of getting to Baxter Lake Trail and over Baxter Pass and through the questionable Baxter Pass Trail.
We wished each other happy hiking and split ways. I was glad to finally be on a real, well maintained trail. I tried to open a stride but stopped short when I came upon a squirrel. The squirrel didn't cooperate with the camera though, and darted off into the forest.
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| Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel |
Despite having a nice, well maintained trail to walk on I continued at a slower pace - the trail was right by the lake and I enjoyed the beautiful view.
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| PCT/JMT southbound |
Little Manzanita-like dwarf bilberry plants lined the damp soil right by the water. I tried recalling if I've ever seen them with fruit and thought that maybe, but probably didn't pay them any attention when they weren't in bloom.
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| Dwarf Bilberry, Vaccinium cespitosum |
A light breeze blew over the lake, raising low ripples that came lapping at the shore. From the camping area I left behind me rose the voices of the backpackers who were there still, many of them boisterous youth. On the first two days of my trip, after being dropped off at the Baxter Pass Trailhead I haven't seen another human soul. Now all of a sudden, I felt there were too many humans around.
Another trout swam close to the shore. It looked smaller than the others I've seen when wading through the flood zone. I thought it might be a while longer before it became someone's meal.
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| Brook Trout |
For a while I was going uphill on a mild slope. The trail I was going south on was a segment of the John Muir Trail
(JMT) which overlaps the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) between Sequoia
National Park and Yosemite National Park. Stretching all the way from
the Mexican border east of San Diego all the way to British Columbia in
Canada, the PCT is a well hiked trail, and the JMT overlapping trail is probably the most popular part of it. Although it doesn't show in my photos, I swear that while I was on this trail, there wasn't a whole hour during which I didn't see other people. It was like hiking a major highway, which I guess, in a wilderness sense, it was.
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| PCT/JMT southbound |
As I with all my hikes, I kept pausing for wildflowers, of which there were numerous all along the trail. I was there at the peak of the bloom season, and the wildflowers display was rich and very very colorful.
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| Eaton's Fleabane, Erigeron eatonii |
Most of the wildflowers I saw on this trip are residents of high mountains. Some of them however, like the common yarrow, or the crimson columbine in the photo below, are so versatile that they can thrive in many different types of habitat, and are prevalent from the coast to the high mountains.
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| Crimson Columbine, Aquilegia formosa |
Up at the crest of the trail I turned around and looked down at Dollar Lake, embedded in the deep valley like a little gem in a grand jewel.
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| Dollar Lake |
Turning my attention to the south again I saw the upper Woods Creek snaking softly between wide wetland zones. According to my map I would soon have to cross this creek because the trail continued east of it.
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| Upper Woods Creek |
The creek looked pretty wide but I hope there wouldn't be a problem crossing it. A bit further, from a higher point I had a nice view to the southwest. The rugged the skyline featured a lovely-looking double-peaked mountain which I believe was Mt. Bago.
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| Mountain |
I reached the creek crossing and figured right away that I'd need to change into sandals and wade across. There were a couple other people there when I arrived and one of them did balance on the rocks that were placed across the creek, but the rocks were all submerged and the guy commented that some of them were unstable. I already knew that I didn't want to risk slipping on those slippery rocks.
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| Woods Creek Crossing |
On the other side as I was drying my feet and putting my shoes back on I saw three other backpackers arriving from the south. One of them said, "here we go again". Soon, the trio were barefoot and wading across to where I had just come from. Before resuming my hike I checked my map and sure enough - I would need to cross the water again later on that day, between the middle and the upper Rae Lakes.
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| Woods Creek and Fin Dome |
The next segment of the PCT was a beautiful, easy walk, featuring many pretty wildflowers. There were also many butterflies and grasshoppers, but they were all to hyperactive for me to catch on camera.
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| Nuttall's Sandwort, Sabulina nuttallii |
The willows were also blooming. Their flowers aren't colorful or particularly impressive, but I love the sight of the willow's delicate brush-like inflorescences.
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| Lemmon's Willow, Salix lemmonii |
I passed a lovely looking meadow with many strewn rocks and low rock domes. It was the perfect marmot habitat and indeed, I saw one marmot perching on top one of the large boulders at the near edge of the meadow.
My experience with marmots is that they aren't very shy creatures. They usually are not too alarmed by hikers. This one however, broke the stereotype and darted quickly below the boulder. I was fast with the camera but not fast enough - all I got was its tail before it vanished altogether.
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| Marmot's tail |
I consoled myself with the wildflowers. They were plentiful and beautiful, and they didn't run away from me.
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| Frosted Buckwheat, Eriogonum incanum |
A patch of short grass with numerous star-like bitterroot flowers welcomed me as I started descending toward Arrowhead Lake. The bitterroot, or Lewisia I was very familiar with but I never get tired of seeing them.
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| Nevada Lweisia, Lewisia nevadensis |
I was also happy to see among the white Nevada Lewisia also the deep pink dwarf Lewisia that I met on the day before while ascending Baxter Pass from the east.
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| Dwarf Lewisia, Lewisia pygmaea |
I also recognized the Brewer's cinquefoil from Baxter Pass - from my descend down its western slope and the Baxter Lake area.
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| Brewer's Cinquefoil, Potentilla breweri |
Arrowhead Lake is fairly close to Dollar Lake. It was about lunchtime but having had a hearty breakfast this morning and a snack by the creek crossing I didn't feel hungry just yet. Not enough for a lunch break, anyway.
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| Arrowhead Lake |
I kept moving on south on the PCT/JMT, nodding or exchanging greetings with backpackers I crossed paths with. Nearly all the other backpackers on the trail were northbound. Many of them were thru hikers, intent on walking the entire trail from end to end. Many of them looked happy and in high spirits, but others looked quite haggard, downcast and withdrawn. Some of them reminded me of side-blinded horses - their eyes were on the trail alone, not anywhere else. They were the quickest hikers of them all, and their spirit eyes were directed inward, into themselves.
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| PCT/JMT southbound |
Arrowhead Lake looked inviting but I didn't stop for lunch there. I just took a few photos and continued south on the PCT/JMT. I figured I'd stop at one of the Rae Lakes, which weren't far off.
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| Arrowhead Lake |
The trail continued uphill on a fairly mild grade. Most of the time the incline was hardly noticeable but occasionally I ascended some steeper slopes. The day was nice and warm but not too hot, which was great.
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| Mountain Wallflower, Erysimum perenne |
I noticed some tiny little wildflowers on the side of the trail and took some pain to get their photos. They turned out to be another species of Lewisia, making it the third I've seen that day.
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| Threeleaf Lewisia, Lewisia triphylla |
I came upon a silo backpacker that was a bit more chatty than most others I've met that morning. We had a little conversation and then he told me about the nice lakes that were coming up on my path, and recommended I'd stop by one of them for lunch. It was exactly what I had planned to do already but I thanked him anyway. Now I was getting hungry.
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| PCT/JMT southbound |
The trail continued uphill on a mild slope, across some large granite areas that were splitting and crumbling a bit. There wasn't much real soil in these areas, but mostly fine granite gravel. The granite gravel was a good enough substrate for the pussypaws plants, and there were many of them blooming there.
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| One-seeded Pussypaws, Calyptridium monospermum |
Along with the pussypaws were small relatives of the parsley, blooming with low, yellow umbels close to the ground.
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| Northern Indian Parsnip, Cymopterus terebinthinus |
The Fin Dome was getting larger as I progressed more south. It is always nice to have a prominent landmark that is easily recognizable throughout much of the hike. Not that I needed any navigation on this part of the trip - the PCT/JMT was very clear and easy to follow in that area.
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| PCT/JMT Trail, southbound |
Soon I started descending again, still at a very mild slope. Below me, blue as a precious gem, was Lower Rae Lake.
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| Lower Rae Lake |
I never cease to be amazed by the resiliency of high mountain trees - they grow in the most impossible places, and they can even split rock as they grow.
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| Pine, Pinus sp. |
The trail got down right to the lake shore. Hungry, I found myself a little cove that was partially hidden from the trail and went over there to have my lunch break.
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| Lower Rae Lake |
A single white-crowned sparrow was foraging between me and the lake. I tried to photograph it again and again but each time it moved. The one photo of that bird that came out in focus was when it was at the peak of a hop. I don't know why I even bothered, it is such a common bird all around California.
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| White-crowned sparrow |
I took my time, enjoying my lunch in leisure. Eventually it was time for me to move on, not because I was pressed for time though. I just needed to move again. After starting down the trail again I hear some calls in the distance and eventually identified its source - a couple of Douglas squirrels that looked like they were having a spat. As I raised my camera one of them moved behind the tree trunk so I captured only one of the noisy squirrels.
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| Douglas Squirrel |
The PCT/JMT goes right by the Rae Lakes, which are located at the
eastern side of Kings Canyon National Park. The Rae Lakes are a very
desirable destination for other backpackers as well, and during this
part of my trip I came across quite a few backpackers that were doing
the Rae Lakes Loop - starting (and finishing) at the eastern end of
Kings Canyon Road on the west side of the park. In fact, most of the
south bound hikers were doing this loop. They also tended to be in
larger groups than the PCT/JMT backpackers, and were generally more
jovial and looked much less gaunt. As I passed along Lower Rae Lake I saw the camping area where a large bear box was located for the backpackers to store their food safely. There was nobody in that campground but I was sure that by evening it would be full.
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| Lower Rae Lake camp area |
A side creek was flowing from the east down to the lake and it flooded part of the trail. It wasn't deep but still I needed to do some stone hopping to avoid getting my shoes wet and muddy.
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| PCT/JMT Trail, southbound |
A small round pond preceded my approach to Middle Rae Lake. It was calm and the reflection was perfect. For a moment I was tempted to go down there but I didn't.
Middle Rae Lake is three times larger than Lower Rae Lake, and it curves a lot. It's impossible to capture all of it in a single photo. I moved slowly along this gorgeous lake, enjoying the view of the water and of the majestic peaks surrounding it.
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| Middle Rae Lake, north |
There was a splash of pink below the trail, near the lake shore. On maximal magnification I could see that these were shooting star flowers. They were too far to photograph them individually, but the bunch of them together created a lovely color patch.
Closer to the trail was another damp patch of soil and that one featured the little yellow primrose monkeyflowers.
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| Primrose Monkeyflower, Erythranthe primuloides |
The primrose monkeyflower was the most common monkeyflower I saw on this trip, but I've seen there also the seep monkeyflower, which is most common pretty much everywhere else there's lots of water.
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| Seep Monkeyflower, Erythranthe gutatta |
Turning back to look north I noted Fin Dome once again. It looked much less like a dome from this direction. It would be a while before I stopped seeing it, but it no longer resembled the landmark I saw earlier that day.
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| Fin Dome, view north |
Thin rockcress stems bearing tiny rockcress flowers shimmered in the light breeze that moved through the valley. The breeze started shortly after my lunch break and slowly intensified as the day progressed.
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| Rockcress, Boechera sp. |
I finally was able to photograph a butterfly. There were lots of them about but only this one stayed put long enough for me to capture on camera.
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| Shasta Blue Butterfly |
Away from the lake again, the trail rose above Middle Rae Lake, giving my a lovely view of that blue beauty and the mountains on the south. Somewhere between these mountains was Glen Pass, which I'd have to go over before turning east toward Kearsarge Pass and my exit from this trip. Seeing how nice I was progressing I started having thoughts of possible going over Glen Pass today.
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| Middle Rae Lake view south |
Even with these thoughts of pushing further today than I had originally intended, I still didn't make any effort to increase my pace. After the first two very strenuous days I allowed myself to walk leisurely and enjoy this gorgeous day to the fullest.
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Middle Rae Lake is large and the trail doesn't go all the way close to the lake's shore. On a higher segment above the lake I came across a thru PCT hiker and we both stopped for a little chat. She was about my age, and alone. She told me that she didn't begin the trail alone - her husband started with her at the south trailhead but had to quit the trail while she chose to continue on her own. I asked her the one question I've asked all other thru hikers that I spoke with - how does one take months off their lives to do this. Her answer was pretty much live everyone else's - save money and quit your job. Well, it doesn't look like I'll be committing to the PCT any time soon. For the time being I'd settle for a week or so at a time. |
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| PCT/JMT southbound |
I passed by a split trail leading to the Rae Lakes ranger station and for a moment I was tempted to go and check it out. Eventually I decided I have nothing to look for there and that there wasn't any need to talk to the rangers, if they were even there.
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| Rae Lakes Ranger Station |
The trail distanced a bit from Middle Rae Lake and I moved on at a faster pace, but then I came across three other backpackers coming north. They asked me about the ranger station and we stopped for a chat. I learned that they were Swiss and that they were hiking only the John Muir Trail, not the entire PCT. I asked them about Glen Pass up ahead, which they had just descended from earlier today. Specifically I wanted to know how much snow was on the pass and if I needed any special equipment, admitting that I didn't carry any with me. One of the hikers perked up immediately - she said that there was snow but that it was old snow, and that they had crossed the pass without using any special equipment. Then she asked me if I wanted to take her micro spikes, saying that she was looking to unburden herself of them, seeing them as unnecessary anymore for the rest of their trip. She pulled the micro spikes out of her backpack and I tried them on my shoes - they fit perfectly. I was very happy to accept her gift. We exchanged well wishes and I continued on south while the three Swiss backpackers moved on north.
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| PCT/JMT southbound |
Upper Rae Lake came into view. Upper Rae Lake is nearly as big as Middle Rae Lake, and for a good distance the trail squeezes right between them, although my view of Middle Rae Lake was blocked by a low land crest with trees.
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| Upper Rae Lake |
A small rocky island protruded from the lake's surface. The island was all hard rocks but trees were growing on it nonetheless. Behind the lake on the south was a cone-shaped peak, named on my map as the Painted Lady.
The trail curved a bit to the west to accommodate the wavy shoreline so I got a nice view of the north end of the lake. A smooth, round dome of a peak, adorned by a few snow patches, rose above it. The lake surface was rippled by the breeze, which was now much stronger and more continuous, rather than gusty.
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| Upper Rae Lake |
The day was still warm though, and the breeze was welcomed. I did remember however, that today's night, the third of my trip, was expected to be considerably colder than the others. In fact, the temperature was expected to drop well below freezing, to about 25 degrees Fahrenheit. I wasn't concerned about it though. I was prepared.
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| Mountain Pride, Penstemon newberryi |
I followed the trail through another curve after which I lost view of Upper Rae Lake but once again I was by the shore of Middle Rae Lake, by its south most, narrow tip.
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| Middle Rae Lake |
Upper Rae Lake came into view again, right behind Middle Rae Lake. Here was where I needed to cross the water to get to the other side. There were rocks placed strategically across the narrow chute between the lakes but they were all submerged. There was no way for me to get across without having to wade in the water. I could hear people on the other side but there were no southbound hikers coming up behind me so I sat down on the uneven stairs leading to the water and changed my shoes into sandals for the last time today, and as it turned out, for the last time on this trip.
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| Between Lakes Crossing |
After drying my feet on the other side I decided it was the perfect place for a snack break and a consideration of how far I should continue today. I also wanted to fill up my water bottles, although I had no doubt I'd have more water sources up the trail ahead.
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| View north at Middle Rae Lake |
A small bird appeared before me. It hopped and twitted and pecked the ground below where I was sitting. After a few tries I managed to take a photo of that cute finch that kept me company.
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| Cassin's Finch |
From my sitting place I had a nice view of Middle Rae Lake. Only of the lake's south lobe, that is. I watched the wind blowing ripples across the water. Meanwhile more hikers moved along the trail, doing exactly what I did - taking their shoes off and wading across the gap between the lakes.
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| View north at Middle Rae Lake |
Eventually I rose from my sitting, packed everything and hoisted my backpack. It was too early for me to find a campsite. I had made up my mind to continue uphill toward Glen Pass.
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| Upper Rae Lake |
I paused only after a short distance, when I came upon the trail junction with the 60 Lakes Trail, which is a dead end trail leading deeper into the mountains, off the PCT. My original plan was to stay the second and third nights near one of the
Rae Lakes and spend today exploring the area around Rae Lakes, possibly go to the 60 Lakes basin as a day hike. Taking two days just to get to Dollar Lake and another full morning to
connect with the PCT however, had pretty much annulled this plan of mine. I thought of possibly going up to the 60 Lakes area and spend the night there but decided I shouldn't push my luck with another side trail. I've had enough unexpected challenges on this trip already.
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| Upper Rae Lake and the Painted Lady |
Going toward Glen Pass meant going uphill again, and on a much steeper trail than I've hiked all day. I wasn't tired though. I've had an easy hiking day so far, once I had connected with the PCT. Still, I took my time and paused whenever I saw interesting sights, such as this camera-shy chipmunk in the photo below.
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| Chipmunk |
The
question I mulled in my mind now was, should I try going over Glen Pass
today or find a campsite on the north side of the pass. I knew I'd find
plenty of water along the trail but will I find a suitable campground? On my map were a couple of small lakes right below Glen Pass. I figured I could camp there if it looked like going over the pass would be too much for today.
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| Southbound PCT/JMT and the Painted Lady peak |
After some uphill walking I came upon a side tributary that was flowing over and across the trail. It wasn't deep enough to merit wading but id did flood a wide section of the trail so I needed to hop on stepping stones to get across.
I paused in the middle of the brook crossing and looked up the slope - the water was cascading down in a very lively flow, spraying everything in its vicinity.
A bit higher up I paused and looked behind me. Upper Rae Lake already looked far below and I knew I would be getting much higher over the lake soon.
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| Upper Rae Lake |
I walked slowly up the trail. The wind was blowing much stronger now, and at some point I had to stop and pull my puffy jacket and my warm hat out of my backpack. The sun was up still but the day's warmth was dissipating quickly.
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| Western Labrador Tea, Rhododendron columbianum |
Many wildflowers bloomed near this part of the trail as well, and I took the time to observe and take photos.
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| Woolly-flowered Gooseberry, Ribes lasianthum |
One sight that surprised me though, was a cicada nymph that crawled across the trail. I usually see only the last molted skin of the cicada oldest nymph stage - the nymphs live and grow underground and going above ground to take their final molt from which they emerge as adults. I found plenty of such empty molts on my hikes, and even manage to see some adult cicada a couple of times. This was however, the first time I was seeing a live nymph. It was probably on its way to find a suitable place to molt.
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| Cicada nymph |
Some part of the trail were built with stones embedded into the soil. It was built this way to prevent trail erosion but it was done with mainly mules in mind. I found this part of the trail only a little better than walking on scree. The stones were not necessarily flat and many of them were too smooth and slippery, polished off by so many hikers boots. At least these trail stones were stable.
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| PCT/JMT southbound |
Higher up the trail I finally had a direct view of Glen Pass and of the snow fields that cover good size areas on the slopes leading to it. It was getting late in the afternoon now, and although there were at least four more hours of daylight left, I decided that I probably should camp south of the pass tonight, and go over it tomorrow.
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| View up Glen Pass |
I was in a little Alpine meadow at the time. I looked around but couldn't see any suitable place to camp. There was water everywhere and the soil was very damp. There were also lots of flowers, which I was happy to see, but now that I've made up my mind to not tackle the pass today, I needed to find a place to camp for the night.
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| Purple Mountain Heath, Phylodoce breweri |
The Painted Lady peak was on my side now, and I could see why it was so named - the peak was made of different colored rocks which gave it a fancy look.
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| The Painted Lady |
Far below me I could glimpse Upper Rae Lake between the trees. Above the lake was Dragon Peak, where the Eastern Sierra divide was. East of that mountain was the John Muir Wilderness of Inyo National Forest.
I came upon another tributary crossing. This one was bigger and a bit trickier to cross because the flow was stronger and some of the stepping stones unstable. After crossing safely I checked my navigator and to my surprise I saw a campsite icon marked on my navigator's map right by where I stood. I looked around but couldn't see any campsite. I was about to go check behind the group of small trees near the trail when a happy young solo backpacker came down the trail from Glen Pass and stopped to chat with my. He was on his way down to Rae Lakes where he planned to camp for the night. He informed me that the small lakes below the pass were mostly iced over and that there was lots of snow in the area. He wasn't very optimistic regarding my chances of finding a suitable campsite on the other side of Glen Pass either.
The backpacker wished me luck and continued down the trail. I went over and around the small trees and felt like I found the jackpot. There it was - a small, perfect campsite suitable for one tent, hidden from the trail, and near a flowing water source. Moreover, that little nook was more or less protected from the wind. This nook wasn't marked on my paper map but my GPS knew about it, just like it knew about the little campsite east of Baxter Pass where I stayed on the first night of my trip.
I pitched my tent and went to get water and look around. It was a little after five but my little nook was on the east-facing slope and the sun soon dipped below the ridge. Although not officially set, I was already under the evening's shadow. As soon as the direct sunlight was gone the temperature plummeted and I donned my base layers. I realized that I'd probably need to go into my tent soon, but it was too early to sleep.
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| A pond near my campsite |
I cooked and ate an early dinner, had a large cup of tea, listened to late backpackers that were coming down Glen Pass struggling to cross the tributary without slipping on the stepping stones. I also took a few evening photos of my surrounding, especially of the Painted Lady, which looked prettier and prettier as the evening progressed and the light of the western sun illuminated the peak's lovely colors with a soft evening light.
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| Evening lit Painted Lady |
Inside the tent I sat fully clothed on top on my sleeping bag. I didn't want to lie down so I won't fall asleep too early. My concern was having to void again before next morning and I really didn't want to have to leave the tent in the middle of a freezing night to answer nature's call. I was also quite bored. I was alone inside a tent that was too small to do much of anything in other than sleep, and nothing to pass time with except my own thoughts. I opened my map and studied it again and again. Then I checked if my phone had reception by any chance. Not surprisingly, it didn't. Eventually I pulled out a couple of printouts I had of enlarged topographic map sections, turned them over to their non-printed side, fished my pen from my backpack, and started wish-writing. I wished for a peaceful, complete night's sleep. A couple of hours later, just before nightfall, I crawled out of my tent to finish my evening's routine. When I returned to the tent I finally got into my sleeping bag and cocooned myself inside. The world outside my tent turned dark and I fell asleep to the sound of blowing wind and flowing water.
