Twenty Lakes Basin

We have our friend Kelsey to thank for introducing us to this gem of a hike hiding in the shadows of Yosemite.

Saddlebag Lake is just a few kilometers from the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite, and it doesn't really look like much. So it is a total surprise when the barren trail suddenly opens up to reveal a whole string of picture-perfect alpine lakes and meadows!

Greenstone Lake

	Twenty Lakes Basin
Distance	11km loop 8km loop if you take the water taxi both ways
Difficulty	Easy
Scenery	Awesome, 9/10
Elevation	~3000m
Elevation Gain	~100m

This is a great hike to sandwich between more strenuous endeavours, as you have the option to take a water taxi to/from the far side of the lake if you're feeling tired. The boat ride shaves off 1.5km (each way).

Gibbs Lake

A wiser person would have been more suspicious of how easy it was to get an overnight permit for Gibbs Lake over the Labour Day long-weekend. But I thought we had just gotten lucky!

Sigh.

Don't get me wrong, Nick and I enjoyed our 2-night backpacking trip very much. The scenery was amazing and we had the entire lake to ourselves for most of it...but it wasn't *all* fun and games. Getting to the trailhead wasn't straight-forward, the first part of the trail was definitely designed by a sadist and the winds were so ferocious that we hid in our tent in the evenings!

Gibbs Lake with Mount Gibbs and Mount Dana in the distance

Our ascent was also more difficult than it had to be as we got off the main trail and ended up in a giant boulder field that was not easy to navigate with a heavy pack! Hopefully you won't make the same mistakes we did!

	Gibbs Lake	Kidney Lake
Distance	4.8km one way from the trailhead	~2km one way from Gibbs Lake
Difficulty	Strenuous for 1km Moderate afterwards (if you stay on the main trail)	Strenuous
Scenery	Awesome, 9/10	Equally Awesome, 9/10
Elevation	2879m	3176m
Elevation Gain	534m	297m

Mammoth Lakes

I have no idea why the Mammoth Lakes area isn't as world famous as Yosemite. The scenery is just as stunning and it's only an hour or so from Tioga Pass. I have been there four times now, and I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what the region has to offer!

Perhaps I should be thankful for its "girl next door" status, as it means that we can actually find campsites here without booking a year in advance!

Site 7, Lake George Campground

The crystal clear waters of Lake George

My favourite campground is at Lake George where sites 6 - 10 are so beautiful that you don't even need to leave your tent to get envious views! But if you do, you have dozens of world-class hikes within a 30km radius.

On this particular trip we took it easy and only did a few,

	TJ Lake	Ruby Lake	Mono Pass
Distance	1.2km one way from the Lake George Campground	3km one way from the Mosquito Flat trailhead	3.5km one way from the Ruby Lake/Mono Pass junction
Difficulty	Easy	Moderate	Strenuous
Scenery	Amazing, 8/10	Awesome, 9/10	Top of the pass, 5/10 Partway up, 9/10
Elevation	~2800m	~3400m	3648m
Elevation Gain	~80m	~300m	714m

Cathedral Lakes

We just got back from a week long camping trip in the Eastern Sierras that was a perfect illustration of how people who move to California "for a few years" get lured into staying forever. Yosemite National Park may be the bait, but the treasures beyond are what reel you in permanently! I'm not sure if I'm a lifer yet, but boy am I tempted!

On this particular trip we hit up Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite, Mammoth Lakes and a few places in-between; a mixture of old favourites and new (to us) trails. And we wrapped up our week by driving home through the incredibly beautiful Sonora Pass.

Yosemite's high country is actually my favourite area of the park. But somehow, I never got around to hiking one of its most popular trails: Cathedral Lakes.

Lower Cathedral Lake

	Lower Cathedral Lake	Upper Cathedral Lake
Distance	5.2km one way from the trailhead	~800m one way from Lower Cathedral Lake
Difficulty	Moderate	Easy
Scenery	Amazing, 8/10	Equally Amazing, 8/10
Elevation	~2800m	~2900m