Beautiful weather for a quick pre-sunset hike. Didn’t have much time, so started at the June Lake trailhead and went through most of the rock field just to shake down the new boots.
Road: There are some mildly rough sections, but it’s paved. Keep a look out and slow down when you start seeing the stretches of uneven road and you’ll be fine in anything.
Trailhead: No privy (that I could find). Parking wasn’t a problem by 1715.
Bugs: Easily deterred by a little Off, even at the lake
Water: June Lake only- you can hear the creek, but can’t really access it.
Wildflowers: I’m not an expert here, but there’re a few flashes of purple and white; nothing like what’s going on at Harry’s Ridge, etc. right now.
Trailhead to June Lake: Trail’s in great shape; I don’t remember the last time I saw so little litter (sadly)! The first mile or so is a wide, well-shaded mild incline, with the sounds of a swift creek alongside in the beginning. There looked to be several nice tent spots adjacent to the trail, in addition to the spots near (not on) the lake. A couple of peekaboo glimpses of the mountaintop, but not much until after June Lake. I stopped to try to fix the leak in my hydration bladder and enjoyed the sounds of the waterfall for a few.
June Lake to almost the Swift Creek Ski Trail: Once you cross the large rock flow/dry creek bed, all bets are off. There’s a little under a half mile of large rocks and boulders to hop/clamber over. I usually love exactly this kind of type II fun, but as a disclaimer, I started out tired, hungry, and breaking in new boots (yikes.) I was armed with a downloaded Gaia and stubbornly tried to find the “trail” for a while (frustrated that I somehow kept missing it), until I finally had to concede that there was in fact no trail. No path or part of this is necessarily easier or less strenuous, so honestly, just go wherever looks like it will have the least impact. Caveat: the field is large and you can’t see portions of it until you’re at the top, so a GPS would be a very good idea here. As long as you know where you should end up, you’ll be fine. I spent more time with 3 points of contact than I normally would’ve (already being fatigued), but if you have a decent pair of boots, you can mostly just rockhop upright.
Ultimately, I turned around before the junction due to being a bit depleted and the sun being so close to setting. I’m normally a Windy Ridge gal, but will definitely return and tackle more of this entrance to the Loowit. #FirstTripReport
Comments