Another update is forthcoming...

It's been a month full of adventures and I've barely kept up with the photos, and definitely not with the stories! I'm currently uploading some 300+ photos (& videos) to my computer to sort through and come up with a post - hopefully by next week!

I am currently enjoying the end of a 4-day weekend at home, and away from smoke. No, I'm not in any danger where I'm working (at least not yet), but I've had plenty of smokey, hazy days, and being up in the Westwood area has largely been a good break for the lungs!

Last month saw plenty more hiking, backpacking, and exploring around work and home, as well as an end to the summer semester (I got an A), and the beginning of the fall semester for my masters. I am now over the halfway point in my degree program!! So exciting!!

Alright, more stories will come when I get the photos sorted this week and figure out which ones are best to post, so...

Until next time!

Top Secret

On Friday the stars aligned just right for my dear friend and fellow Bodieite, Betty, to meet me at the Leavitt Meadows trailhead for a hike out to Secret Lake. Neither of us had ever been, but I have to say that this was probably one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever done. I know I say that about a lot of places, but truly - there were gorgeous vistas every way you looked, the whole trail, and you barely even had to work for them. Well, it was uphill pretty much the whole way there, but nothing crazy. What follows are some photos from along the way.

We went through a section of what we believe was serpentine rock - beautiful greens and blacks

Betty making her way up one of the many hills

View from one of the many hilltops

Vista looking east towards the mountain training center and what I'm guessing is Mud Lake (settled in the upper plains on the center-right of the photo)

Another vista - that largest snow patch on the right of the near mountain had a long narrow waterfall going all the way down it - so pretty!

Do you see the crawdad? They were all over in this lake!!

Secret Lake

B-etty and Jackaldine ;)

You can see the blue-green of Poore Lake through the trees at the base of the mountain

Now you see the lizard...

.. now you don't!

Another beautiful rock - likely so sort of copper in it. There was a pile of this blue-green rock visible in the distance.

Snow-capped mountains in the distance!

Wyoming Paintbrush - it's pink!

The West Walker River - very pretty, still very high

My first backpacking adventure (in 3 years!!!)

How many snow plants do you see?

Photos from my first backpacking trip of the season - and first backpacking trip since 2014!!! Woah! It went pretty well, and I'm very sore today, but glad I went out and got to experience all of this beauty!

Gilia, possibly Valerian in the middle, and Wooly Mule's Ears (the big green fuzzy ones) in a meadow

I hiked up to Boulder Lake after work on Wednesday and got to see some beautiful end-of-the-day lighting on the surrounding peaks - some of which still had snow on them!

My campsite 

Nude buckwheat - one of my favorite flowers, it was all around my campsite

Boulder Lake (and a mystery white water flower of some sort)

Boulder Lake - a very warm lake for swimming, even at 7 o'clock in the morning!

Mountain Bluebells - aka Sierra Spinach! Very good munching...

The second day I hiked down from the lake and started up the other end of the trail towards Clark Fork Meadow. I had lunch at a beautiful waterfall vista.

Sierra Penstamon (a first for me!) and one of my favorites: the Mariposa Lily

I saw LOTS of Mariposa Lilies around, so I had to sort out a lot of unnecessary pictures. But suffice it to say that in the Bodie Hills I was used to seeing a solitary Mariposa Lily amidst the desert brush, but here I was seeing them all over and in groups of half a dozen or more! Amazing!

Mariposa Lily and Sky Lupine

Alpine Lily - redder an more erect flowers than the Leopard Lily of which I'm so fond

There were plenty of stream crossings, each its own little oasis of abundant green growth - flowers and otherwise. I saw some, like the Alpine Lily, that I may have misidentified before, and saw some that were totally new to me!

Lewis' Monkeyflower

I was below the area known as St. Mary's Pass - some beautiful peaks up there

Unfortunately, the trail disappeared not long after the waterfall. This is where I decided to turn around - can you see the trail?

The Clark Fork

Thinking I had maybe gone too far from the river, I moved towards it, and found this beautiful cascade. Unfortunately, I also found that I got cliffed out and had to change out of my hiking skirt and into my hiking pants, take off my jewelry, and get serious. After hiking up and over numerous boulders like the ones you see across the river, I finally made it back to the trail (or at least the last place where I knew that I was) at this amazing campsite.

A Splendid Campsite with a Great View

Of course, one of the perks of being off-trail is you get to take a panoramic photo like this one and know that the chances of someone else standing in the exact same spot and taking a photo are very slim.

I began the hike back and saw many more beautiful things, because of course: I'm in the backcountry!

A real treat: close, open a little, close, open all the way! The California Tortoiseshell Butterfly - pretty sure I've not seen this one before, and that bright orange was astounding!

A very inviting meadow across the Clark Fork

A Corn Lily in full bloom!

Small Larkspur

The biggest, reddest Snow Plant ever!!!

Scarlet Gilia

Anderson's Thistle

From top to bottom: Horse Mint, Alpine Daisies, and an Aspen sapling

These orange flowers were closed when I came back down the trail, so I may never know what they really are. My best guess is Alpine Pyrrocoma

A vista towards the trailhead

Another new favorite: Grand Collomia! 

Someone trying out their new axe? Not sure what was up with this tree, but it didn't look that way on the hike in...

California Coneflower - not sure if it has the same properties as the Purple Coneflower/Echinacea

I was really feeling the love on this hike... 💚

My new favorite from the last hike - Checker Bloom!

Back to the trailhead: the Iceberg standing above Iceberg Meadow

Overall it was great to get out. I didn't end up staying two nights - not finding Clark Fork Meadow had me feeling like I may as well just hike all the way back out. I went somewhere around 12.5 to 13 miles over the course of two days, 4.2 of that happening on day 1. I didn't feel too bad yesterday, but this morning I am so sore! I guess I really am starting to get older... and it probably doesn't help that I haven't done anything quite like this in a few years!!! I guess the only remedy is... more backpacking!

Until next time!