Hikes

One of the best things about our family vacation in Graeagle is all the hiking we get to do. I think that the Lakes Basin area is some of the best and most accessible hiking around. There are numerous mountain peaks – Mt. Elwell, Mt. Washington, and the Buttes, and several different trails that all meet up here and there. In the Lakes Basin area, there are probably some 30-40 official named lakes that range in size from tiny to decently large and several waterfalls.

Check out these maps to see all the sights:
- Lakes Basin Trail Map
- More Official Looking, Non-Hand Drawn Map

On Thursday, June 17, Zack, Sarah, Leslie, and I drove out to Salmon Lake with the intention of hiking up to Deer Lake. Deer Lake is one of my favorite lakes in the area because it sits at a very high altitude and has an amazing view. I feel like I’m on top of the world when I’m at Deer Lake. Plus, the lake has an amazing view of The Buttes. This picture is from a few years ago, and yes, the water is quite cold!



In this picture, you can see The Buttes in all their glory. At the very top of the highest peak, you can see a small box-like structure. That is an old fire lookout building that was built at the top. I’ve never hiked to the top because the trail is normally covered in snow in June while we’re there. My dad and older brother have hiked there once and you can go up to the tower which apparently is scary as shit!

This is all beside the point. The trail up to Deer Lake was completely covered in snow. We were trying our best to make it up to the top, but found the going to be quite tough. Hiking uphill in the snow is tough and not all of us had waterproof boots. Rather than toughing it and hopefully finding the lake, we decided to change course and hike up to a peak that overlooked Salmon Lake and the surrounding area. After struggling to go down and then back up, we found ourselves with the view that you can see in these pictures and video. Apparently the video upload doesn't work. I'll work on it.





The hike down was so easy because of all the snow. In a couple of places, Leslie and I slid down on our butts…

It was a fantastic 4 hour hike. For those of you who are big hiking or camping people in the bay area, you may want to consider this area instead of Yosemite – there are far fewer people around and what you give up in waterfalls, you gain in lakes and accessible mountain peaks. On a clear day from Mt. Elwell, you can see all the way to Tahoe and all the way north to Mt. Lassen.