CSERC Blogger

It still feels like summer outside, but as I am back at college in the last week it seems more like fall to me, and I find myself reflecting on what a great time I had in the outdoors this past summer. Here are some of the best adventures I enjoyed in our local mountains.

Hiking
There is nothing quite like getting into the outdoors by means of your own feet. The farther you travel into the mountains the more you feel the structure of society falling away from around you, and I am reminded that I was once part of the wildlife I now feel so lucky to enjoy. I really like having a destination as a goal for my hike, and more often than not that destination is a high Sierra lake. Here are some of the lakes I reached during my day hikes.

Chain of Lakes, Emigrant Wilderness Only an hour hike from the trail head, I visited these lakes multiple times this summer and enjoyed the easy to access solitude and scenery.

Wolf Lake, Pacific Crest Trail, Sonora Pass. Three and half miles to get to and a good amount of elevation gain, this hike on the PCT has some great scenery to enjoy the whole length of the trip.

Lost Lake, Carson Iceberg Wilderness A popular hiking trail gets you here, but I have never felt crowded when visiting this area, and the swimming is fantastic!

Meadows
There are so many incredible mountain meadows worthy of becoming a destination, it always surprises me that I never see another soul at the majority of them. Early summer is a great time to get out there as the wildflowers bring the meadows to life.

One of my favorite meadows to see this summer was Fahey, as I made it there at the right time to the see thousands of Western Bistort and other spectacular flowers cover this expansive meadow.

Boggy Meadow is aptly named and has excellent wildflowers late into the season, including more bog orchids in one area than any other place I have ever seen.

I won’t tell you which meadow this is to protect the convergent lady beetle. But they are incredible to behold as they gather in the tens of thousands.

Fishing and Swim Holes
Some may not have an appreciation for the former of these two styles of recreation, and I can empathize with that. However, you be comforted to know that I didn’t catch a single fish this summer, despite my many attempts. For me it is more about spending time by the water in a beautiful spot, usually near a swim hole or two that lends itself to a refreshing way to cool down under our hot summer sun.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed some time on the east side of the Sierra Nevada a couple of weeks ago, fishing and swimming on the Walker River.

South Fork Stanislaus River. This is my easy-to-access spot for both fishing and swimming. Highly recommended!

And everyone who knows about good river swimming knows that the Clavey has the best holes in our region. Unfortunately, some of the best spots are getting overused and trashed lately, so please make sure you and your friends give the respect to this special river that it deserves.

Backpacking
Finally, I had to include backpacking under a different category from hiking. I find that the experience of sleeping under the stars, and navigating myself with all I need to survive on my back through breath taking scenery to be one of the most meditative activities I could participate in. Here are some pictures from a five day backpacking trip my dad and I took in the Emigrant Wilderness last month.

Deer Lake

Lower Wire Lake

Relaxing at our base camp by Jewelry Lake.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of the great places I enjoyed over the summer, and are perhaps inspired to go and see some of these great places yourself. Please share with us some of your great adventure spots! If after reading this you would like to know more details about where a certain place I described is, email me for more detail at: julias@cserc.org.