Home A - Z FAQ Bookstore Art Prints Online Library Discussion Forum Muir Weather Maps Lodging About Search
CalHotels.US--online reservations now CalHotels.US Lowest Hotel Rates Guaranteed. Click Here For Yours!
Hotel photos, maps, reviews, & discount rates.

U.S. Hotels in California (Yosemite, L. A., San Francisco ), AL, AK, AR, AS, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, FM, GA, GU, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OK, NV, MH, MP, NM, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, PR, PW, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, VI WA, WV, WI, WY

[Yosemite]

Saddlebag Lake overnight

Hiking, backpacking, running, biking, climbing, rafting, and other human-powered activities in Yosemite National Park

Moderators: Wickett, dan

Saddlebag Lake overnight

Postby balzaccom » Tue Sep 11, 2018 5:37 pm

As M's tendonitis in her heel continues to be an issue, we have slowly but surely begun to take a few trips this summer. We're way behind our usual average, but things seem to be getting better....and so we thought we would look for a trip that wouldn't put too much stress on her heel. That means not much uphill or downhill, and those hikes are hard to find in the Sierra.

Image

But Saddlebag Lake, just east of Yosemite, offered the perfect solution this past weekend. While the ferry across the lake no longer operates (sadly the lodge at the lake is closed, possibly forever) the trail around the lake is relatively flat. We took the trail around the west side of the lake first, mainly because it was shorter, and would mean a quicker return to the car if things didn't work out. This trail is full of chunks of scree and talus from the mountain above, and so the walking is a bit of a chore. But we were on the trail, nothing hurt (more or less) and the day was perfect.

Once at the top end of the lake, we aimed left towards Wasco and Steelhead Lake. But we also noticed that there were a lot of people here. Not unexpected, as this is one of the few places you can hike out of the Tuolumne Meadows area with no trail quota. Greenstone Lake had quite a few groups, and the area between Cascade Lake and the outlet to Steelhead Lake had more than ten tents visible right away.

Image

Hmmm. Not what we like best about backpacking. So we went off trail up to little Z Lake, nestled in the middle of the loop trail, but about a half-mile from any of the loop trail itself. It was a smart move. We saw only one other person while we were there--a dayhiker who looked somewhat confused--and we had a peaceful, lovely afternoon and evening in the High Sierra. The views here are gorgeous, and sunset was spectacular.

Image

On the way out, we again went cross country to Hummingbird Lake, and then followed the much nicer and more scenic (but longer) trail around the east side of the lake.

Fishing as Z Lake was dull---lots of tiny brook trout. And you may notice that we continue to have issues with our little camera putting bugs where no bugs belong. sigh. It may be time to upgrade...

Thephotos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/v1KoaCTTpPv76ryY6
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963
balzaccom
Veteran-poster
Veteran-poster
 
Posts: 1700
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:51 am
Location: Napa CA

Re: Saddlebag Lake overnight

Postby Justin-T » Tue Nov 13, 2018 11:49 am

Grave-digging a little here, sorry, but only just got round to checking out the photos. We did a day-hike around Saddlebag about ten years ago, we still rank that one as one of our most memorable family hikes.

The spots on the images are not like others I've seen, which are normally fuzzy, very circular spots from dust on the sensor. Yours are weird, have you had a look at the sensor to see if there's something weird on it? Or on the back element of the lens? One time I came back from a trip to discover that I'd trapped a hair between the lens and SLR body when changing lenses, so a whole series of shots had a weird, very out of focus curved line on them. Took me a while to figure out the problem...!
Justin-T
Veteran-poster
Veteran-poster
 
Posts: 144
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Saddlebag Lake overnight

Postby balzaccom » Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:32 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. I have since switched cameras...but this one was odd, because the spots showed up regularly, but only against certain backgrounds...
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963
balzaccom
Veteran-poster
Veteran-poster
 
Posts: 1700
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:51 am
Location: Napa CA

Re: Saddlebag Lake overnight

Postby Justin-T » Tue Nov 13, 2018 6:02 pm

I think I can see it to varying extents on almost every shot with an even color in that area. The difference among shots could be due to changes in a combination of the aperture and focal point.
Justin-T
Veteran-poster
Veteran-poster
 
Posts: 144
Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Saddlebag Lake overnight

Postby balzaccom » Tue Nov 13, 2018 11:07 pm

Yep. good point.
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963
balzaccom
Veteran-poster
Veteran-poster
 
Posts: 1700
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:51 am
Location: Napa CA


Return to Yosemite Hiking & Backpacking

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 43 guests

cron