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August 9th to 11th 2009: North Lake to South Lake

Day 3

Hiking on my final day began around 6 am and around 7:30 am I entered Dusy Basin, a spectacular plateau above LeConte Canyon and below Bishop Pass.  I immensely enjoyed my morning stroll through the basin which ended when I reached Bishop Pass at 9 am.  As with Muir Pass, the trail up to Bishop Pass was very gradual while the initial descent down the other side was 100% rocks which once again had me in awe of the trail planners and builders.  However, after the initial rocky switchbacks, which went down a near vertical face, the remainder of the trail consisted of beautiful valleys with lakes the entire way down to South Lake.

6:49 am – Climbing up to Dusy Basin with the sun rising on Langille Peak.

7:30 am – Dusy Basin.  Bishop Pass is visible in the upper left.  Click here for a high resolution image of this photo.

9:05 am – Bishop Pass, elevation 11,972 feet.

9:59 am – A view of the eastern side of Bishop Pass, which is much more rugged than the western side.  Click here for a high resolution image of this photo.

10:43 am – Another view of Bishop Pass at one of the many spectacular lakes between the pass and South Lake Trailhead.

11:23 am – South Lake appears, so I know the trailhead is near.

11:34 am – Hooray!  But how do I get back to my car at the North Lake Trailhead?

When I reached South Lake at 11:30 am, 47 hours after leaving North Lake, I was able to get a ride immediately down the Highway 168 and then after a few minutes of walking got another ride to my car.  After rinsing in the creek and changing into clean, cotton clothes I drove back to South Lake and picked up Will and Nate, two hikers I met on Bishop Pass from upstate New York who were ending a hike from Yosemite and dreaming of burritos.  I dropped them off in Bishop, then headed down the 395 towards LA where I would meet Em and PJ at her parents' house in Rowland Heights.

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