My friends and I have been going on road trips for the past couple years. Due to tighter schedules this year we didn't have a lot of time so we ended up going to Inyo National Forest for a few days instead. Located in the eastern part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, its nestled between the Sierra National Forest and Kings Canyon.
en route to Inyo National Forest on Highway 395, although a pretty bare road the mountain ranges flanking the highway make it a much more enjoyable drive than I-5
We setup camp at Four Jeffery campground which was at an elevation of around 7500 feet.
Some stuffed sausages we made for dinner.
We started the hike at South Lake located at the beginning of Bishop Pass trail. About 9800 feet above sea level. This trail goes on for miles running along the Sierra Mountain range, going all the way to Yosemite National Park.
Hiking up here was serene, the soft morning sun cast a warm glow that was accompanied by a gentle mountain breeze. The quiet state of tranquility was only interrupted by the singing of birds.
Long Lake, sitting at 10,700 feet, stretches along for almost a mile.
One of the many streams that connected the mountain lakes. It was extremely quiet up here and although quite small in size, these streams roared with the intensity of a river.
Saddlerock Lake, located at around 11,100 feet.
Bishop Lake, only a couple hundred feet above Saddlerock was the highest lake on our hike. The water here was pristine, absolutely clear, and quite delicious. This is the first body of water that the snow melts into from these peaks.
My friends and I at the highest point of our hike which was around 12,000 feet. There was still a bit of snow on the ground, residual from last winter.