12 miles of hiking • 2750' elevation gain •
Started late, around 1pm. Done by 7:45. Quite a workout! Just wanted to get some outdoors time during the weekend, and we sure got it. After walking down the gravel road and making it to the trailhead the hike wanders around for a mile or so before starting in earnest. The first half is under the trees on mostly soft dirt. There are multiple switchbacks, some hilariously short, others shockingly long and unfathomably steep (40 degrees?!?). After one or two little creek crossings the rock scramble starts. The second half of the trail is basically making your way over and around huge hunks of granite. I question whether or not I needed a hiking pole. I brought it, but would have preferred to just use my hands. It's hard to stop on the trail for a snack, since it's all pretty steep and narrow. We were relieved the finally get into the glorious basin. I heard it was gorgeous, but what a stunner. All the snow was melted out, and the basin was hypercolor green with lush grass and moss — all dotted with granite. Fantastic scrambling and exploring opportunities on the grippy granite. We were there during golden hour and just couldn't get enough of the colors and atmosphere. Very calm by the lower tarn, much windier at the upper lake. We saw tons of people going down when we headed up, and by the time we were in the basin, we only had to share it with 3 other small groups/pairs. We saw plenty of people coming down with camping gear, but I'd be hard-pressed to identify more than 4 good sites for a tent. The way down was fast, and we made it out before it got dark. A+ dayhike. Fantastic!
