Journeys›Photograph

Weekend Hiking Trip in the John Muir Wilderness

·Mono County, California·#hiking#summer#family trip#sierra nevada#inyo-national-forest#john-muir-wilderness
Two people smile in front of green foliage, with a blue lake and rocky mountain in the background under a clear sky.

Drove down the Eastern Sierra to Mono County for a weekend hiking trip, all four of us plus the dog. The trail climbed through aspens above a lake so dark blue it looked poured in, with a bare granite wall on the far side still holding a few patches of snow in late June. The girls kept getting swallowed by the shadows of the trees — one minute in full sun on a boulder, the next barely visible against the leaves.

Higher up we crossed a creek on flat stones, the dog drinking mid-crossing while the girls posed. Then the boundary sign: John Muir Wilderness, Inyo National Forest. Designated in 1964, runs about a hundred miles along the crest, over 590 miles of trail in it, topping out at Whitney's 14,496 feet. We covered maybe three of those miles and one of the crossings, which felt like enough for a first day. Sagebrush and yellow blooms on the drier stretch coming back down, the lake below the whole way.

A child stands on a rock overlooking a deep blue lake, dense forest, and rugged mountains under a clear sky.A deep blue lake surrounded by green forests and mountains under a clear sky, viewed from a high vantage point.Two smiling people in caps take a selfie outdoors, with a lake, mountains, and a child in the background.Two smiling people in caps pose for a selfie with a scenic background of a lake, mountains, and green trees.A dark blue mountain lake surrounded by pine forests and rocky slopes, with green shrubs in the foreground.An adult, two children, and a dog stand on rocks by a stream, surrounded by green trees and foliage.An adult, two children, and a dog stand on rocks by a stream in a green forest.An adult and a child stand smiling next to a wooden sign for the John Muir Wilderness in a forest.

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