Our next stop on our highway 395 journey was the June Lake Loop. We found Grant lake to be overall scenic but camping wise it was rather unappealing. We also went to June Lake campground but found the sites very uneven, small and tightly packed. A very confusing layout and I had a hard time finding my way out of it.
So we settled on Silver Lake which turned out to be fantastic. Spacious sites, only $11.50/nite with my senior pass, right next to the creek, lots of hiking trails, helpful camphosts, and a cafe for breakfast just across the road which we took advantage of.
I used my new waders here and tried more fly fishing which was fun to do in the middle of the stream and practice but no luck with catching any trout.
Amazing waterfalls here. I did fly my drone attempting to get up next to them, but since we were at about 7,000 ft elevation and the mountains were at 10,000 my 400′ limit hardly got me even with them. Carson Peak which is the snow capped one in the photos is just shy of 11,000′.
We hiked up the trail (up all the way) to the big falls coming off of Carson Peak. We got to around 8500′ to Agnew Lake which empties into the falls. It is fed by Gem Lake which we didn’t make it to this time but plan to on our next trip. Its apparently gorgeous. The trip was around five miles round trip but with the steep incline we left the dogs in the motorhome. Also the trail had lots of sharp rocks which had been known to damage dogs feet.
There was old rail car tracks going all the way up to Agnew Lake. Must have been used in creating the dam up there. Part of our hike was going up these old tracks. We even got into snow at one point. Agnew lake, I found, somewhat disappointing since it was quite low. I heard they had a problem with the dam recently and had to repair it, drawing down the level quite a bit. Crossing one of the streams rushing down the mountain was a little harrowing but we managed without any mishaps.
Next stop is Convict Lake.
I am so jealous of you guys!