Moonset and Morning Alpenglow on North Palisade, Thunderbolt, and Robinson
We packed up and hiked out passing 4th Lake on the way
Rod admires the view of the small unnamed lake right below 4th Lake, I dubbed it 3 7/8 Lake
Black Lake, which an Inyo National Forest brochure said had the best views of Palisade Glacier - wrong! I think they meant Summit Lake does. Black Lake sits in a bowl so the views are a little bit hampered but it does have plenty of fish and nice campsites near the outlet!
The trail loops back to the main trail and is quite steep, here is a shot of First Lake far below. The peak above is the one between Alice and Temple Crag and apparently doesn't have a name. I dubbed it Rod Peak
The moon and Two Eagle Peak
Now you can see First and Second Lake
Leopard Lilies smell divine!
Monkshood Aconitum columbianum
Ageratina occidentalis, Western Snakeroot above Monardella glauca, Mountain Mint below
Hiking out near Second Falls
I stepped off the trail just a little to take this photo. Then I turned around and this cute dog came barreling down the trail towards me, gave me a big lick, then kept on running down. It was a drive-by licking, lol
We hiked out the last part of the trail on the Lower Trail that follows the creek then crosses it. The trail then steeply switchbacks down the hanging valley to the lodge. Next time I think we'll take the old road because this trail was so stinkin' steep! We were quite happy to reach the trailhead after hiking seven miles and descending about 3,200' and promptly went to the store to get our root beer floats :) Then we drove down to Lone Pine and had lunch at the Mt. Whitney Restaurant. I had a parmesan sourdough cheeseburger and Rod had an ostrich teriyaki burger, lol Then we were on the road back to California City where Todd picked me up.
Thanks Rod for a great hike! We'll have to do it again sometime and pursuade Tina and Todd to come with us :)
