Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 9.2 miles
Time: 5 hours
Accessible: July - October
Our #adventure to Temple Crag started as in inspiration from an Instagram picture by @tiffpenguin as I was browsing around for #nature posts. She has now become one of my favorite Instagram accounts for adventure inspirations. I remembered thinking to myself..."wow, it can't be that blue?" Indeed, Temple Crag, with it's #glacier #lake is a stunning hue of #aquamarine.
We set out on a two-day weekend #backpacking trip from our base in Southern CA to the Eastern Sierras, making our way to our first camping spot in Lone Pine. The trail to Temple Crag is located in the #Inyo National #Forest near the towns of #Bishop and Big Pine. The hike we did is called the Big Pine Creek North Fork Trail, part of the John Muir Wilderness, with stunning views of natural glacier formations and the majestic Temple Crag (a mountain peak). In Lone Pine we obtained wilderness permits at the visitor center. The visitor center is often crowded and there is a lottery system for obtaining permits. From Lone Pine we set out on the road to Big Pine and the Big Pine Creek North Fork Trail. The North Fork Trail goes through a series of seven lakes which are naturally retained glacier water, which gives the lakes a distinct turquoise hue. The trail head here is lower than usual for the Eastern Sierras at a little over 8,000 feet, which means it can become pretty hot on sunny summer days. Hiking this trail in October was mildly pleasant.
After about a 4 hour hike we made it to the 2nd lake where we made camp at a sandy beach near the bottom of the lake. The views surrounding the lake are magnificient. It was a difficult hike at certain parts of the trail but the reward at the end is absolutely worth it. My friends were crazy enough to take a dip in the freezing cold water which I did not dare to partake. It was a breath taking experience.
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