Ted's Hiking World Lukens Lake
Yosemite National Park

September 29, 2016

I pull into the Tioga Pass entrance station at 8:30 a.m., still uncertain as to whether I will attempt to conquer Mount Dana today.  There are clouds in the sky, and the ranger says that it might rain this afternoon, and rainstorms are a big deal on Mount Dana.  Because I still feel somewhat out of sorts, that is all the impetus I need to wimp out and postpone that adventure yet again.

Plan-B is two or three short walks to new places.  This is the first.

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An unusual admonishment at the trailhead

I have not bothered either to bring a walking stick or even to put on my boots.  No particular challenge is anticipated.

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The trail is nice and soft

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A meadow appears

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Lukens Lake, 8218'

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The far side of the lake looks passable, so I will go over there

A serendipitous find:

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Aww...

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The west bank

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On the north shore

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Closing the loop

On the walk back I pick up the usual fragments of litter, then run across a sandwich bag smack dab in the middle of the trail.  How could that be?  I surely would have noticed it earlier.  Finally it dawns on me that I must have dropped it myself.  Surely enough, a pocket in my pack has not been zipped shut.  Horrors!  I hope not to do that again.

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The east bank


§: This trail was about what I expected, albeit perhaps a bit milder.  It is suitable for all types of people and all types of footwear.

Another half-mile walk would have accessed the Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River, which I would have done earlier in the season when the water levels were higher.

Scenery *
Difficulty *
Solitude *

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* July 2021: Most of the trail has burned, up to the south side of the lake. 
By looping around the top of the lake, one can traverse some undamaged turf.

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