Hoover Wilderness
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West Lake Falls Hoover Wilderness |
July 23, 2019
En route to a rendevous with friends tomorrow in the Yosemite high-country,
the plan is to knock of a bucket-list item here, then sleep in the car somewhere
outside the park on the Tioga Pass road.
The Green Lakes Basin awaits me
Prickly Poppies line the roadway
There are half a dozen other vehicles here
Almost immediately after starting out, I am surrounded by flowers. This rates to be a pretty nice day on the trail!
Ragwort
Alpine Lily
Richardson's Geranium
Cow Clover
Green Creek is full
Earthstars
Snowbrush Ceanothus
This one is easy to cross
Starting uphill
My favorite wilderness
Water, water everywhere
A trio of Leichtlin's Mariposa Lilies
Looking north
This one requires some rock-hopping
Getting up to the anticipated trail junction seems to be taking too long. I am not walking at all slowly, and had expected to be there by now.
Still more to go
Finally...
Turning right onto a trail that has not seen my feet previously, I must cross another
creek, then start climbing in earnest. Suddenly, the forest opens up and reveals
a spectacular 900-foot cascade.
Flowing directly out of West Lake
Now I can see Green Lake for the first time.
Toward the left is Camiaca Peak, 11739', on the Yosemite border
As the camera waits for the sun to come out a bit, it finally does:
I dub thee West Lake Falls
Nice!
This trail is quite steep, and it is expected to be even more so farther on. During rest breaks, there is plenty to photograph on this hillside.
A Zerene Fritillary in the Pennyroyal
Anderson Thistle
Mule's Ears
Green Lake and Gabbro Peak, 11033'
It is starting to cloud up significantly above my objective. I pause,
wondering whether to continue. Also, I am rather more weary already than was
expected; having climbed only 1,300 feet altogether, I should not feel this
fatigued.
I actually talk myself into turning around; but after descending about a hundred feet, I look back, and the sky seems to have cleared up above West Lake. Trudging uphill again, I retrace my recent steps. Tired or not, I really want to do this thing.
When the sky turns blackish again, however, I finally give it up. Knowing that I am just using the weather as an excuse, I simply don't feel like fighting my weariness for the remaining 700 feet of steep ascent. All I have to prove is that I'm getting old, and I just did that.
End of the line
Well, at least I know now what the plan is — to head back with my tail between my legs, taking more pictures as I go.
Looking up Glines Canyon into Yosemite
This is why I go hiking
The clouds come and go
It's 300 feet back down to Green Lake
Last view of the falls
Monardella
Paintbrush
Wandering Daisy
Sticky Cinquefoil
Green Lake islands
This one is crossed on the logs on the left
The Penstemon come in many colors
Back at the junction, I turn toward the lake; but after a quarter-mile I am blocked off by Green Creek itself.
I don't know how they got over there
Trying to ford that torrent isn't worth the effort just for a couple more photographs, so it's time to head back for real.
Looking east at the Bodie Hills
To the south is Dunderberg Peak, 12374'
Kavanaugh Ridge and the wilderness boundary
This is rather unusual
Sierra Bog Orchid
Monkshood
Intermittent cascade on Monument Ridge
On the other side of that ridge is the remote Hunewill Lake
(Hike #136).
That one has no name at all
They are rushing through the garden
I'm not in such a hurry
Lodgepole Pine
Coral Spot fungus
Textures
Stately trees line the trail
The remaining slog verifies my earlier contention that this trail is "too long". In retrospect, I would observe that the trailhead actuall is about 0.7 miles down from the end of the mapped road.
Still more than a mile to go
§: Well, I did not achieve my destination today. Not only did I
seem to be off my feed a bit, but I let the threat of a few raindrops talk me out of
continuing to West Lake. The floral display, however, was the best I have
enjoyed this summer.
Unfortunately, I probably will not try this route again. There remains so much else to do, and I'll not have enough time or energy as it is.
Don't let that stop you, however; for this area is gorgeous. Up on
that shelf behind West Lake are the Par Value Lakes, Bergona Lake, and a mapped
waterfall — all worthwhile objectives for the enterprising adventurer.
One cannot spend too much time in the incomparable Hoover Wilderness, which is perhaps the most colorful of them all.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Flowers | |
