Months before we (finally) decided to move to Minnesota, we had made plans to do two big trips in California’s Sierra Nevada with our friends Wayne and Diane. In August, we completed the first of these – a passel of dayhikes from a basecamp at June Lake, CA.
This month we went back to complete the second big trip – a mule-supported hike on the John Muir Trail between Red’s Meadow and Tuolumne Meadows. As an acclimatization prelude to this trip, we did a couple of dayhikes in the vicinity of Mammoth Lakes.
Our first acclimatization hike was an out-and-back to Parker Lake just off the June Lake Loop Road (State Highway 158). It’s a very popular and easy hike (3.8 miles (6.1 km) roundtrip, with just 540 feet (165 m) of gain).
We got a moderately early start in the cool of the morning on a day with perfect hiking weather 😎 and had the lake to ourselves for an hour or so. It provided some of us with the opportunity for a very, very invigorating (i.e., very, very cold 🥶) swim.
On the way back, we passed a dozen or so folks sweating their way up to the lake in the noontime sun. Overall, a very good hike to a beautiful lake with no one much feeling the altitude. 😁
BOOTS on the TRAIL 
Yes, it was – even when the weather took a turn for the worse. 🙄 But, then, California needs all the rain it can get!
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Looks like a bunch of fun!
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