big pine backpacking trip
The views toward seventh lake via the north fork big pine creek trail are some of the most amazing that I have seen in my backpacking trips. Although this is the first blog post of a trip, I am fairly well traveled in the hiking realm— so when something REALLY impresses me I’m stoked.
Third Lake Inyo National Forest, CA.
About 6 months ago my friend Erin snagged permits. This hike is in the Inyo national forest + permits must be obtained 6 months prior to the date hiking to the exact date. Each day a select number (I think 25) slots are released on recreation.gov + they go REAL fast.
Third Lake at Sunset.
We started our hike mid morning + took our time taking in the sights. While this is where we camped there were plenty of sights to be seen + waterfalls to play in along the way. I was absolutely stunned at the color of these lakes as I have only ever seen pictures of alpine lakes these colors from Banff in Canada. So to see this in the Sierra Nevada Mountains was such a treat!
flowing river along north fork trail
The hike in is approximately 6 miles + 2500ft of vertical gain. I would rate this a 6-7/10 in difficulty. It was almost all uphill, but still very doable because of the distance for most humans! We hiked in that 6 miles + camped at third lake. If you hang the very first left when you see the lake + keep making a hard left towards the water you will find some AMAZING camping spots.
Camping spot was just behind where this picture was taken. SO incredible.
The second day we split into 2 groups. Some of us wanted to hike down to Pallisades glacier + others wanted to travel to the other lakes. I wanted to take the glacier route + do all the rock scrambling + the views DID not disappoint. We had to boogie out of there as the afternoon Sierra storms were rolling in, but got in some great views!
Palisades Glacier, Inyo National Forest
The view towards the left of this photo is somewhat representative of the rocks we scrambled up + down to get down to this view! You can also see some of the storms rolling in. It adds about 60 minutes to your trip to scramble up + down + explore, but I highly recommend not skipping it if you are physically able. Route was fairly easy to follow for a scramble, too!
Round trip from third lake was about 6 hours. Approximately 6 miles + 2100ft of vert. gain.
The view going up to the glacier of first, second + third lakes. SO stunning!
I 100% recommend this trip for anyone who loves the outdoors. The views are something I will remember for a LONG time! Thanks Erin for having me come along on your permit!!
