Day 2: Bearpaw Meadow to Nine Lake Basin

~ 8.0 miles, 3300 feet elevation gain

Day 2 was stellar with its beautiful lakes and nonstop scenery. The first 1.6 miles gradually descended 420 feet through the forest to Lone Pine Creek. From here we would have a 3300 foot climb over six miles to Kaweah Gap at 10,700 feet. We took long breaks at two gorgeous lakes along the way: Hamilton and Precipice Lakes. And all along the way the trail had open views and every step was beautiful. Our highpoint of the day was Kaweah Gap, which wasn’t too far from Precipice Lake and was a lot more mellow than the other passes we would cross. Between the lake and the gap was a nice alpine meadow where we saw several marmots and to our delight, a friendly pika. We love pikas, but find they are often hard to spot, much less take a picture. This little fellow seemed curious about us and we got a good look before he scampered off.

From Kaweah Gap we had a nice view into Nine Lake Basin and the Kaweah Peaks Ridge. This is the point we left the High Sierra Trail and descended a short distance to the large unnamed lake below the gap to find a campsite for the night. While the forest campsites are nice and we liked the tall trees on this trip, we really enjoy camping above treeline. Our campsite tonight was a nice one and a nice ending to a fantastic day.