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I took the 7:30 shuttle thinking I’d beat the crowd but Rainbow Falls were pretty packed. Really lovely hike though, down the PCT to Minaret Falls.
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Beautiful area. Mildly strenuous. A few spots with spotty footing, especially on the ascent to the lake. Lots of photo opportunities, both on the way and at the lake itself.
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One of the best hikes I’ve done in California. Some of the most beautiful sights and lakes. Great weather minus some rain. The only downer was the misquitos but they weren’t unbearable. Camping at Shadow Lake is not the most ideal.
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Hike from Devils Post Pile Ranger Station to Devils Post Pile and then to Rainbow Falls and then to Lower Rainbow Falls, back to Devils Post Pile to top of Devils Post Pile and then to Minaret Falls - which were dry so another 1/2 mile past before returning to Ranger station. Hike was interesting if not beautiful. After sitting at Lower Rainbow Falls for a while ascending back to the trail the air was starting to fill with smoke blowing over from the fire at Sequoia NP. It was a surreal hike back and to Minaret Falls because the smoke was thick and much of the area of that hike is burned. It was a great hike and I’d do it again as a hike or backpacking trip.
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A good 12 mile first day en route from Mammoth to Tuolumne Meadows. Super pretty spot. Arrived at 2:30pm. Lots of great campsites to be had. Very dry from Reds Meadow on. Almost all creeks dry. Minaret Creek - waist deep in 2017 - was crossed on rocks.
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Amazing views of post fire backcountry. Follow pink ribbons in the trees for best Jeep route to the weather station. The weather station is unmanned, in a large clearing suitable for camping.
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Minaret Falls trail is very beautiful. Walking by the river is awesome. I am glad I went a few years back. Today there is forest fire scarring.
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Unfortunately, the first two miles of the hike goes through the recent 2020 creek fire burn. I started the hike late in the day but it wasn't too hot yet. Once you get to the Niche, most of the burn stopped and you have the pleasant views of Granite Creek and the surrounding peaks. The lakes were nice and cool but a fair amount of mosquitos. Very small patches of snow around the lake.
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Beautiful trip down a section of the JMT. I wrote the above description, so enjoy.
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Awesome hike. With waterfall. Tiring in the heat. Go early to avoid heat. Take snacks to chill at waterfall.
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Very beautiful lakes and mountains surrounding. Had a nice swim at Shadow Lake and camped at Garnet Lake. Thousand Island Lake was spectacular on the way back to Agnew Meadows. Highly recommend cooling off in that lake as well as Shadow Lake. Mosquitoes were only bad in the evening and morning at Garnet Lake. Going along the ridge after thousand island had some neat lookouts but if I were to do this again, I’d try and camp at thousand island lake and just do an out and back along shadow creek trail.
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Trail is not difficult ... the scenery is worth the effort ... 33’s or larger IMO
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I liked this hike, it was at higher elevation so a bit cooler than other hikes down in mammoth, also there weren’t many people at all on the trail. It’s downhill on the way in so be prepared to hike uphill on the way back. A great short 2-hour hiking workout.
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As always - hiking the Sierra Nevada mountains and lakes provide us with amazing views and beautiful trails. We started this hike at the Silver Lake trailhead, a short distance from the Village of June Lake. The trail ascends immediately, reaching Agnew Lake, from which we continued to Clark Lakes, and ending at 1000 Island Lake at the base of Mount Davis and Munt Ritter and Minarets. where glaciers still exist. The weather was magnificent and there were many backpackers planning to camp near 1000 Island Lake (aka "1000 Tents Lake" as one of them joked to me). I would rate this hike as difficult, mainly due to the long climb, and due to some of the trails not being maintained where we walked on somewhat unstable areas with scree. My stats (Using GAIA GPS) were 15.5 miles and 3,645 Ft of total ascent (out and back hike). Part of the hike was actually on a portion of the PCT!
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I recommend this trail as a nice way to return to Agnew Meadows from Thousand Island lake. It follows the river for the most part and has lots of tree coverage. There are numerous water falls to enjoy.
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This is a rugged hike on a use trail starting near Thousand Island lake. We did this hike in September and had to use crampons and ice axes to cross a sizable snow field. Along the way we passed boulder fields and lush sub alpine meadows filled with streams and wildflowers.
Two of us continued on to summit Mt. Ritter via the SW route. They returned to camp at 9pm after starting at 6am.
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This is a beautiful hike, but mosquitos are hatching so be prepared and have proper protection ( head net, deet, ect). There is some snow around 10000 ft. and the trail will be wet in areas.
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Pretty hike that crisscrosses the tram tracks several times as it climbs, with great views of Horsetail Falls, but — we weren’t blown away by Agnew Lake when we got up there. If you are into seeing the dam & spillway it’s cool, but the trail just stops at a random spot with a partial view of the lake and some big orange platform in the middle of it.
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