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Six years ago, we visited Benson Lake and the stretch of trail from there until
Matterhorn Canyon on a 1-way hike from Leavitt Meadows to Virginia Lakes. I
remembered that the kids really liked Benson Lake, so I thought a return trip
would be a good idea. This time we'd take the more traditional loop route
starting at Twin Lakes, only overlapping our old route by about 15 miles.
There's a quota for hikes starting on the Barney Lake trail, but a few weeks
before our trip I managed
to get the last 4 (out of 25) spots for the day we wanted.
We stopped by the Bridgeport General Store at 9am to get sandwiches for
the first day of our trip. Then we drove over to Twin Lakes. Arriving
at Mono Village, we paid for parking (only $15 for the 6 days), prepped
our packs, and ate our sandwiches (too hard to carry otherwise).
The parking lot is near the edge of Twin Lakes, so we had to walk
through Mono Village to get to the trailhead. We followed the camp
road, lined by RVs on either side. Eventually we left the camp and
turned right at a small sign that said "Barney Lake" to the right.
Meadow just outside Mono Village
We now started climbing uphill through an open forest. Soon we reached
the trailhead proper, with a paneled display of wilderness information.
We continued to climb through the forest, eventually leaving it behind
and emerging into an area of low brush in the hot sun. At least the
grade here is very gentle.
Sun-kissed trail
View from the trail
Next we started switchbacking up through a dense overgrown area of
trail, leaves and small branches whacking our shoulders and legs.
After leveling off, the trail straightens out and reaches Barney Lake,
about 4 miles from the trailhead. There's a wide sandy beach here.
Several other hikers were here, either day hikers or people getting ready
to camp here for the night. We stopped to enjoy the views and
filter some water from the outlet stream in preparation for our
continued hike.
Barney Lake
Barney Lake
Leaving Barney Lake
It had been a hot day, but it started to cool a bit as we climbed up
along the shore of Barney Lake. Leaving it behind, we descended
briefly, passing through aspens along the way. We started to hear
some distant thunder as we started up a series of switchbacks.
Trail toward Peeler Lake
After the switchbacks, we continued to climb through the forest
until reaching an intersection. To the left was Robinson Lakes
and the trail we'd be returning on after our loop. We took the
right fork to continue on to Peeler Lake. After some more climbing,
we reached Peeler Lake. We spent a few minutes exploring the
area looking for a good campsite. Someone we'd met on the trail
earlier had mentioned a bench above the lake. I saw a use trail to the
left (just before reaching the lake). After climbing for about 5
minutes on the narrow trail, I reached a great flat camping
area. It was high above the water, but there were great views
of the lake nearby.
Peeler Lake
Peeler Lake
Bench above Peeler Lake
After setting up camp and having dinner, we enjoyed a nice sunset.
Each round trip
down to the lake to get water was 15-20 minutes, but it was a small
price to pay for such a nice spot.
Peeler Lake
Peeler Lake sunset
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