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Jean and I arrived at Woods Lake at 11am only to find that the day use parking lot
was full. We had to backtrack a half mile to the overflow parking lot, where
we were lucky enough to find one space (someone just left as we arrived). This
meant we'd have to hike an extra half mile or so. Originally, I'd wanted to head
to Winnemucca Lake, Round Top Lake, then off to Fourth of July Lake before heading
back. This would have been an 8.8 mile hike, but now it would be closer to 10 miles.
I figured we'd decide later if we actually wanted to do the whole hike.
It was 11:15am as we got started on the pavement and 10 minutes later before
we got on the actual trail. It was still morning, but it was clear it was
going to be a hot day.
The trail climbs gently but steadily, through the forest. Jean wasn't acclimatized
and we had to take our time. Eventually we reached the hillside of wildflowers I'd
been so impressed with the previous year. For some reason they didn't look as
impressive this year. I'm not sure if that's because of perception or reality, or the
fact that the sun was so hot and bright today that the colors were muted. For
whatever reason, the hillside didn't look as colorful. Still, that isn't to say that
there weren't lots of picture-taking possibilities, especially since I now had the macro
lens that I didn't have last year.
Indian paintbrush
Yellow wildflower
White wildflower
Lupine
We continued on up the hill to Winnemucca Lake. We found one of the few untaken
shady spots along the shore and settled down for lunch. Leftover salmon. Yum. While
we were there I looked out and found the island which I hadn't seen the year before.
I knew the island existed because we saw it from above the year before, but I hadn't
seen it at lake level. Now I knew why. The island is mostly granite and completely
blends in with the background of the far shore. It would be almost impossible to see
unless you were looking for it, which I was.
Round Top
Look very carefully to see the island in this picture!
Rocks in Winnemucca Lake
After a long break we continued on up the trail to the right, up toward the pass.
We crossed a large bank of snow in a gully and I even threw a few snowballs in the
air. A welcome cool wind picked up as we approached the top of the pass. It's about
a 400 foot climb from the lake to the pass, and Round Top Lake sits just on the other
side.
Round Top Lake
Round Top Lake looked beautiful, backed by the Sisters mountain range.
For some reason, it looked better to me than it had the previous year.
Maybe that's because there were a lot fewer people here than at crowded
Winnemucca Lake.
Round Top Lake
Nothing better than washing up in a cool stream on a hot day
We enjoyed a break by the cool outlet stream, enjoying the ample tree shade.
Then we started the long descent along the stream. The trail was just
how I remembered it until the Lost Cabin Mine. At this point there are
a bunch of signs which point to a "new trail" to follow. It routes hikers
along a narrow trail with views overlooking Woods Lake. I don't remember
this at all from the previous year, and I wonder if it was finished
in the past year.
The Sisters above Round Top Lake
Eventually the trail intersects with the old dirt road which descends all the
way to the campground. After walking through the campground, we turned left
to reach the overflow lot (rather than right to reach the normal day-use lot).
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