Carson Pass Trail Head - El Dorado National Forest - 8/14/16

Carson Pass Trail Head - El Dorado National Forest - 8/14/16

Our campsite at Silver Lake in El Dorado National Forest is a delight ... Cool temperatures, tall trees, nearby lake ... Life is good (and, with our Senior Access Card, cheap, too ;-)

Silver Lake was a recommendation by a couple from Palo Alto whom we met on our hiking trip in the Italian Dolomites.  They use to have a cabin in the area and were able to recommend the campground, several hikes and a few restaurants in the area ... Always good to have personal recommendations (like Bob's recommendation of Rock Creek Lake and golden trout ... It will have to wait for another trip to the Sierra Nevadas ;-)

And, one of their recommendations, was to drive to the Visitor's Center at Carson Pass, get a map, and head out to some of the glacially-formed, alpine lakes.  We started at the Carson Pass Trailhead along the Pacific Crest Trail and headed out first to Frog Lake.

Frog Lake is a pleasant small alpine lake surrounded by towering mountains and we met two older (older than us) women who were a part of WOW (Women Out in the Wild).   One of them offered to take our picture ... We've finally gotten into the spirit of having folks take our picture together (I think that Paul was getting tired of always being my subject ;-)

On to Winnemucca Lake ... A truly picturesque alpine lake under the watchful gaze of Round Top Mountain.  Although the wildflower season was a bit past the prime, numerous wild flowers were still blooming along seeps.  We ran into an older man (way older than us) with wild flowers embroidered on his hiking shirt.  He said that an old friend, a woman who reached 100 years old before she died, embroidered the shirt for him and he only wears it when he hikes in the Sierra Nevadas to keep it from fading and to remember her.

Next step was a rather steep section up higher in elevation to Round Top Lake nestled under the Three Sisters Mountains.  Even more unusual, colorful, alpine wild flowers were found along the trail ... This part of the trail was more exposed (above the tree line) and left us with a quick visit and then the return to Carson Pass.

And, the data returns (GPS was in service) ..

And a plaque commemorating Kit Carson's work to discover (for the non-native Americans) the Carson Pass through the high Sierra Nevadas ...

Finished the evening with dinner at the Kit Carson Lodge ... Our first "dining out" since we embarked on this trip ... Nice to walk to the lodge from our campsite and the lodge overlooks the lake ... Great ambience.  Unfortunately the restaurant only had a limited dinner menu because of the Monday evening (chef's night off) ... Not the best menu, but definitely a charming ambience and a change of pace from our own cooking (and kitchen cleaning ;-).  Life is definitely good ...