TL;DR
Awesome area of Yosemite that’s only 6.4mi from Tioga Road? That would be 10 Lakes Basin. Its approachable from either the 10 lakes trail head off 120 or the longer way from Tuolumne Meadows. We did this hike in June and there was still up to 10 feet of snow in some parts of the pass (9600ft elevation). Enough snow to lose the trail for a mile. 6.4 miles is just to the basin itself. From there you have 2 lakes in the near vicinity. The other lakes require further hiking.
Thoughts
Every year we try and go to Yosemite at least a few times. The wilderness is so vast that, every time we go. we can see something new. A coworker recommended this hike to D so I snagged permits the day they were made available (getting backpacking permits for summer in Yosemite is furious business). This isn’t the most strenuous of trails nor the most scenic until you get to your destination. However, perhaps it was the seasonal timing, but parts of it were quite magical looking. The trail starts off with the standard Yosemite terrain: granite and forest. A few miles, in more and more snow patches started to appear. 5 miles in you hit the switch backs. I imagine during the late summer the switchbacks are dusty stone steps. For us, they were all streams of snow melt. All streams. Streams everywhere. Which made brought to mind the name Riverlands from Game of Thrones. The sounds and sight of it all was unlike anything I could imagine although theoretically, I guess that’s exactly what would happen. The trail provides the path of least resistance.
Once we topped out on the pass we were met with quite a conundrum. We didn’t know where the trail was. Everything was covered in snow. I had my map and a compass and luckily the features of the pass are pretty easy to follow. The questionable part was when to crest the ridge. We followed the ridge as far as we could go without dropping down into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. It was pretty slow work. We weren’t post-holing but the snow had been hardened into mini mogels so it became quite the leg workout. I don’t know what I would’ve done without my hiking poles. Sunset was approaching and we still weren’t positive where to go. Altitude affects were kicking in and we just wanted to eat and go to sleep. Before the drop down into the canyon, we found a rocky area on its own small ridge where we could set up the tent and figure out things in the morning. Being lost wasn’t all terrible though. We were able to see a wonderful Yosemite sunset.
The next day we decided we’d hike up the ridge to the east. If we couldn’t find the trail from there we would call it quits. A short warm up hike and we made it to the top. With relief we gazed upon the 10 lakes basin. 2 of the lakes in easy view. Plus the snow was gone on this side of the ridge and we quickly picked up the trail again. Once in the basin we wondered around a bit (lost the trail in the snow again) and made our way over to the main lake. We were told by the ranger giving out permits that there were established fire rings scattered around the area. We weaved around the granite boulders for a bit looking for a campsite with a fire ring. A few yards from what is probably the largest boulder in the area, we found a wonderful campsite complete with flat ground, fire pit, and a view of the main lake. We spent the rest of the day exploring around the lake, climbing logs, scrambling, crossing streams and picking out good spots for sunset photographs.
This was the first time I’ve been hiking in that middle ground between snow covered and dry. The snow very much covered the majority of the land but it was in a state of distress. It had been melting for a while and will continue melting all summer. But because this area sees little traffic in the early season, everything was untouched. Fragile ice bridges formed across the streams creating small tunnels that streams wove in and out of. The snow melt caused the streams to surge over their banks combing the long grass toward the lake. The scenery brought to mind the aesthetic that Japanese gardens seek to portray. But this was the real thing. This was tranquility. This was zen. This was that inner calm, God within us, that buffers us from the outside world. And all I could do was breathe and listen to the rushing waters. Breathe and be thankful that this place exists in such a modern world and that I am able to seek it out.
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