Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Lake Ediza (lucky #7)

Ediza's silhouette as we arrived at Lake Ediza
Our 7th annual hiking trip to Ediza's namesake started off not so lucky. When I drove to Mammoth Lakes to get our backcountry permit, the area was covered in white smoke from a fire south of town. The next day as we drove to the trailhead we experienced downpours of rain. Even as we started hiking we heard thunder and reports from other hikers of hail at Lake Ediza.

A family shot with llamas Golden and Nash on the way to Shadow Lake (below)

Somehow we managed to bypass the storms for two days, even as dark clouds and cold wind blew through. We were caught off guard a bit by the weather as our previous trips have been hot and sunny. But the weather ended up adding a whole magical element to this already magical place. We kept ourselves warm drinking tea and eating hot meals at our campsite high above the lake. Ediza, of course, kept herself busy exploring everything from wildflowers to wildlife.


The weather started to clear (although still smoky) our final morning. Here's two photos of Golden on a rock above our campsite followed by a golden sunrise over the lake.