Emigrant Lake Hike

We (some Sierra Club people and I) hiked in a lovely area yesterday, starting at Caples Lake and ending at Emigrant Lake. It was about eight miles round trip if you believe the signs, but for consistency's sake I'll pretend I trust my Garmin, which gave a distance of only 7.57 miles. Hmmm... Then again, some new software I found does some "correcting" and believes we went over nine miles! (Yeah, right...)

It took us a little under five hours to hike to the lake and back, but that's with a lot of stops. Net climb was about 800 feet, so this was a perfect hike to get my feet wet on my first "moderate" difficulty hike.

Let's see... any lessons from this hike? Yes, first: I probably need bigger boots, not smaller boots as someone told me before. Second: I must be the most overprepared hiker in the local Sierra Club. Growing up, my parents taught me to be a cautious hiker - pack as if you'll get lost. Extra socks, a jacket, pants, extra food, extra water (or a filter these days)... The list goes on. Now, keep in mind: my list of "must-brings" is much shorter than any list you'll find in backpacking books or on the internet. I must have looked a sight in my bursting day-and-a-half pack, while another hiker had just a fanny pack!

Well, old habits die hard... if at all. I'll just pretend I'm conditioning for a monster overnight hike! (Which, perhaps, I am...)

I also brought a second pair of shoes because it was suggested that switching shoes might help my Plantar Fasciitis (no, I wouldn't normally bring two pairs - I'm not THAT cautious/crazy). I switched for the last mile or so, and my feet felt better - but only because my toes stopped being crammed against the toebox. I don't think I'll need to do that again...

Here are some more pictures. It really is beautiful there. You start off at Caples lake for the first mile or so, then follow a trail which has quite a few beautiful waterfalls (my camera doesn't do waterfalls justice).