Brainerd Lake
Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 5:06 pm
We hiked to Brainerd Lake on Labor Day. The log bridge over South Fork Big Pine Creek is gone.
We waded the horse crossing about 30 feet downstream of the former bridge. In the morning the water was about 18 inches deep and maybe 2 feet in the afternoon. I was surprised at the force of water no deeper than that. You had to be careful to maintain balance. I learned a new respect for hydraulics.
A view of the canyon headwall which is ascended via an endless series of steep switchbacks.
Looking at the canyon from the switchbacks.
The reward above the headwall is a stunning view of the Palisades.
We have been somewhere in the Sierras most Labor Days for 14 years. The Willow Lake area was the only place where we have ever seen a mosquito. Bring Deet.
The trail passes an unnamed pond that is on the topo map and another that is not.
The second pond was teeming with tadpoles. There were hundreds.
Amazing scenery at every turn.
Brainerd Lake.
The lake was full of trout.
Happy hikers at the lake shore.
We waded the horse crossing about 30 feet downstream of the former bridge. In the morning the water was about 18 inches deep and maybe 2 feet in the afternoon. I was surprised at the force of water no deeper than that. You had to be careful to maintain balance. I learned a new respect for hydraulics.
A view of the canyon headwall which is ascended via an endless series of steep switchbacks.
Looking at the canyon from the switchbacks.
The reward above the headwall is a stunning view of the Palisades.
We have been somewhere in the Sierras most Labor Days for 14 years. The Willow Lake area was the only place where we have ever seen a mosquito. Bring Deet.
The trail passes an unnamed pond that is on the topo map and another that is not.
The second pond was teeming with tadpoles. There were hundreds.
Amazing scenery at every turn.
Brainerd Lake.
The lake was full of trout.
Happy hikers at the lake shore.
