After visiting some more popular places in the campervan, we had a couple of slower days in the Sierra Nevada to explore some of the hiking trails. Our first stop was the North Fork of Big Pine Creek, part of the Inyo National Forest and John Muir Wilderness Area. After spending the previous day below sea level in Death Valley, we knew that starting the hike at 7,824 feet (2,400 metres) was going to be a bit quite different.
The trailhead was tucked up a valley off of the main highway and despite the popularity of the trail, we were easily able to find somewhere to park the campervan. The first section of the trail was relatively flat and we were able to enjoy the last of the autumn colours.
The gentle incline didn’t last for long and quite soon the trail started climbing steeply, although it was well graded and had plenty of switchbacks, which made a nice change from the steep tracks we are used to in New Zealand.
After a couple of miles we came across a beautiful log cabin in the forest, the cabin was built for the actor Lon Chaney in the 1930s. Sadly he passed away shortly after the cabin was finished, and following the 1964 the Wilderness Act the cabin was preserved and is now used by rangers in the area.
From the cabin the trail continued to climb through the scrubby pine forest, eventually a break in the trees provided views across the appropriately named First Lake.
The track continued to climb above First Lake, towards the creatively named Second Lake. As we skirted above the lake we started to get the first clear views of Temple Crag, the rock formation that dominates the skyline in the upper portion of the valley.
We were able to find a rough trail down to the shore of Second Lake to get better views across the lake towards Temple Crag. With the slightly cloudy skies this late in the year, the water was a deep green colour, but on sunny days in spring when the lake is fed by glacier meltwater the lake is often a vivid turquoise.
Our final stop for the day was the equally creatively named, Third Lake. The lake itself was pretty dry, but the views towards the upper valley were beautiful. As we arrived the sky started to clear and we were able to find a sunny spot to enjoy our picnic lunch.
Eventually we decided it was time to start making our way back down the valley. Although it was an out-and-back hike, the views were different enough that the miles passed quickly as we dropped over 2,000 feet (600 metres) back to the trailhead.
We knew that it was going to be a long day of hiking, so we had reserved a campsite at the National Forest campground next to the trailhead. We found our spot tucked away in the trees and were getting settled when a herd of deer walked through. We were just a few days from the end of the camping season here and with the exception of the deer we more or less had the place to ourselves which meant we had a very quiet evening.