Refreshed by a good night’s sleep I now had the energy to climb 3100 ft. up the mountain. It is a killer hike. I was not going to count them, but I did anyway: 104 switchbacks. You heard me right: 104. I took it slow and easy and I got to the top in 3 hours. I had to carry extra water because I was not sure if there was any along the trail. There are no creeks marked on the map until the spring at the top. Carrying extra water makes my pack much much heavier. As it turned out there was water so I did not need it. Ah well, better safe than sorry.
Table Lake is not a very nice lake or a good place to camp. There are plenty of spaces to set up tents but access to the water not easy. It is very brushy all along the lake side and only a couple places where you can get to the water. It took me awhile to find a spot and even so I had to walk a bit to the water. I noticed later there were a lot of mosquitoes right by the lake but not where I camped. They were not biting yet but it will not be long. Probably just a matter of days.
In the evening I figured I would do my easy hike. Easy, ha! It was far from easy. The hike was very brushy with a lot of off trail scrambling. It took over an hour to get to the waterfalls and I arrived just in time for photographing them, not a minute to spare. It was getting late. Both the waterfalls were good ones and worth the effort to see them but I wonder if there was an easier route. I thought I should not go back the same way but instead return to Table Lake via Irwin Bright Lake. Surely there would be a trail from Irwin Bright back to Table Lake. Yeah, right. There was no trail and it was just as difficult and brushy. It also took over an hour. Finally I got back to camp just as it was getting dark. Day 4 of Yosemite backpacking trip complete.
June 4th, 2025 at 9:47 am
Very nice!
June 4th, 2025 at 5:16 pm
thanks Mike!