Crown Lake 2021
Sadly, this trip was cut short due to smoke from two different fires, one near Lake Tahoe, and one in Yosemite, causing us a lot of smoke trouble. But it was still really fun and I'd love to return.
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Trailmap for our route starting at Twin Lakes.
Day 1
Day 1 (red line on the map) started from Twin Lakes and ended at Crown Lake. It's a bit of a trek at 8.5 miles gaining around 3,000 feet, with a few pretty tough uphill runs. The first one, just before Barney lake, isn't too bad, but after Barney there are some steep switchbacks.
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First day has a nice gentle start.
Pretty exposed though.
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Barney Lake is a great lunch spot. You don't often see beaches like this in the mountains.
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Crown Lake has good camping in the middle, but we were aiming for a different spot (and the middle was taken anyway). If you go past it, there's a great spot up the stream that forms the inlet to the lake. Nice and shady with easy water access.
Day 2
We made a day hike up to Snow Lake and then up to the pass. Pretty easy day, especially after the first day.
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Steep short climb up to Snow Lake.
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We saw so many little frogs in the grass.
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The other side of the pass has a wonderful stream.
We walked "fifteen minutes" over to this saddle to overlook Rock Island Lake.
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Day 3
On the third day, we woke up and the smoke had gotten really bad. I was coughing a lot, and it was generally oppressive, so we decided to hike out early. Fortunately it was downhill most of the way so we weren't breathing too hard.
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This is a pretty easy trip, and can be made even more beginner friendly by adding a stop at Barney lake if you're tired.