14 August 2024
South Fork Big Pine Trail to 9200 feet
(5 miles, +1,300/-1,300 feet).

Half Cookie and I are back in the Sierra! This time we are doing a day hiking trip, starting with a short one this afternoon after driving up from San Diego.

It was a short hour to get to the crossing of South Fork Big Pine. There were two nice guys hanging out there fishing and enjoying the afternoon.

We knew we didn’t have time to hike all the way up to Brainerd Lake, but we did have time to hike part of the switchbacks up through a nice grove of foxtail pines.

By 5pm we were back at our cabin at the Glacier Lodge.

I don’t mean to be negative, but what a dump! A windowpane in the kitchen was broken and replaced with cardboard and duct tape. There were mice in our kitchen. There was a cracked, softball-sized hole in the shower wall. We expected it to be rustic, but this seemed a little extreme, especially for a place that cost the same as places in town.

Next time we will stay in Bishop!

In the meantime, we decided to leave the kitchen to the mice and head outdoors for dinner.