15 August 2024
North Fork Big Pine Trail to Fifth Lake and back via Black Lake
(13 miles, +3,200/-3,200 feet).

Today was the main attraction!

I have been wanting to do this hike for quite some time, but I never made it here because I have been focused on watersheds that give easier access to the other side of the Sierra Crest.

We knew it was a big climb to get all the way up to Fifth Lake, so we got a good and early start, hitting the trail at 6:15am.

Lake number one was pretty amazing.

But maybe not quite as amazing as Lake Two.

Both of these lakes were incredible…. and crowded! And the people strutting around the shores were maybe just a little too frat-house. But I guess to each her own!

To skip the crowds Half Cookie and I pressed on to Lake Three for a nice long shoreline break all to ourselves.

It was a decent climb to continue up to Lake Four, which does not have the glacier blue color because it is not fed by glaciers like those on the main tributary of North Fork Big Pine Creek.

And not too far away was our high point for the day at Lake Five.

We took a nice long lunch.

After lunch we followed a different trail back from Lake Five past Lake Four and Black Lake.

The trail back gave us a view of one of the southernmost glaciers in the Sierra.

Soon we were high up on the northern wall of the canyon where we had fabulous views of Lake One and Lake Two.

Half Cookie and I are not young any more! Stretching is a must.

And so is napping.

We took a long rest at a cabin built by 1920s actor Lon Chaney. He only got to use it a few months before he died, but now it belongs to the Forest Service and is a nice place to chill.

By 4pm we were back with the mice at the Glacier Lodge!