Southforkriver.net

May Lake Overnight - Sue & Allyn - July 2007

Introduction

Day 1

Day 2

Photo Album

Map

NG Topo Map

Day 2

Morning on the lake was gorgeous! The lake was like glass and the reflections off the lake of the mountains was very nice. I ran into the HSC manager coming from his morning walk and he said that it was a treat as usually the lake was not as smooth. We had coffee and then breakfast (freeze dried eggs with bacon) in tortillas again and the taco sauce really added a nice touch. After breakfast we cleaned up and took a casual walk up the trail that leads to Mt. Hoffman. We had not intended to hike to the peak, we just wanted to take in the views to the south.

The hike up and out of the lake was nice, going through a boulder field littered with wildflowers. Tracking the use trail through the boulders was interesting as there seemed to be a variety of trails that made there way up to the saddle in the mountain. We made our way up to the saddle and were rewarded with some very nice views of May Lake and the Sierras beyond. But we were also treated to a rather nice meadow at the top of the saddle that drew us further up the trail. Sue kept me going up the hill and we made our way through another boulder field to a bench on the southeast side of the mountain. We could have made the peak with the shape we were in but we were not prepared to do any more climbing with only a half liter of water left. We sat down and took in the views of the valley below, with Half Dome watching over. The skies were clear so the views of Clouds Rest, the Clark Range and of Cathedral Peak and Tenaya Lake were great. You could also see to the crest of the Sierras and take in Mt. Dana, Mt. Conness and even towards the Mt. Lyell area. It made for some nice photos!

After about a half hour taking in the views we headed back down the hill towards camp and made some lunch before packing up and heading down the mountain. As I mentioned before, while this is more of a day hike, it was very nice to camp overnight and take in the views and walks each day. We both agreed that this would be a good trip to do again and come more prepared to bag Mt. Hoffman. The trip down the hill was not too bad and we made our way to the car at the trailhead and headed back to the cabin. The only downside to this trip was we didn't get a chance to stop at the Tuolumne Meadows snack bar for our soft serve ice cream! Oh well!