Another Trip

Hikers look out from John Muir Trail onto Garnet Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness in Northern California. (view all Thousand Island Lake, Ca. photos)
NSEL ADAMS WILDERNESS, California — I haven’t managed to find a way to set aside enough time to hike the entire 211-mile John Muir Trail yet (it takes about three weeks), so, until then, I try to hike small segments of it when I get a chance. One fall weekend, my friends Wendy, Rich, Kristi, decide to walk to Thousand Island Lake and Garnet Lake, which lie on of the most spectacular portions of the Trail in the Ansel Adams Wilderness.
We find ourselves hiking through miserable weather: at the start of the High Trail, a lightning and rain storm takes us by surprise. On top of that, Wendy has been breaking in new hiking boots and ends up with painful blisters. When we reach a watery, gray view of Thousand Island Lake, reflecting snow on the mountain peaks behind it, the storm has chilled us to the point of misery. We can only think of eating dinner and hiding from the rain inside our tents. In the morning, in slightly better weather, we follow John Muir Trail past Emerald and Ruby Lake until reaching Garnet Lake, a steel-blue oasis covered in mood-setting fog. Even enveloped in clouds under an overcast sky, the view of Garnet convinces us to return to Ansel Adams again — in better weather. WB
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