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When we arrived at the large dirt parking lot around noon, it was completely
empty.
Having last been to this trailhead for a hike to Jennie Lake on a July 4th
weekend years ago, this was quite a contrast. It was a late August Friday
and we had the whole place to ourselves -- for about 15 minutes. While we
were getting ready to head out, two cars pulled in, with 8 backpackers (3
adults, 5 kids). They were also headed to Weaver Lake, but would be spending
the night.
We started off on the trail, which shortly crosses a creek and begins
climbing immediately. It's standard Sierra forest here - no sign of sequoias,
but it's pretty all the same. The trail is quite sandy, but easy to follow.
After a short climb we reached the main trail which starts from Big Meadows.
We turned left to continue on up toward our destination.
Shortly, we passed tiny Fox Meadow on the left and continued uphill. The
next trail intersection is by a small creek. To the right is a signed fork
toward Jennie Lake. We'd been there before, but this time we took the left
fork instead, easily crossing the small creek and continuing on the trail on
the other side.
From here, the trail climbs steadily. While the first part of the trail had
been mostly shade, this part after the trail intersection is mostly out
under the hot summer sun. There are still trees, but they are scattered
more and don't provide much shade relief. That being the case, there are
also some decent but not spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.
After about another mile of climbing, we reached another trail intersection.
The trail off to the left heads toward Rowell Meadow. Instead, we continued
straight and very shortly came to Weaver Lake. The lake sits at the base
of rocky Shell Mountain. It's a beautiful place to just sit around and relax.
Still, it's not quite as pretty as Jennie Lake.
Weaver Lake
Another view of the lake
We had the lake to ourselves for about 15 minutes before the 8 backpackers
arrived. Another group of 3 more backpackers arrived just before we left the
lake. In the meantime, we had lunch and watched blue damselflies (the same
kind I'd seen at Five Lakes near Lake Tahoe). I always thought these were
dragonflies, but after doing a little research, I think they're damselflies
(which are similar, but smaller). In any event, they're pretty.
Looking back at our lunch spot
I was
also fortunate enough to spot a tiny little frog, about half the size of
my thumb. I chased it around with my macro lens. This was my first hiking
trip with my new digital SLR camera (Maxxum 7 Digital). Before this, I had
been using slide film with my film SLR (Maxxum 7). Overall, I was pretty
happy with it, although some of the greens weren't as vibrant as I'm used to
with Fuji Velvia film. I suppose I can just post-process the digital files,
though. One of the nice things about having the digital SLR is that I can
set the ISO speed at will on a per-shot basis. No need to carry an extra
camera body loaded with fast film (as I used to do). This is especially good
for hand-held macro photography. I set my camera to ISO 400 and 800, and
chased around that frog. Now that I have the digital SLR, I will probably
be doing even more macro photography.
Tiny frog
Another look at the frog
Frog on the rock
After enjoying the lake for over an hour, we headed back down the way we
came. 25 minutes later, we ran into another group
of 5 backpackers coming up. They asked us
if anyone else was at the lake, and we told them about the others. Again,
this group was just like the others in that it included kids (in the 7 to 11
year old range). Weaver Lake must be a popular destination for families
with kids, because it's only a little over 2 miles to hike in. There are
probably more kids who do this as a backpacking trip than Jennie Lake, which
is a much tougher 5 miles in.
The view just above the creek crossing
After that, we didn't see anyone else on the trail. When we got back to the
parking lot, it felt strange to be leaving. All the other cars in the lot
were those of the backpackers. They'd all be enjoying the lake while we
drove back to our campsite at Grant Grove. Maybe some day we'll return and
do the trip we originally meant to do 5 years ago -- a backpacking loop with
one night's stay at Jennie Lake, and one night at Weaver Lake.
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