|
Originally when I got the permit for this hike, I was thinking we
might have a zero day at Benson Lake. But after looking at the
distances I decided that it would be better to have a short day to
Smedberg Lake instead, allowing us to go partway up Matterhorn
Canyon the next day, making the following day to Crown Lake shorter.
Plus, I remember Smedberg Lake being nice and thought it would
make a nice camping spot.
Benson Lake
Benson Lake
Beach at Benson Lake
That being said, today would only be about 5 miles, so we took
our time getting ready, not leaving camp until 10am. We then made
the short flat walk back to the intersection, then turned
right to start the climb up to Smedberg. It's over 2000 feet of
climbing up to a 9600 foot intersection. There aren't much in
the way of views on the way there, and the climbing is fairly
relentless, about 3 miles from intersection to intersection.
At least clouds kept the hike cooler than it otherwise would have
been. We passed one hiker in the opposite direction near the
bottom (when we crossed a stream), then were passed by 3 hikers
in the same same direction as us later on the climb. Those
were the only 4 people we saw today.
We finally reached the intersection, then turned left and 0.3
easy miles later reached the next intersection. We turned left
again here to head to Smedberg Lake. I knew it was mostly
downhill from here (probably less than a mile), but unfortunately
after descending a steep set of
switchbacks the trail actually climbs up again before making
the final descent to the lake.
Heading toward Smedberg Lake
Still, even with all the climbing we reached camp early and
apparently had the entire lake all to ourselves (the 3 hikers
we'd seen earlier left just as we arrived). There are ample
campsites scattered around the lake.
Smedberg Lake
Smedberg Lake
Thunder and lightning did arrive later in the afternoon.
Thankfully it was mostly distant. It never actually reached
the lake, probably coming within a couple miles. All that
storm activity meant one thing for us: a nice sunset.
We enjoyed watching the fish jump out of the lake and also
walked along the shore for a better vantage point of the sunset.
Smedberg Lake
Smedberg Lake reflection
Rocks in Smedberg Lake
Rocks in Smedberg Lake
Smedberg Lake
Smedberg Lake trees
Pond reflection
Smedberg Lake sunset
Pond reflection
Watching Smedberg Lake sunset
Smedberg Lake sunset
Smedberg Lake sunset
Smedberg Lake sunset
Black and white Smedberg Lake sunset
| 
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
RSS Feed
