We're back from a short trip in the Ansel Adams Wilderness east of Yosemite, where we started in sparkling clean air, and were quickly introduced to the smoke from the Rim Fire. This is a steep hike up out of Walker Lake…but there are some great views on the way up, and a nice creek to follow. We stopped at Lower Sardine Lake because we found a nice campsite on the West shore…and we weren't sure there were going to be any better ones at Upper Sardine. And it was lovely.
Here's a shot of what it looked like before the smoke arrived:
And here is what it looked like a few hours later…when the smoke from the Rim Fire blew in on a westerly gale.
The next day we decided to day hike up to Mono Pass, where we were tourists through the old mines…
And then we headed home a bit early, thinking that it would be good to breathe some clean air…but the trip was still a wonderful adventure. Here is a link to the full photo set:
https://picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/BackpackingInTheSierraNevadaBloodyCanyonAndMonoPass#
