There are two routes to take from Vogelsang to Merced Lake - the Fletcher Creek Trail and the Lewis Creek Trail. Our host checking us in said the Lewis Creek trail had the “five star views” but was longer and harder. We choose the Lewis Creek option and the 500ft elevation climb to Vogelsang Pass. What a good choice that was, the views of Vogelsang Lake and the surrounding mountain peaks - stunning. We were at our highest elevation, 10,600ft - so high that the snow had not completely melted yet.
After we crossed the summit, the scenery changed dramatically. Mountain Wild flowers sprung up along the trail as we hiked amongst giant Pine trees. We connected with the Lewis Creek and followed it for the next five hours, steadily down.
You would think that walking downhill would be easy, no way. The last two hours of this hike would be the hardest. Not easy to describe the nature of the trail - but it was a steep decrease in elevation as you hiked on continuous small boulders with no dirt landing areas for your feet. Our knees and thighs were done in after two hours of pounding. Our 9 mile hike to Merced Lake took 6 hours. I would imagine the last mile or two we were averaging 40 minutes per mile - when an average walking pace would be 16/18 minutes per mile.
Merced Lake
Merced Lake Camp - 7,210ft
The terrain & views at Merced Lake Camp were totally different than Vogelsang. Nestled amongst giant Jefferson Pines, the camp seemed so tranquil and peaceful. This would be our home for the next two days, as we planned to do a day hike the next day and rest up for our final day of hiking - 15 miles to the Yosemite Valley floor.
Hike to Washburn Lake
Fortunately for us we were able to tag along with a National Park Service Naturalist (Kayrn) for our hike to Washburn Lake. She was guiding a group and they were staying at Merced Lake Camp for the same two nights. She got no volunteers to join her from her own group, so we quickly said yes and had our own private guide - amazing ! Her first stop a pine tree with a bear claw from years past, a marking to designate (his/her) territory.
Her knowledge of the geology, forest, animals, insects, birds and the whole eco system made the hike incredible for us. It seemed like we stopped every five minutes to learn something new. Her second stop was at a fallen log that had been cut to clear the trail for hikers. Inside the crack of the log a colony of ants was carrying out very tiny bits of wood to drop on the forest floor - piles had started to form. These bits of wood would serve the forest floors eco system and maybe eventually when the colony was big - a bear would split the log open to feast on an ant colony after a long winters hibernation. This is how everything is somehow dependent on each other.
The hike to Washburn Lake followed the Merced River. Actually Washburn Lake is the headwaters for the Merced River Basin, one of the most important river systems for fresh water for the big coastal cities of California. The hike was as beautiful a hike as I have ever been on.
Washburn Lake
This lake was one of John Muir’s favourite spots in all of Yosemite Park. There is a rock overhang that is called the John Muir Rock, where he got stuck in a snow storm once and had to spend the night. Eventually he came back and built a small cabin on the lake. What an amazing view he had…...
