The Eastern Sierras Continue to WOW Us!

There are many hikes to choose from if you are based out of Bishop, CA, most involve high elevation of 10,000 feet and up. The one we chose during our brief stay in the area was the Chocolate Peak Loop. (topo map link here.) This lollipop loop hike took us among multiple 13,000 foot peaks and past several sub alpine lakes; the scenery was dramatic, majestic, awe inspiring...truly, words cannot do it justice, nor can my little point and shoot camera!

The trailhead at South Lake is at 9,768 feet and our high point on the saddle between Ruwau and Chocolate Lakes was about 11,300 feet. We could have added a few hundred feet more by scrambling to the top of Chocolate Peak, but we'd had enough elevation gain by the time we reached the saddle! This seven mile hike had a good mix of short uphill sections countered by stretches of relatively level terrain. There were a few steep, loose rock, scrambling areas, but nothing where we felt our lives were in danger!

South Lake is a reservoir so the water level fluctuates annually, right now it is quite low.

About half a mile into the hike we were hiking stone stairs among giant granite outcroppings.

Small lakes dotted the basins while 13,000 foot peaks scraped the skyline all around us.

We were dwarfed by the majesty surrounding us!

Bright sunlight dims the chocolate color of Chocolate Peak in the center foreground.
We would make our way up to a saddle behind the peak.

Long Lake was absolutely stunning.

Ruwau Lake.

Rock scramble up to the saddle above Ruwau Lake.

Ruwau Lake from above.
Not much snow on the surrounding 13,000+ foot peaks this year.

From the saddle we could see the first of the three Chocolate Lakes.

Lunch break on the saddle dominated by massive jagged peaks all around us.

Time to scramble off the saddle...it looks worse than it actually was!

Chocolate Lake from the West, backed by the saddle we scrambled over.

Dropping down towards the next Chocolate Lake.
That's Chocolate Peak on the left, you can kind of see the chocolate color of the rock.

Chocolate Lake #2.

Chocolate Lake #3.

Fall foliage along the highway down off the mountains, heading towards Bishop.

Autumn humor along highway 168.

Today we decided to take it easy and checked out the excellent Laws Railroad Museum just a few miles North of Bishop. Laws was once a railroad town, larger than Bishop. Much more than just railroad memorabilia, the park has many buildings brought in from the surrounding communities that are filled with antiques depicting life around the turn of the century and beyond.

The original Laws Depot.

A fancy hearse.

 

Just a few of the old buildings on site.

We stayed at Bishop RV Park at the Tri County Fairgrounds. We chose this park because it was the least expensive full hookup option in town ($25/night). It is convenient to town and was quiet at night, and we had a decent Verizon signal. I probably wouldn't stay here again as it is nothing more than a dirt parking lot with hookups. I thought it odd that new arrivals were put right next to us (twice) even though there were dozens of empty sites throughout the park!

Tomorrow we head on down to Lone Pine for our last couple of nights on the flanks of the Eastern Sierras.