A weekend in the Chocolate Lakes with new friends
The Invite was for a quick trip into the John Muir Wilderness. The Chocolate Lakes off the Bishop Pass trail at South Lake near Bishop.
This 6.6-mile loop trail is generally considered moderately challenging by visitors, but it is often completed as a day trip that takes an average of three and a Half hours. The plan was to meet a group of guys (Brian, Mark and Ray) from the Los Angeles area in Bishop and spend two nights in the Chocolate Lakes region hiking, fishing, and getting to know each other a bit as our paths were filled with acquaintances and passions.
I was excited to hike near Bishop and into the John Muir Wilderness. This region has escaped my journey to this point. The draw of the Eastern Sierra and its jagged, towering peaks and stunning lakes had me showing up a day early and boondocking near Crowley Lake to experience the region even further. In the morning, I woke before daybreak to pack camp and head into Lake Sabrina for sunrise. I could not pass up the opportunity to check out this picturesque setting I had only seen online. Following a chilly and windy sunrise set up at Lake Sabrina, which was already drained lower for the season, I drove up to North Lake for a quick picture or two before heading back to Bishop for breakfast at a local classics Jack’s Restaurant Bakery. With time to spare before our trip, I also took a drive East into the White Mountains to check out the Ancient Bristle Cone Forest for the first time.
Time to Hike
After a good morning of exploring near Bishop, it was time to meet up and start this adventure hike weekend. After a quick hello with my new hiking friends in Bishop, we headed for Southlake midday to hit the trail up into the John Muir Wilderness. South Lake did not disappoint, I found it to be a stunning window dressing to the high Sierra. It is no wonder that on a Saturday afternoon, parking for this trail can be tricky, not only is it a popular trail entry into the John Muir, it offers stunning lake life activities so close to Bishop.
Patient enough to find parking as day hikers started to leave, our group took a moment to observe the small group tradition of weighing the packs before heading out. We all landed in the 35- to 40-lb pack range and nervously chuckled about the pain we would experience for the extra conveniences placed on our backs. Buttoned up and ready to go, we headed off around 3 pm for our Short 3-mile hike up to the Chocolate Lakes. We expected to hike into the Lower of Middle Chocolate Lakes and establish a Fishing base camp for the group for the weekend. The South Lake Trailhead and route into Bishop Pass is aa well traveled and maintained trail, starting just above the south Shores of South Lake; the trail climbs through Aspen groves above the lake, giving hikers incredible panoramic views of the lake and the surrounding variety of jagged peaks int he basin. It simply might be one of the most scenic first miles on a trail I have ever experienced. And though our three-mile trek was a nonstop, gradual (sometimes aggressive) climb into the John Muir Wilderness, the crew seemed to enjoy the scenic nature and stay in good spirits as we discovered this route together. Wildflowers still blooming in Late July and streams still full of water added pleasant beauty to this trail expereince.
Bull Lake Route
After running into several Backpackers heading off the trail from the JMT or the North Lake to the South Lake Loop, we eventually reach the Lower cutoff of the Chocolate Lakes Loop. The trail heads up about 100 yards to Bull Lake, then continues around to the Lower Chocolate Lake region in the next mile.
Notes from a ranger in Bishop talking about how few camp spots were available up at the Chocolate Lakes were playing in our heads. With a group of four and it being a little later in the day, we quickly decided that Bull Lake was a nice place to set up base camp for the weekend instead of hiking further, unaware if we could find open spots above at the Chocolate Lakes this late in the day.
Bull Lake is a pleasant Bowl lake set at the Base of Chocolate Peak. It has a decent shoreline for fishing and a quick dip. The Outlet runs North-West into Long Lake, just across a small meadow that separates the two Lakes. After setting up camp, the guys quickly had their Poles out and started exploring the shorelines for fish. The Outlet proved to be the spot for the evening, as Mark caught a nice Brooke on the first cast.
I was taken aback by the scenic beauty of Chocolate Peak while sitting along the shoreline. This region is known for its ragged, stunning granite peaks like “Cloud Ripper,” ” Mt. Goode,” and”Picture Puzzle.” You wouldn’t necessarily expect a peak like Chocolate. Colored just like a Chocolate Ice Cream Sunday with wark Chocolate Colored Rocks and draped with a whiteish, almost acidic-looking rim at its base, the Chocolate Peak stood out for its unique beauty in this stunning backdrop of the John Muir wilderness.
A quiet evening in the Wilderness
As the sun began to set on our crew, we worked together rather seamlessly for a group out on our first adventure to prepare our meals, draw water and prepare for a quiet evening in the Wilderness. As the stars started populating the night sky, the stunning visuals of the Milkyway adn thousands of stars lifted our spirits for a bit as we shared stories of our adventure lives, dabbled a little on the personal get-to-know-yous and started to look forward to what would be an epic day int he High sierra tomorrow.
The evening was great. I watched the stars for a few hours before turning in, and besides a few field mice playing around our gear, it was peacefully quiet. Unfortunately, I had chosen to tent camp for the first time in years because I was uncertain of the region and the variety of trees, so my sleep was nowhere near as good as I typically sleep in my hammock. Still, when morning broke the mood around a fresh cup of Press coffee at camp was exuberant.
Fishing Long Lake and the Chocolate Lake Loop
After a good breakfast and a small bit of fishing at Bull Lake, the crew decided that we would reverse course a short bit and work our way counterclockwise around this Chocolate Lakes Loop and headed over to Long Lake, A short hike from our base camp.
I don’t think we had left camp 15 minutes before the rods were out and in the water catching rainbow and brook trout at the shoreline of Long Lake. Being the only non-fisherman in the group and always seeking out photographs for the magazine, I felt like their personal backcountry photographer for a bit as I watched them use a variety of techniques to lure their catch for the morning.
As we scurried along the shoreline for the next few hours, the guys played in several deep pools right off the trail before reaching the far West shoreline, where the creek flows into Long Lake. The sun, now high in the sky, had me begging for a swim. Not wanting to disturb the fishing with my giant beach whale flops in the water, I told the guys I was going solo for a bit up to Ruwau Lake and started backtracking to the trail cutoff we had passed a short bit back. The trail was steep like a mule made it, but relatively short up to Ruwau Lake. A gorgeous clear water bowl sitting at 11,044′ just below & alongside the Inconsolable Range. Ruwau Lake was indeed my type of get-a-way. Surprised to find myself there alone, I quickly found a nice place to rest adn take a dip in the refreshingly cold water. Much like other typical granite bowl lakes in the region, its shoreline dropped off quickly in the rocks, making the entry point easy and clean. As I sat on the shore warming up in the sun and enjoying the afternoon breeze, I was astonished at the height/relief of this mountain range still here at over 11,000′. It is such an incredible blessing to be invited to this trip. Soon, two of our party made it up to the lake from Long Lake. Ray fell a bit ill and headed back to camp. They immediately started scouting the shoreline for fishing locations on the West shoreline and settled in on the shoreline, relaxing in the sun and cool breeze.
A Stranger with Local Knowledge
After a bit of fishing and relaxing, I was surprised by a hiker who randomly approached behind me. He came to the shoreline close to me and conversed pleasantly. A local to the area he had been climbing nearby adn was telling me stories of climbing all the peaks nearby and his everlasting thirst for finding Golden trout in the backcountry. We swapped stories for a good 45 minutes on the shoreline, and I really was enjoying all the local knowledge he seemed to have on the region. Plus, he was doing things that even my young 20-year-old body might not ever attempt. How quickly the day started to fade, however, and the three of us realized we had half the loop left back to camp before dark, so we parted ways with a smile and some good local advice for the next part of our journey to the Upper Chocolate Lake.
Upper Chocolate Lake
The route to Upper Chocolate Lake from Ruwau Lake is a little convoluted but easy enough to locate and find, leaving Ruwau and climbing over the pass between Chocolate Peak and the Inconsolable Range. However, the route down off the pass leaves much to be desired. Steep and slick, we took our time finding the best footing, heading down to the lake below us on the side of the mountain. I don’t mind saying that the Upper Chocolate Lake was my favorite. These lakes are tinted green, and the Upper Lake has a beautiful meadow shoreline at the Western edge next to the pass. I filled up my water here, and the guys looked for a quick place to throw in a line as the sun was now starting to lower below the range, and shadows were racing up the canyon walls.
Moving to the middle and lower Chocolate Lakes, we crossed the stream several times, occasionally making steps for a few more jigs in the water. As we made our way around Chocolate Peak, we also started to gain the sun again, so the rush back to camp slowed a bit, although hiker hunger was starting to kick in. Looking around at middle and lower Chocolate, we were glad that we chose to stay at Bull Lake as the camping spots up here were smallish, and it would have been difficult for four tents to fit in any one area.
As we approach the trail down to Bull Lake again, we can see Ray on the shoreline fishing still; I guess he was feeling ok, adn our attention turned to the evening dinner.
A Final Night in the Wilderness and an Early Morning Good Bye
Sitting around dinner telling stories adn learning a bit more about each other, the comfort of the mountains was evident in our slower, more deliberate pace. A long day int eh sun had everyone searching for the pillow earlier than the night before. Me, having to leave at the crack of dawn to make it back into cell phone range for work, said my thinks yous and goodbyes, hoping not to disturb the group when I awoke and packed at daybreak.
The following day, I was up at 5 am, packing the tent and bag and leaving camp just before 6 am. As I walked towards the end of the camping area, I heard Ray, wish me well and safe hiking. Ditto, I said and turned into the John Muir wilderness for a quick 3-mile hike to the car. (All downhill). As I approached South Lake, the sunrise glow was just starting to hit the peaks of the range around me, making for a great photo opp around South Lake. I am so thankful for the Invite and the courage to go it alone with a new group. This was a great trip in a beautiful place, but what made the trip special was the group of guys who welcomed me into their traditions, passions and love for the high Sierra. I do hope to repeat a similar trip in the future.
