Camping Near Lake Alpine
We went camping last weekend, up near Lake Alpine. We went up Saturday and got a campsite at Pacific Valley campground. I had wanted to drive out to Highland Lakes but the road was closed for the Death Ride. We set up camp, ate lunch, and then everyone laid around for an hour or two. Around 4 we decided to hike to Kinney lakes to go swimming. I think it is about 2 miles from Ebbetts Pass to the lakes, on a fairly level trail.
It was a little windy but the water wasn’t very cold (64° F). We hiked around the lake looking for the best possible swimming spot and right where we had started, on the southwest side. As we were getting ready to leave, we noticed some kind of large bird in a dead tree on the other side of the lake. It looks like a Bald Eagle to me, although perhaps it was just an Osprey. The lighting made it really hard to see (not having a zoom lens doesn’t help anything either).
On Sunday we broke camp and drove up to Mosquito Lake so that we could hike into Bull Run Lake. The sign said it was only 3.5 miles to the lake, but neglected to mention that there is a lot of gratuitous climbing. It was well worth it though, because the lake is gorgeous. The water is extremely clear and there is a small island in the middle of the lake. We swam out to the island and back, then ate lunch and hiked out.
We hiked in Saturday and found a campsite on a hill above the main lake. It was windy during the evening, and rained a little bit so we moved camp to a lower, more sheltered spot. Sunday morning we decided we would try to climb Highland Peak before going home. We didn’t expect to make it before our self-imposed noon deadline but ended up making really good time. We followed the trail towards Bull Lake, but at the saddle turned left and climbed the ridge towards the peak, which unfortunately meant we had to climb up and over Peak 9741. Next time, I would cut straight to the saddle between Highland Peak and 9741.
From the 2nd saddle, there was a faint trail up the ridge to Peak 10824. Mostly class 2, with a little class 3 near the top. We ended up not going past Peak 10824. Highland Peak was probably another mile away, but only 100 feet higher, and it didn’t seem worth it. We ate lunch on top and then headed back down. There was enough loose rock near the top to run down in great sliding leaps. We made it back down to the lake by around 3 and headed home.