Re: Starr King Lake

Any advice on reaching Starr King Lake from Glacier Point? Is it a good place to camp? Doesn't appear to be on any named trails.
Thanks,ted

Ted, since no one has replied to your question, I’ll give it a shot for you. I’ve never been to Starr King Lake and therefore can't comment on camping there, but it shouldn’t be a problem getting to the lake from Glacier Point.

1. Take the Panorama Trail from Glacier Point; this heads in a SSE direction. (Good memories here: my first hike in Yosemite was a day hike along this trail from Glacier Point to Nevada Fall and back in 1968.)
2. Ignore the trail going down toward Illilouette Fall. This trail intersection is approx. 1.7 mi. from the Glacier trailhead.
3. The Panorama Trail meets the Buena Vista Trail at Illilouette Creek and then heads N. Take the Buena Vista Trail S.
4. Turn NE at the next trail intersection (Mono Meadow Trail).
5. After approx. 0.3 mi., there is another trail intersection. Ignore this and keep on the Mono Meadow Trail which is heading E at this point.
6. After approx. 1.5 mi., this trail will tee into another (unnamed?) trail. At this point, you are approx. 1.5 mi. S of Mt. Starr King.
7. Time to head cross-country. From my CD-ROM TOPO! map of the region, it looks like you should head 42°E of TN (True North) for approx. 1.5 mi. If you have a GPS unit, this should take you near 37°42’00”N 119°30’00”W.
8. Then head 25°W of TN for approx. 1.3 mi. and this should bring you to the southern edge of the lake (37°42’59”N 119°30’33”W).

On a historical note, I was going to point out that there is a statue of Thomas Starr King in Golden Gate Park. I seem to recall that it is on the south side of JFK Drive somewhere between the Conservatory of Flowers and the DeYoung Museum. When I did a quick web search trying to more accurately pinpoint its location, I was saddened to learn that another statue of this highly-principled Patriot/Statesman/Humanitarian (http://www.kingms.org/king.jsp) is to be removed from the National Statuary Hall and replaced by that of a third-rate actor/fourth-rate politician (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Starr_King).

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THE YOSEMITE POST
Voice of the Rocky Marmot Empire

I went to the lake after walking around Starrking back in 1990 . I came up from Yosemite valley leaving the Nevada falls (horse trail) trail about midway between Vernal and Nevada . I did it as a day hike , and it was pretty easy . . . as bushwhacking goes I guess . I remember the west side of the lake being densely wooded but not many other details . The Mono meadows approach would be plenty scenic , and I envy/applaud your trip-choice .

Hi.
I did this as a two day backpack trip in Oct of '05.
Starr King "Lake" is pretty much a marshy pond this time of year...
It may be a meadow this year... It is completely surrounded by forest.
And not too impressive...
You do get see the top of Starr King though...
Maybe it is much nicer in the spring.. but ... it's not spring...
That being said the trees that surround it give way to the north
and you come to exposed granite and some beautiful views of the
Merced River Canyon including Cascade Cliffs, Bunnell Point, Moraine
Dome, etc.. Starr King Like May dry up completely.
The trek that I did I took the Panorama Trail to the Buena Vista trail.
Crossed Illilouette Creek then headed towards Ottoway Lakes.
When the trail hit 7000 ft. (there is a sign) (one will say ottoway 10.6).
From there I headed off trail and up ... to the south of Starr King around
to the east side. The southern most two domes are easily climable
without ropes. Unfortunately you need ropes for Mt. Starr King proper.
From there I headed northeast to the lake and the views I mentioned
above. After that I headed south and found the stream from Starr King
Meadow. This is a personal thing but I thought the meadow was much
prettier than the marsh. Once in the meadow head due west to find
the trail.. You can take the higher trail back to the panorama trail.
Total mileage is around 20. I did it in two days...
I'd do this trip again without hesitation. Starr King and the dome to
the north are classic yosemite stuff...
You could probably head off trail between that dome and north of
starr king to the lake and not be in the trees as much.
I don't know how to put pictures in here ...
Hope this helps you. Of course be careful and all that stuff...

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