Re: TR: May Lake via Ten Lakes (7/13-17 2014)

Hello. I would like to thank everyone who contributes to this forum by providing trail reports and photos from their trips. I started visiting here around the spring of 2013. Since then, I have been reading a lot of the older posts, absorbed in the places people visit, and getting ideas for my own backpacking trips. I figured I would contribute with some of my own trip reports and photos. Earlier this year I wrote about a trip I took to Cathedral Lake. I did 2 5-day trips this past July. I am writing about the 1st one here, and I'll write about the 2nd one in another post.

Last year, someone mentioned having participated in a Big City Mountaineers (BCM) expedition. I did some research, and liked what they do, mentoring underserved inner-city youth in the wilderness. It combines two of my passions, mentoring youth and backpacking. This year I participated as a mentor, and it was one of the most wonderful things I have done. It was a group of 6 teens ranging from 15 to 19 years old. It was an amazing experience to watch them on the 1st day as 6 individuals looking out only for themselves, and on the last day working as 1 cohesive team towards group goals. Watching them grow over the course of 5 days, the feeling they get from watching the sun rise over the mountains, the stars shining bright at night, was gold. The trip covered about 21 miles from the Ten Lakes TH to May Lake with a summit of Tuolumne Peak.

The weather was fair and clear on day 1, but it pretty much rained in the mid-afternoon on days 2, 3 & 4. On day 2, there was rain and hail for a short while during the afternoon in the Ten Lakes Basin. On the 3rd day, we had rain, thunder, and lightning along the way up to some tarns at the base of Tuolumne Peak. It was quite an experience watching the storm come and go. After the rain stopped, the air cleared up, the sun poked its rays through the cloud cover, and the diffused lighting created some amazing views of the surrounding peaks and sky. Watching the steam coming off the granite was a treat. On day 4, there was more rain and hail as we made our way up from the base of Tuolumne Peak to Raisin Lake. I am sharing some of the photos I took, minus the ones with the teens.

Enjoy.


Bugs on flowers






Wildlife






Wildflowers along trail junction, Ten Lakes & Grant Lakes


Ten Lakes Pass


Ten Lakes Basin


Nightshot of one of the Ten Lakes


After the storm






Tuolumne Meadows, Fairview Dome




Tuolumne Peak


View north from Tuolumne Peak




Infinity Pool



Milky Way over Raisin Lake


Sunrise at Raisin Lake


May Lake

Fabulous pictures! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for posting the pictures, and more so for your volunteer work.

Those are some outstanding photos, they look like they belong in a calendar. Is that a bird flapping by in the center of your photo of the Infinity Pool? Thanks for the trip report and for doing the volunteer work. Hopefully you've helped ignite a passion for the outdoors in some of those kids.

Yep! I did not see it when I was framing the shot, until after I was browsing and weeding out the bad photos. I first saw the shadow in the pool of water. Pretty cool.

Fantastic photos, you are talented! And big thanks for doing the volunteer work with the teens.

Awesome photos! Some of the best I've seen from this season. Thanks for sharing.

Adding the same sentiments as the others! Thank you for the great photos and the work with the teens! I have always hoped that if I can just help *one* person truly fall in love with the wilderness so that they will continue to cherish it and fight to protect it throughout their lives, I've done something good. I truly hope you've managed to do that with at least one of the teens!

Yeah those pictures are amazing

Thanks!

Great shots!!! Rock on!

Spectacular.
Well done, you!