Last weekend I hiked to the "Five Lakes Basin" from Grouse Ridge trailhead, off of Bowman Lake Road north of CA-20 in Tahoe NF. This is a trip I took four years ago in October, I decided to revisit at a time when I could go swimming. This is a lower altitude area, the trailhead is around 7,500 ft., the Five Lakes around 7,000. On the way I hiked to Glacier Lake, around 7,500', which still has plenty of snow on the north facing slopes behind it.
Going out I hiked on the Glacier Lake trail, coming back the Sand Ridge trail. The USFS says the Sand Ridge trail is unmaintained, but someone cleared away freshly-fallen trees from the trail. The area is popular with Boy Scout groups, so I guess I have them to thank for the clear trails. Otherwise, the only snow covering the trail was a 100 ft. section 2/3 of the way to Glacier Lake.
The bugs were out, but not too bad - nothing like my mid-July Emigrant Wilderness hike, or my early July Desolation Wilderness hike.
The swimming was awesome, great water temperature, nice granite near the lake, solid lake bottom, couldn't ask for more.
Pictures...
Milk Lake, right below the trailhead:
Lots of lupine blooming (and other wildflowers, this is an amazing year in the Sierra):
Glacier Lake:
The lake where I camped:
Another of the five lakes: