
The hike out was long and uphill. The map said 7 miles and 3K ft elevation gain, but my lungs were saying otherwise. Going straight up to 10K feel from sea level in less than 24 hours ended up being a task. Here’s the view from Gem Pass

Once at Alger Lakes I set up camp on, what I would later find out, was the wrong side of the rock/brush. The wind ended up howling all night right into my tent.


I brought my new Tenkara fly rod to the lakes in hopes of getting some fish. Anlgers across the lake were using a reel and, from their yells, sounded like they were making out well. All in all over the weekend I had about 10 bites, and 2 catches (& release). I need to work on sinking the hook and bringing the trout in.

Parker Pass & Koip peak
The hike up to Parker Pass was straight forward. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do one of the peaks or not. I figured I would wait until I got up to the top to make a decision.

Looking up towards Koip peak (the taller between itself and Parker Peak), I decided I had the energy for the quick jaunt up.
At the top I enjoyed the views of Banner, Yosemite high country, and Mono Lake. I couldn’t find the summit register, oh well.

The hike back was straight forward with only a couple day hikers passing by. The aspens were looking beautiful as always. I was lucky to catch a glimpse of my first yellow one.


On the way back, Banner looked great

I wanted to check out June Lake area so I indulge with a burger over at Tiger Bar. The small town was nice, but I’ll stick with Lake Tahoe.
Time/Miles
Rush Creek TH > Alger Lakes: ~7miles, 6hrs
Alger > Koip Peak TH: ~2.5miles, 3hrs
Alger > Rush Creek TH: ~7miles, 3.5hrs