How about a hike to a beautiful granite bordered mountain lake? Along the trail there are also spots where you can see great views of Half Dome and the high country.
Where: Yosemite National Park Highlights: Of course, the biggest highlight was seeing beautiful Ostrander Lake, bordered to the south by a granite ridge. On the first part of the hike we walked through meadows and past streams with beautiful reflections. On the latter part of the trail, there were a couple of spots along the trail that opened up to views of Half Dome and the high country. As a bonus, we saw several varieties of wildflowers. This hike is pretty much flat for the first 2.5 miles but climbs steady after that. There is one stretch of the trail that is known as “Heart Attack Hill”, if that gives you any hints.
Before we headed out for our hike, we tried to check the conditions of the trail to see how much snow was still left on it and the best information we received from the park was to expect 30-40% coverage, so we had our snowshoes with us. We drove about 9 miles up Glacier Point Road to the Ostrander Lake Trailhead Parking on the right side of the road, where there was a restroom. When we reached the parking lot, we saw the packers, working on cleaning out the Ski Hut at Ostrander so we asked them about the trail conditions. They said they had been up there the week before and the trail was clear with maybe one muddy spot. So we ditched those snowshoes and are glad we did because we didn’t need them at all.
I snapped a few picture of the pack string as they left the parking lot for their work at Ostrander that morning. Such beautiful stock!
We hadn’t gone down the trail too far where a stream parallelled the trail. The water was perfectly calm and the most beautiful reflections could be seen it its clear waters.
After we left the creek, Gail Gilbert took this picture of me heading up the trail. You can also see one of the ski trail yellow flags high up in the tree.
Up at one of the view points, we discovered a tree that is utilized for snow measurements. See how high up it is?
And here is one of those views I was talking about!
We hadn’t quite reached Ostrander Lake when we saw the pack string heading back down the trail, all loaded up.
These last two mules didn’t have a load and to me they looked a little sad about that situation.
Heading down to Ostrander Lake with the Ostrander Ski Hut on the right. The Ostrander Ski Hut is a two story stone structure built in 1941 by the Civilian Conservation Corps specifically for cross-country skiers. It is operated by the Yosemite Conservancy, a non-profit educational organization in Yosemite National Park.
Distance: 12.5 Miles
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Elevation Range: 7,002′ – 8,625′
Date: May 22, 2013