Circle the Cirque Crest

Marion Peak over Marion Lake. No collection of pictures can do this lake and area justice. The trailed gully can be plainly seen to the right, which is in shade. One could easily spend weeks exploring the wonders of this area alone, and probably never see another person the entire time. It was long my goal to visit this lake, and it was more than worth it...

Marion Lake, Finally!

Circle The Cirque Crest - By D.W.Donehoo (All rights reserved)

One of the first things you notice is the plaque attached to a large bolder near the trail that explains in so many words why the lake is named Marion Lake. After that the next order of business is to find a safe way across the outlet stream, which would be a real chore early season. Rounding the lake further on is a fairly well established camp, as well as possibilities near the outlet. Without a doubt, Marion Lake is a national treasure. Easily, it is one of the most beautiful lakes in the Sierra, if not THE most beautiful lake in the Sierra. Words and pictures do the lake no justice: you have to be there to experience the scope and grandeur of the surroundings. There are cliffs, cascades, waterfalls, red mountains and vast gullies, granite peaks, headwalls and snow. There are molten clear glass waters, mature forests with huge trees, deer, rodent, insects and birds. There are jagged skylines and colorful flowers, hissing falls and whispering breezes. In short, it has everything you go the Sierra to see and experience. And it is an experience of a lifetime. If Red Pass was the emotional high, then Marion Lake was the aesthetic high. It is perfection among lakes.