A Backpack Cross-Country Traverse of the Minarets

I grabbed my food and joined Dave for a mid-morning snack on the rock. The view really made me wish I had more time to walk around the lake and explore the secret gardens, pools and rocky places.

The View From a Rock

A Cross-Country Traverse of the Minarets, August/September 2006

Dave found a rock for perhaps the best viewing location along the lake. It made for a good snack spot as well while we wore out the scenery looking at it. The water was mirror calm (unusual for so late in the morning) making for wonderful reflection shots over the lake. Yes, I spotted a fish or two in the clear deep waters.

So late in the morning, yet so calm the waters became a near perfect mirror. You can see some of the fisherman's trail near the lake edge.

Everything is lining up here: the rock, Dave, the lake, the falls and Iron Mountain.

What could be better than a warm calm morning, sitting on a big flat rock, munching on some trail snacks and just enjoying such surroundings as these? This is certainly one of the reasons I go to the mountains. John Muir explored this area, one of the first to do so, and solo climbed Mt. Ritter for a first ascent. Can it be any wonder, after experiencing such a place as Ashley Lake, that he said, "The mountains are calling me, and I must go..."?