While driving to today’s destination, we were enveloped in rain about two-thirds of the way there. Rather than turn back, we decided to take our chances on the weather. We arrived at the parking lot around 8:30am and went into the visitor center to check it out. The people working there were super friendly and they had t-shirts and whatnot for sale.
I put on my rain jacket (I always keep one in my day pack, just in case), and we ventured to the trail head as the sky sprayed us with little droplets.
We were in the Mokelumne Wilderness within El Dorado National Forest.
The trail was quite nice, wide and easy to follow with many interesting views along the way.
It was sprinkling most the time, which made the colors of the terrain look more vivid.
As we continued, the rain began heavier, plus I was feeling the altitude (we were over 9,000 feet!). We had hiked a mile and half before we stopped to consider our options, namely continue or turn back. We decided to continue.
The landscape was magical with the cloudy sky above and moisture all around. And, although most of the hike was uphill, I was taking lots of pictures and enjoying the altered environment.
We were at another decision moment: Continue on the loop trail or retrace our steps. We both agreed to continue on the loop trail, so we followed the path that led away from the lake. The camera got wet, so a few of the pictures were foggy.
The return path was mostly downhill, which was great for me because I didn’t feel the altitude as much. The landscape was just as spectacular.
We met a lot more people along the return path, almost all of them were very friendly. We crossed a cool bridge that looked brand-spanking new.
The last leg of the loop was a little underwhelming. We walked along a road that led to another road that led to the highway, which was a dangerous 1/4 of a mile back to the visitor center. However, there was a beautiful meadow that was worth the trek.
All in all, another nice hike. Very scenic, even in the rain.
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