Walks at dawn

Double rainbow on the trail down to the lake

One of my most cherished camping traditions is taking a sunrise walk.  While back home I take every chance I can get to sleep past 6 am; when I'm camping I find myself out of the warm tent and into the bracing morning air as early as 5 in the morning.

There is nothing quite so peaceful as a stroll through the transition from night to dawn.  Early mornings are particularly magical in the mountains where granite peaks light up with soft alpenglow and ridges create a mesmerizing dance between shadow and light.

Twin Lakes, Bridgeport, CA

In late June of this year I made my first trip to the Eastern Sierras on a camping trip with James and his aunt and uncle.  Having spent my childhood camping in the verdant North-Western Sierras I was unused to the steep granite peaks of the High Sierra and the dry climate in the sierra rain shadow.

Our destination was the beautiful Twin Lakes near Bridgeport California and gateway to the Hoover Wilderness.  At an elevation of 7000' the two lakes lie end to end at the bottom of a steep glacially carved valley.

From 395 and the town of Bridgeport, Twin Lakes Road meanders through bucolic pastures, past a dude ranch and into the Twin Lakes Valley. Along this route to the lakes are a collection of