More Dinkey Lakes
What comes after First Dinkey Lake on a hike in the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness? Second Dinkey Lake? Dinkier Lake? Well, there actually is a Second Dinkey Lake, but it's off on a spur trail. The loop we were hiking brought us to South Lake next.
Though South Lake is smaller than First Dinkey Lake (so it really is Dinkier Lake 🤣) we liked it better. The granite walls at the back of it make it seem both cozier and more imposing at the same time. It's a classic Alpine shape for a lake up here at 9,300' elevation.
From South Lake we continued the loop trail up over a ridge then down steeply to Swede Lake.
By the time we got to Swede Lake we were getting a bit laked out. And definitely trail-weary, as by this point we'd already hiked over 5 miles with nearly 1,000' of ascent at high elevation with no acclimation. But we did poke around a few spots on the rocky lake shore to check out different vistas.
From Swede Lake the trail continued down steeply again, dropping into a large hanging valley around Mystery Lake. From this angle (photo above) Mystery Lake looks kind of small, but that's because we're standing at the head of one of the inlets that feeds it. The stream above here is dry, the snows on the 10,500' peaks above us having already melted in this summer's record heat. But you can see where water flowed in to replenish this lake weeks ago.
We picked our way around Mystery Lake, heading off trail to stay close to the shore as the trail veered away from it. It turns out the reason the trail veered away is that we were actually veering into the lake. ...Well, actually out onto a marshy spit exposed by the low water. The photo above shows us looking back across a pond separated from the main lake by the receding water. The trail is off in the distance near the trees.
Picking our way around the shore and over the boggy spit afforded us some different views of Mystery Lake other hikers in the area didn't find. We chatted with a few of them when our paths rejoined. They seemed to be in the mode of putting one foot in front of the other. I don't fault them; we get like that at times, too. But we do try to remind ourselves to slow down a bit an appreciate the beauty in which we walk.
Though South Lake is smaller than First Dinkey Lake (so it really is Dinkier Lake 🤣) we liked it better. The granite walls at the back of it make it seem both cozier and more imposing at the same time. It's a classic Alpine shape for a lake up here at 9,300' elevation.
From South Lake we continued the loop trail up over a ridge then down steeply to Swede Lake.
By the time we got to Swede Lake we were getting a bit laked out. And definitely trail-weary, as by this point we'd already hiked over 5 miles with nearly 1,000' of ascent at high elevation with no acclimation. But we did poke around a few spots on the rocky lake shore to check out different vistas.
From Swede Lake the trail continued down steeply again, dropping into a large hanging valley around Mystery Lake. From this angle (photo above) Mystery Lake looks kind of small, but that's because we're standing at the head of one of the inlets that feeds it. The stream above here is dry, the snows on the 10,500' peaks above us having already melted in this summer's record heat. But you can see where water flowed in to replenish this lake weeks ago.
We picked our way around Mystery Lake, heading off trail to stay close to the shore as the trail veered away from it. It turns out the reason the trail veered away is that we were actually veering into the lake. ...Well, actually out onto a marshy spit exposed by the low water. The photo above shows us looking back across a pond separated from the main lake by the receding water. The trail is off in the distance near the trees.
Picking our way around the shore and over the boggy spit afforded us some different views of Mystery Lake other hikers in the area didn't find. We chatted with a few of them when our paths rejoined. They seemed to be in the mode of putting one foot in front of the other. I don't fault them; we get like that at times, too. But we do try to remind ourselves to slow down a bit an appreciate the beauty in which we walk.