BDML backpacking trip August 22-25, 2024
Useful links: Alltrails Map, Trip Photo Folder, Julia's planning spreadsheet
The 2024 BDML backpacking trip was a true adventure! Together, we witnessed a tremendous range of the beauty California has to offer: from rolling central valley hills to a harsh mountaintop snowstorm, crystal clear lakes to pristine alpine vegetation. A special shoutout has to be given to our many new backpackers that joined the trip: Saad, Teo, and Chengyi braved the wilderness like pros in their first ever Sierra Adventure!
This year's route through the mountains
Day 1: red segment from Twin Lakes to Barney Lake. Day 2: blue segment from Barney Lake to Crown Lake. Day 3: purple segment day hike to snow lake and back. Day 4: blue and red segments back to Twin Lakes!
The trip began with a 5 1/2 hour car ride from Palo Alto into the Hoover wilderness, including a winding trip through Sonora Pass and some stops for chicken nuggets. Upon arrival to the twin lakes trailhead, we hiked the 4 mile, ~1,100 ft vertical climb from the trailhead at Upper Twin Lake to Barney Lake.
BDML backpackers at Barney Lake
From left to right: EmJ, Chengyi, Hao, Saad, Mark, Xinyi, Abi, Teo
The afternoon hike to Barney lake and subsequent campground was gorgeous and we stopped to take lots of pictures:
After being shaken by monstrous winds during the night, we enjoyed a relaxed morning before hiking up to Crown Lake. This section of the trip was the most treacherous climb. A total of 5 miles, the ~1,200 ft of elevation gain was mostly condensed into a very steep rocky section just before the Robinson Lakes. Mark and Abi went for a (freezing cold!) swim in Robinson lakes and we ate a pleasant lunch on the beach before making the final ascent to Crown Lake. The weather cooled down quickly after we set up camp, so we ate a quick dinner before hunkering down to bed early.
We knew it might rain (and had actually been warned by passing hikers on the way up to Crown Lake), but we were NOT expecting what was about to unfold that night: a snowstorm passed through our little clearing in the mountains, leaving behind ~1-2 inches of fluffy snow!
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|---|---|
| Friday night: mountain meadow | Saturday morning: winter wonderland |
Hao, Chengyi, Saad, and Teo's tents were rented from AOERC and not sturdy enough to hold up to that much snow. As a result, they endured a freezing cold night and decided to head back down the mountain Saturday morning. They made it safely down, and had a lot of fun exploring the nearby town of Bridgeport while Abi, EmJ, Xinyi and Mark opted to stay in the mountains for one more night.
Teo, Saad, Hao, and Chengyi head back down the mountain to Twin Lakes
The girls and Mark ended up waiting until the sun came out and taking a nice day hike up to snow lake. The snow revealed lots of animal tracks, and we had lots of fun identifying them on the way up to the lake. A note for the future from Mark: Mule pass to slate mountain is a great alternative day hike with a beautiful view!
Pictures from the snowy morning and day hike can be found below:
Night 3 ended up being the coldest night of all -- every water bottle kept outside of a tent froze! The wind and snow had stopped though, which made everything far more bearable. EmJ, Xinyi, Abi, and Mark finished exploring Crown Lake and headed back down the mountains to reunite with Hao, Chengyi, Teo, and Saad. The hike down was very sunny and warm -- so warm that Mark and EmJ stopped to take a swim in Barney Lake on the way and Abi and EmJ began to rhapsodize about the ice cream they would eat upon exiting the woods.
Abi, Mark, EmJ, and Xinyi take one last selfie at Crown Lake before heading down the mountain
Final images from the hike back to civilization:
A few final notes:
- Some gear we wished we had included:
- A second water filter -- sharing one filter between 7 people was a little tough
- Hand warmers -- useful for heating up cold feet in the tent
- Chapstick -- the dry air + the cold was brutal for our lips
- Warmer clothes -- everyone should bring a rainproof outer layer and at least one warm sweater/fleece, no matter what the weather says
- A foldable bucket -- for gathering/carrying water
- AOERC rentals do not extend to the final date you pay for, only to the return date you write down (e.g. even if you reserve gear for 5-7 days, if you indicate a day 6 return, you will be charged a late fee for gear turned in on the 7th day)
- For future newbies: we spent ~$65 per person on food for all 4 days, and ~$110 on gear rentals. This cost will obviously be a bit lower if you are able to bring/borrow your own gear, or if you opt for simpler food options (e.g. cous-cous instead of freeze-dried Mountain House meals)