On July 19th, Emma, Isabel and I drove from the bay to Twin Lakes, CA. We had invited our friends out to a camping weekend at the northern terminus of the Sierra High Route.

Dodging bouts of summer rain, we indulged in lake swims and shared meals by the campfire in order to prep for for the two weeks that laid ahead. We packed two full bear cans of backpacking food to be stashed in Tuolumne Meadows, and shuttled Isabel's car to Mammoth Lakes where we planned our second resupply.

After eating lunch by the lake on Sunday, we said goodbye to our friends who had work the next day. The weather had dampened our campsite but not our spirits. It was finally time to start walking!

Thankfully there was a trail for the first 2 miles. As we followed it we watched the boats and RVs of Twin Lakes get smaller and smaller the higher we climbed. Several switchbacks later the steep hillside eased into a gentle valley where we got our first glimpse of the high sierra. The tall peaks looked magnificent and the air still smelled earthy from rain.

A few hours later we selected a camp spot at about 9,200 ft just as the first drops of afternoon storm started coming down. Not too much talus yet. It was a short but tiring first day!

Mono Village to Horse Creek Canyon (9200ft) - 3.71 mi and 2087 ft gained.