Day Hike To Finger Lake: South Fork Big Pine Creek

Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

 Hike Route Part 1

Hike Route Part 2

Finger Lake Below Middle Palisade Glacier

For some particulars on this hike, see my previous report on the hike to Brainerd Lake. https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2018/09/day-hike-to-brainerd-lake-along-south.html

         Lets’ just say the first hike was a “Recon”. I began this hike at dawn (7am) and intended to get to Finger Lake no matter what. It is about 12 miles round trip with about 3,400’ of elevation gain. I had my headlamp with me if needed. And...it was almost needed. I got back about 6pm.

         I had hiked to Brainerd Lake already and that part of the trail was fresh in my mind. This time I had an early start and a day pack. I knew the hike up to Finger Lake was off trail, through a boulder field [note two of the photos] and nearly 800’ of climb.

         I had first seen Finger Lake on Brian’s blog “Cali Trails”. https://calitrails.com/2015/02/16/fall-at-finger-lake-backpacking-the-big-pine-south-fork-trail/

         He did a great job as usual with his photos and had a GPS map overlay which showed both his route up from Brainerd Lake to Finger Lake and route back down. I had a sense where I wanted to go and a waypoint loaded into my GPS for the outlet to Finger Lake. After about half the climb, I came across some cairns and began to follow that route. It turned out to be less “adventuresome”. You can see where I joined the cairn route climbing and where I followed it descending back to Brainerd Lake. It was difficult for this 74-year-old codger and took me more than an hour each way.

          The payoff was getting to see this marvelous lake below Middle Palisades Glacier and its beautiful shade of deep glacial green. I took photos of the mountains above it with my Zeiss 135 2.8 and photos that included the mountains and the lake with my Sony/Zeiss 55 1.8 and Sony RX1R2 35 2.0.

          Inbound I ran into a chap who was headed to Brainerd Lake for an overnight with a climb to Finger Lake in the morning. This would be ideal for the light. He will encounter some ice on the surface as I did. There is ice on some of the rocks at the creek crossing! The pond below Palisade Glacier is already frozen over. There is Autumn color visible as one climbs up the switchbacks and looks eastward.

         There is a point on the trail outbound not long after finishing the switchbacks, where you can get a good look at what is called the Thumb, “Palisade Crest”, Mt. Jepson, Middle Palisade, and Clyde Peak. I brought my 135mm lens just for this. There is a small glacier below the Palisade Crest also. On my hike to Brainerd Lake I had my 16-35 2.8 GM and it was not as appropriate. My “wide angle” lens this time was the 35mm f2. I am coming to fully appreciate the S/Z 55mm 1.8 lens more and more. I cannot say enough good about it and used it recently near the Palisade Glacier.

         These photos are not in order since I combined photographs from 2 different cameras.  

 Morning Light Middle Palisade And Clyde

 LtoR Balcony, Disappointment, Excitement, Middle Palisade, Clyde 

 Finger Lake

 Fall Color On Return At Dusk

 South Fork Big Pine Creek

 First Falls (North Fork Big Pine Creek)

 Creek Crossing Watch For Ice On Rocks

Willow Lake

 Palisade Crest With Glacier Right Side Of Photograph 

 Water Resupply At 2nd Creek Crossing

 Brainerd Lake

 Brainerd From Climb

 Elevation At Finger Lake And Cumulative Altitude Gain 

 Boulder Field Climb Difficult And Dangerous

 Waterfall Seen From Switchbacks

White Mountain Peak

I have a YouTube video of this hike with the same photographs and video clips also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS0V2TE5tNg&feature=youtu.be