Mid Sierra Musings: June 2020

Dale Matson

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Trail Route

Birch Lake Basecamp Map Route

[Trailhead elevation about 6,500’. Lake 10,800’, Steve and I required 14 hours total time]

Well, after two separate efforts to get to Birch Lake, I thought the time was right for a third try. I was relatively fit from hiking over on the west side of the Sierra. The daylight hours were long and my friend Steve Yeager from Bishop was willing to go with me. I made reservations in Bishop for two nights, for the night before and the night after my hike. The hike day was forecast to be the coolest day of the week. It was very windy in Bishop Saturday and Sunday but the wind stopped at 4am on Monday morning (a good omen).

Here are the particulars on getting to the trailhead. The Birch Lake Trailhead is accessed by heading west out of Big Pine CA on (initially) Crocker Street which eventually becomes Glacier Lodge Road. After about two and a half miles there is a left turn onto McMurray Meadows Road which is unpaved. Make sure you are on McMurray Meadows Road. You drive about 5.5 miles and Just before you cross Birch Creek, there is a trail to the right going slightly uphill there is a sign there. Follow that road for less than a mile with a high clearance vehicle and find a slot to park near the gate which is currently locked. There are about 4 places to park. The trailhead sign is not far from there.

Steve and I met at the trailhead for Birch Lake at 5:30am. We were the only ones on the trail that day. You can see by his photo that he was wearing shorts. Not a good idea. This would give us a lot of daylight hours for the hike, which we needed. The hike was twelve miles round trip with over 4,000’ of elevation gain. The trail is entirely exposed and Birch Lake is 10,800’. My second attempt with Sharon required us to turn back early because of daylight issues and no headlamp last Fall.

The climb is merciless except for a few flat spots. The view up and (later) down is amazing. There is one place you cross a stream before you get to the lake. That is the only opportunity to resupply water except for the lake (purified or filtered). You climb following the stream before you cross it. Some anti-cairn person knocked down many of the ducks that help guide the way including where to cross the stream.

And here is the caveat. The Tom Harrison map shows the last half mile as having no trail. That is the only honest map. If only. If only it was just cross country but it is boulder hopping and pushing through thick willows. This trail is seldom used and I’m guessing everyone who eventually gets to the lake finds their own way the last half mile. And… you have to be at the lake to see it! For this hike I highly recommend a GPS to find the lake and…to find your car when you return. There are lots of cow paths near the parking area that can be confusing.

Steve is kind of a pack rat and added a couple of items to his 30-pound day pack. He found a part to an airplane that crashed into Birch Lake and put that in his pack along with a single antler which he strapped to the back of his pack. He said he was going to come back and look for the other antler. He had a good time fishing and caught something every cast. He was sorry he hadn’t brought his sleeping bag and stayed the night. I was glad he was heading back with me.

I had my Sony A7R4 and used two lenses for this hike. I used the 85mm 1.8 Sony lens and my Sony 24mm 1.4 lens. I have a crop mode shortcut button and thus could get 130mm and 35mm shots with big files also.

Was this worth the suffering for this 75-year-old? Yes, it was. This is one of the most beautiful lakes in the Sierra Nevada. Thanks once again Steve.