Continuing on...
That first day, upon reaching Bearpaw High Sierra Camp, it wasn't quite 4 PM. I felt pretty strong, and looking at the map, Hamilton Lakes was just 4 miles ahead, only 600' higher. I didn't realize there was some significant loss and gain in elevation: -600, +1200. I made it -- it just took a while.
Check out Bearpaw on the satellite view "map".
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The main cabin at Bearpaw. These hikers had come from Mineral King, and were spending two nights before heading out. Pretty relaxing!
Bearpaw is nice, with a fantastic view. But no stream or lake nearby. The people told me all summer reservations are gone in several hours the first day they become available.
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This was the only deer I saw on the trip. She was right by the trail, using her hoof to dig for something good to eat.
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I'm not sure what these berries are. Blueberries? Huckleberries? They tasted ok, but had lots of seeds.
Answer (Thanks to RogueP!): They are Sierra Currants (Ribes Nevadense) -- A gooseberry is in the currant family, I think. (See Google's images).
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The Footbridge over Lone Pine Creek. It's a deep chasm, no way to get water here. There's even a remnant of an old bridge below that broke and fell.
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Here's my camp site at the end of the day - on a sandy spot near upper Hamilton Lake. It was quite warm that night. There were about a dozen other campers here, all using tents. Not sure why people use tents when the weather is so nice!
Lots of small fish in the lake, too. Rules are catch and release. I was too tired to try fishing, and with so many people there, I figured the fish would be wary.
