Hike to Barrett and TJ Lakes
For the third year in a row I went on a hiking trip to the Mammoth Lakes, California area of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. However this year I went with family rather than on a Sierra Club trip. Once again I experienced serene lakes with beautiful views of the surrounding mountain landscapes. We were there three days and did hiking on each day. This blog post covers the first hike.
Our hike started at Lake George then went to Barrett and TJ Lakes which was an area I had not been to before. The parking and trailhead for the hike was near the Lake George Campground. Lake George is at 9,008 feet and is a popular area for many activities such as the kayaker seen in the water between the two trees on this side of the lake.
The prominent peak is Crystal Crag which has an elevation of 10,377 feet. It is named for a vein of quartz crystals near the top of its north end.
At the beginning the trail follows the shore line of Lake George.
Then we left the lake and started to climb with an elevation gain of a little over 200 feet where it flattened out.
We saw a few wildflowers when we were there in mid-July.
After a little more hiking we got to the Barrett Lake where two members of our party checked it out. This year was another year with above average rainfall so the lake was fairly full.
View from where our party was standing.
The water was not quite calm so the reflections have a kind of impressionist feeling.
A panorama of more of Barrett Lake.
As we walked more along the lake some reddish mountains came into view.
There was a short distance between this and the next lake with a loop trail between them. We took the path to the left and soon got our first view of TJ Lake.
This panorama of most of TJ Lake shows Mammoth Crest on the left and Crystal Crag on the right. The Mammoth Crest is the lowest point along the Sierra Range for 100 miles to the north and the south.
There are some impressive trees near the lake.
A closer view of Crystal Crag and the rocks below.
The Mammoth Crest seen from near the outlet of TJ Lake.
For our return we continued on the loop trail by the lake outlet.
Some interesting fungi we passed by.
More wildflowers.
We once again come to Lake George.
And returned to where we started the hike from. This was an enjoyable hike as I got to see some lakes I have not visited before. The hike is relatively short at about 2.6 miles roundtrip with a little over 300 feet of total elevation gain. However because of the 9000+ elevation it was more challenging for some in our party than others.
More pictures from the hike can be found in the Barrett and TJ Lakes Gallery
More Information
Mammoth Lakes Trail System about hike
Crystal Crag Wikipedia article
Out Hiking blog post on the hike
