High Sierra Camp to Fantail Lake Distance: 32.60km Elevation Gain: 820m
Lovely open forest and fields on the way towards Fantail Lake. On the way to the lake I took a detour which amounted to an extra 5km to hike to the Tuolumne Meadows store and post office. I hoped to charge up the iPhone I had found 9 days ago so I could retrieve the owner’s info and ship it off. Also, I wanted junk food. The moon at 6am Incredible trail workTuolumne Meadows and store food 1.4 miles to goCrystal clear creek just before Tuolumne MeadowsThese are the guys I met on Day 14 ( left to right: Brett, me, Anoop and Mitchell). They randomly showed up at the store during the 1 1/2 hours I was there. It felt like they were long lost friends even though we only chatted for about 1/2 hour the other day. Super friendly guys, it was really enjoyable to connect and chat with them again. Unfortunately, the 4th member of their group, James, had to leave a few days earlier due to leaking sleeping pad. This is Michael, Tuolumne Meadow’s Post Office ‘Maestro’. After I was able to extract the owner’s information from the iPhone I had found, Michael offered to box it up and ship it to the owner for free! I was impressed with how friendly and helpful Michael was. I was later able to confirm that the owner had his phone back. Thanks Michael!This is Yosemite territory, cliffs everywhereThe only road I had to cross during the whole trip. I headed towards the Gaylor Lakes from here.I continued on past the Gaylor Lakes, the defunct Great Sierra Mine and Mine Shaft Pass. Then over complex terrain to Spuller Lake and a right hand turn to follow a trail to Fantail Lake. There’s a large zone in this area where you are not allowed to camp. This rule required me to hike 2km out of my way to reach a legal camp site. There was nobody around for miles around to enforce this sign but I did camp the proper locationWide open valleyBent over my poles while I recover my breathDecrepit old rock shelter at the High Sierra MineSuch a low space inside this one
Pointing out where I’m headed on the way to Spuller & Fantail Lakes
Continued towards Spuller Lake. In the video I mention that it might take 45 min to reach Fantail lake from here but it took twice thatAt the end of a long day I camped in the trees a little beyond Fantail Lake
