An epic adventure in the Eastern Sierras: our trip highlights

On Friday evening we returned to "civilisation" after an incredible 12 nights in the wilderness. In a series of two and three night trips, we explored four different areas of the Eastern Sierras. We have many stories and photos to share on the blog, but until we have access to a laptop (aka a place to edit our photos), we’ll leave you with some of the highlights of our trip…

Favourite campsite: Near the shore of Thousand Island Lake. We arrived to the lake fairly late in the afternoon, so were worried all of the good campsites might have been taken. When we found this spot, raised up from the lake edge and with an incredible view towards Banner Peak, we knew it was the one. We didn’t even set up our tarp the two nights we camped here, just slept in our bivvs under the night sky.

Favourite view: Nevada Falls in Yosemite Valley. After hiking the “Mist Trail,” we followed the John Muir Trail back down into the valley. The view towards Nevada Falls (with Liberty Cap and the back of Half Dome in the background), was definitely one of the more dramatic views of the trip.

Favourite sunrise: 21st July near Moonlight Falls. We loved watching the “alpine glow” creep across the mountains as the sky got bright. We were shocked to have such a beautiful place almost entirely to ourselves.

Favourite sunset: 22nd July at Thousand Island Lake. It doesn’t get much more incredible than this! Wildfires in the local area caused the sky to light up with intense pinks, oranges and blues. With the colours reflected in the lake and Mount Banner looking impressive as always, this was by far the most breathtaking sunset we saw on the trip.

Favourite swim stop: Blue Lake or Marie Lakes (or Thousand Island Lake or Lake Aloha, we can’t decide…). We did a lot of swimming (including a lot of skinny dipping) in beautiful alpine lakes. The incredible backdrop of Blue Lake and the isolation of Marie Lakes made both of these swims very memorable.

Favourite meal: Pad Thai eaten by Moonlight Falls. This was our first dehydrated camping meal (and definitely our favourite of the three we tried on the trip). Paired with a view of Moonlight Falls, this delicious meal was a perfect end to a long day of hiking.

Favourite snack: Jolly Ranchers. Not much more to say really. Jolly Ranchers are amazing.

We look forward to sharing more about our adventures later!