It's supposed to be hot with temperatures above 100 °F in the Bishop Area. I must have missed that part announcing the afternoon thunderstorms.
Well, one should bear in mind that we were not camping down in the Owens Valley but above 8000 feet.
As the high-mountain weather is often unpredictable and can change quickly, our mornings started with sun and heat followed by thunderstorm in the late afternoon.
And yes, we got really soaked once which partly destroyed our trip to the falls in Big Pine Canyon.
On our way back to the campground we stopped in Bishop at the famous Erick Schat's Bakkerij to buy yummy 'Dutch' bread.
Thunderstorms used to frighten Maarten but now he has gotten used to it. He didn't have much choice.
After a day of hiking in the heat the showers brought a welcome relief as temperatures dropped as well when the rain began.
There is so much excellent hiking in the area. It was hard to choose where to go. But you have to be in the mood for hiking up if you want to experience this breathtaking alpine scenery. And all the suggested trips in our guide book were from 7 miles and up which might be too heavy for our little hiker.
We choose a loop trip leading along many rock-lined lakes. There are lakes everywhere! Starting the Bishop Pass Trail at South Lake, we hiked to the scenic Long Lake, then turned to Ruwau Lake, we climbed steep uphill to the ridgetop to overlook the Chocolate Lakes and after passing the round Bull Lake we rejoined the Bishop Pass Trail again.
We had to cross streams many times and after climbing the steep rocky sections of the trail, Maarten could swim in the ice cold water. And there was still some snow along the path at certain places.
Hence, the best way to keep Maarten going.
We couldn't miss the beautiful Sabrina Basin. But our trip to the Blue Lake was not that fortunate. The trail we took had a dead end by the waterfall that feeds Lake Sabrina and we almost got eaten alive by hungry mosquitoes.
The scenic Blue Lake surrounded by impressive granite peaks was worth the climb at last.
It got a little cloudy in the afternoon.
In an ideal world the clouds will shade the exposed steep and rocky switchbacks while climbing up and it will clear up again at the destination to take the perfect picture.
Well, this world is simply not ideal.
