Last week MK and I camped for a couple nights up at Woods Lake CG. I try to go every year, and this year for the third time I hiked what may be my favorite "day hike" in the Sierras: From Woods Lake up to Lake Winnemucca, then to Round Top and 4th of July Lakes, down into the Summit City Canyon, up to Forestdale Divide, and finally returning around the base of Elephant's Back to Woods Lake. "Day hike" is in scare quotes because this is a 16.5 mile round trip, with a total elevation gain of somewhere around 3,000 feet– a combo that pushes my physical limits, at least at my current level of non-conditioning. That said, the vistas and abundant and diverse wildflowers and other plants are breathtaking nearly every step of the way. Along the deep, rugged, and spectacular Summit City Canyon, you are alone in the wilderness– we encountered not another human soul after Round Top until we reached the Pacific Crest Trail at Forestdale many miles later.
Photos can't really do it justice, but here a few snapshots with the Pixel anyway. The lichen picture is a cheat, having been taken near the Meiss Col on the other side of Highway 88... but such lichens!
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