Little Lakes Valley Trail
Trek Date: July 29 of 2021
I recently had the opportunity to go camping for a few days, with a group of young men and leaders from my church ward.
High up (9,600 feet) in the Inyo National Forest, we made Rock Creek Campground home for our stay. And as luck would have it, it rained all the while we were setting up camp and then stopped when we were finished. But that didn’t ‘dampen’ our spirits, we were excited about being up in the mountains and the activities we had planned.
The sky looked a bit ominous Thursday morning when we set out to the Little Lakes Valley trailhead. Our goal was to see each of the five main lakes, from the trailhead to Gem Lakes, a roundtrip of eight miles with an elevation gain of approximately 1200 feet. At first glance, that didn’t seem too tough to me. At 163-years-old, I was the elder member of our group and I figured I would probably be hiking towards the back of the pack. This proved true for the most part. Hiking at 10,000+ feet elevation is a thing for the young and/or folks who are in great condition.
We reached the trailhead a little after 9:00 am, and the parking lot was already full (on a Thursday morning). Our drivers dropped us off and headed back down the road to find a place to park, rejoining us after. So far, the weather (read: rain) was holding off.
So, we posed for a picture and then hit the trail.
Looking back down the trail, Rock Creek and wonderful scenery.
The trail lead upwards through beautiful country, tall pines, green grasses, various bushes and lots of rocks; following a creek which I just now realized was Rock Creek, the namesake of the lake we were camped on. I’m surprised I didn’t figure that out while we were there. Anyway, after about twenty minutes of uphill hiking, gaining maybe 120 feet elevation, we came to our first lake.
We peeled up and off the trail a bit, to get to this vantage point of Mack Lake. It started to rain a bit just before we got here, slickers and ponchos were put on and then taken off when the rain stopped just a few minutes after it began. Some great photos were taken here of the boys on a rock outcropping, with the lake and mountains in the background. This picture is looking towards Morgan Pass and I believe the tall peak at the upper right is Mt. Abbot.
Getting back on the trail, we continued on and came to a nice section of downhill. I thought to myself, this isn’t so bad.
Continuing along the trail, Rock Creek would sometimes meander near and far from out path. I was surprised by the number of folks we passed that had full packs on their backs, either heading up into the mountains to backpack, or on their return trip from an adventure. There were also quite a few day hikers out on the trail that were my age or older, which was an encouraging thing to see.
A quick break.
Marsh Lake was an amazing place to stop and rest a bit, a beautiful view up the canyon. A few folks were fishing, mainly catch and release. This would make a great destination for a full day outing.
As we continued up the valley, our group would spread out a bit, which is generally how it goes. The faster group with the most energy naturally outpaces those who enjoy a more leisurely hike, but at any fork in the road or at the next lake, everyone would regroup. So far, we hadn’t lost anyone….
There were a few small, wooden bridges that crossed the creek now and then, somehow I missed getting pictures of them. I’ll save that for the next trip.
Heart Lake. I’d made it to the third lake on our quest. This one is at approximately 10,400 foot elevation. The trail had been going up a bit, down a bit, up a bit and down a bit. This is at about the 1-1/2 mile mark. I admit, I was getting tired. The bit of training I had done at home just didn’t translate to the elevation we were hiking at. I had a hunch the next lake might be my turnaround point.
At the right is an image from above, of Heart Lake. It just takes a bit of imagination, and I can see how it got its name.
The country we were passing through was simply grand. I imagine a bit earlier in the year, when snow might have been covering the peaks at the higher elevations would have made the view even more spectacular. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime hike for some of the folks in our group.
The most stunning lake of the ones I would see this day was Box Lake. This view is looking south. It was quite a steep descent to get to the lake, but whenever there’s a chance to throw rocks into a lake, a path will be found.
This entire valley, and the lakes it includes, were carved by ancient glaciers. The lakes are filled by snow melt and apparently the wildflowers are quite spectacular during the spring. Overall, the hike is a relatively easy hike, the elevation gain is spread out over four miles. The challenge is the altitude.
The overlook to this lake was our lunch stop. After eating my PB & J, I decided to head back along with a couple others in our party. I turned the Nikon over to Marc and wished the group success in reaching Gem Lake. Which they accomplished, in spite of some rain. Following are a few pictures from the rest of the hike.
That patch of snow/ice was actually quite a distance from where Marc took this picture, but some still had the energy to go check it out.
Thanks for coming along on the trail with us!
Some of the information along the stretch of trail that I completed. The trail continues south, to Long Lake and then Gem Lake.
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GoPro or Go Home - Joshua Tree National Park https://t.co/TJAShuigdc -
The Barbed Wire Trail - Joshua Tree National Park https://t.co/o0FKwmB68R
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The Sawtooth Ascent - Joshua Tree National Park https://t.co/ihgRZZfliW