Trip Summary (8/13/2005-8/14/2005): This time instead of hiking from
Huntington Lake, we hiked from the "main" trailhead at Badger Flat, a short
ways up Kaiser Pass Road. We got going a little late and ended up getting to
the trailhead around 10:45. We got started on the trail and were going pretty
fast, but I didn't feel like it was too fast. We surprisingly got to Potter
Pass very quickly. It only took about 45 minutes to go about 2 miles. We
stopped there briefly and took a few pictures and then continued on. Shortly
before Lower Twin Lake we passed by some rangers and stopped to talk with them
for a little while, showed them our permit and continued on our way. We
quickly came to Lower Twin Lake and then a short distance after Lower Twin, we
came to Upper Twin Lake. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes total to get
there and we ended up getting there at 12:15. Our goal was to be there around
noon and even though we got started late, we still managed to meet our goal.
We had lunch, which was pizza and then set up camp. After setting up camp, we
went over the check out the caves that we had discovered the previous year. We
went down the trail toward Sample Meadow and found where the stream coming
from Upper Twin Lake came out of the cave, but we didn't really see any caves
there that we could explore. We went back to the holes we found the previous
year, which are in a sinkhole a few hundred feet from the lake. The first one
we went in went back about 10 feet and then ended, but there was a hole in the
ground. So we went back outside and went down below where we just were. It
quickly ended too. The next place we went in opened up into a little room and
then there was a small tunnel that went back about 8 feet. We went back out
again and then saw a hole that looked like went down quite a ways. Richie went down first and a followed after him. This went down maybe 10 or 15
feet and then came to a pool. We took our boots off and walked through the
water a little and then came to a deeper part and what looked like the end up
ahead. Although it did look like it might go deeper down underwater.
Surprisingly there were fish down there! Quite a few of them too. We climbed
up out of that hole and then headed back to camp. We started a fire and began
fixing dinner. Dinner for that night was tri-tip and mashed potatoes. We let
the meat cook on the fire for about 50 minutes which turned out to be just
right. The meal was really good, but it took a little while to clean up. After
dinner we sat around the campfire some and went to bed. We didn't use a tent
this time, but I slept about the same as I usually do. The next morning we
woke up and started fixing breakfast. Breakfast was pancakes and bacon. Both
were pretty messy and were a little tricky to cook without the proper tools.
But they turned out pretty good and tasted really good. Although again it took
awhile to clean up. It looked like it might rain that second day, so I set up
a rain fly and put my stuff under it, then we went on a day hike up to the
ridge. It was a fairly steep climb up to George Lake, but we made pretty good
time. We went around the lake and started climbing up the steep slope. This
part took a long time but we eventually made it up to the top. Although by
then it was starting to look like it might rain soon. I was getting kind
of worried because I really did not want to be caught up on the ridge during a
thunderstorm. I feel a little embarrassed now because I think I may have been
a little too worried. We stayed on top for awhile and then hurried down when
we heard thunder. There was a patch of snow below the ridge that was in the
way of us going down. We went around it a little ways and then I decided
to slide down it. I got going really fast and there was plenty of time to slow
down. That was really fun. We went back down and soon got back to camp and had
some crackers and salami for lunch. After that we went back to the caves. We
went back down where that pond was for a little while then came back up and
looked for other entrances. There were a few other holes, but I'm not sure how
safe the would be to go in. But we did find a hole that looked like it could
be possible to got down and out of. So Richie went down while I waited to see
if he needed help getting out. He looked around some down there and said he
heard water. He then came back up but kind of surprised me because he came out
a different way than he went in. We went back in the way he came out and
dropped down maybe 10 or 20 feet and came to an open area and heard water. We
went over to the water and found the stream that disappears by a rock shortly
after it leaves the lake. We crawled through a small opening where the water
flowed through and found another chamber, after that, the water disappeared
through a narrow crevice. We went back out of the water and looked around in
that cavern some more and then went out and back to camp. At camp we fixed
macaroni and cheese for dinner. Then we thought about possibly heading back
that night instead of the next day. So we ended up deciding to pack up and
head out that night. By the time we were almost packed up I was starting to
wish we had decided to stay at camp. There was also starting to be quite a bit
of lightning nearby and I was starting to want to just go to bed. By the time
we were packed up I was tired and it was dark, but we still headed out. I felt
kind of dumb hiking out in the lightning and the dark (even though the
lightning wasn't exactly close to us and I have hiked in the dark before). We
got back to the car and then headed down to Shaver Lake where we camped with
some friends of Richie. It did rain quite a bit during the night (early
morning) and the next day. Even though we were dry in a tent, I still wish we
had stayed that second night. We did have a rain fly, so we wouldn't have
gotten soaked (maybe just a little wet).
Trip Summary (7/15/2006-7/16/2006):I've been to Upper Twin Lake several
times and this trip was not out of the ordinary. This time it was the
destination for my church's youth group's backpacking trip. Ian, my mom and I
got started four hours after the group got started and met them at the lake
(and a few at Potter Pass). When we got to the lake, we set up camp and
relaxed. A few of us went swimming. The next day we packed up and headed out.
It was a short, but nice trip.
