Backpacking to Long Lake: Frozen Beauty

School was out, so Dad and I went on another backpacking trip, back to the Sierra Nevada.

We picked up our permit at the Lone Pine Visitor Center, and then stayed at Parcher’s Resort. I liked saying hi to the dogs that lived there. In the morning, after breakfast, we drove to the trailhead.

At the start, we saw two ladies that we remembered from another hike last summer. They even remembered me and asked about surfing and gymnastics. I thought it was funny that we ran into them again.

The trail was steep and high up in the mountains. I saw snow on the hills ahead, and I was excited to hike in it. We stopped at a shady rock to rest. We then remembered it was the same rock we had rested on from the summer before, too.

We kept going and ate lunch in the sunshine. Later, we came to a snow wall. Other hikers said it was scary, but they were wearing sneakers. Dad and I had trekking poles, so we made it up just fine.

After that, it was almost all snow until we reached Long Lake. The lake was partly frozen, with white patches floating on the blue water. It looked magical.

We searched for a campsite. Some places were too close to the water, and others were covered in snow. Finally, we found a dry spot between the snow, on a little peninsula. It was perfect.

We set up our tent and then went down to the lake. I touched the icy water and looked at the snowy peaks around us. Everything felt huge and quiet. Sometimes the wind blew cold from the lake, but I didn’t mind. We were prepared for the cold.

That night, I fell asleep in my sleeping bag, tired but happy. Long Lake was frozen and beautiful, and I was proud that we made it there together.