Upper Mosquito Lake

There were three of us, Mike, Allen and myself.
Chip, I'm sorry you couldn't make this trip, you were missed.

We started on the trail about 8:30 am. The weather: clear skies, dry and cool, upper 30'sF. Along the hike, we saw three buck mule deer. We made it to the first of six mosquito lakes by 11:30am where we stopped and ate lunch. While resting at the lake, we can see our next challenge, an eighty-foot wall of granite boulders. During the hike up the granite wall, we pass Lake No.2 then arrive at Lake No.3 for a second break. Mike, Chip and myself camped at this lake last year (2008) in September. It's a beautiful lake with a small island. From this lake, you can look North to see Empire Mtn. and Timber Gap or look South to view Hengst Peak. The surroundings here are mostly granite and few clusters of different types of pine. We now have another 100ft of elevation gain. On our way to the 6th lake, we pass Lake No.4 and stop at a couple of ponds that had great reflections for that that time of day. In one of the ponds, there was a large boulder at one edge and a fallen tree in the water leaning against the large rock. We didn't notice it at first, but as Mike was scrolling through his recent photos, he noticed that, with the reflection, the boulder and fallen tree looked like a skull and cross-bones. A cool find and added memory to the trip.

It's 4:30pm, we finally arrive at our destination, Upper Mosquito Lake (Mosquito Lake No.6). The view is breathtaking. This lake is in a bowl at the base of Hengst Peak and the view to the South includes Sawtooth and in the distance, Kaweah peaks. The water is clean and clear. I saw a few Golden Trout cruisin' around. I'm guessing the temperature is in the upper 40'sF (7C). We setup camp then took a walk around.

As light was falling, the reflections in the water improved, some clouds rolled-in and the temperature dropped. We split up for a little while, making photos of different parts of the lake. As Mike and Allen returned to camp to layer-up and eat supper, I waited across the lake for the alpenglow to hit the northwest face of Hengst peak. Well, I guess this time of year, this doesn't happen. As my fingers become numb and stiff, I figure it's time to head back to camp and warm-up. I layered-up, put on a down jacket, fleece underpants and gloves. I was ready to eat too, but noticed the light in the sky changing to the North of us and decided to make a few more photos. Allen and Mike joined me, this is when I shot the image above. We were at this spot until it was completely dark. Now it's supper time for me. The time is around 7:30pm and temperature is 24F (-4C). What's for supper? Mountain House's Teriyaki Chicken and Rice. Not bad, my favorite is still Chili-Mac and Beef. For dessert, we had Dark chocolate (60% cocoa) and wine. Allen brought Tobin James' "Liquid Love", a late harvest Zinfandel and I brought Bogle's "Old Vine Zinfandel" and Mike's drink of choice, Mike's Hard Lime (of course). We turned-in about 9:30pm, we were tired and cold.

The night was restful for the most part. I would wake every once-in-while when gusts of wind would rattle my tent. When the 2:00am bladder alarm went off, I elected to stay in my warm sleeping bag. This made the rest of time a little restless until finally I got up at 6:30am. Mike and Allen were also getting up. There was frost on the outside of our tents, my water bladder, which I had in my tent, was a block of ice and a pot of water that I left out overnight was also frozen solid. Allen asked if I wanted to know what the temperature was, I said "no", then I said "okay, how cold is it?". It was 15F (-9C). We made some photos around the lake in the early morning light. Fog was rising from the lake's surface as the water temperature was warmer than the air. It also began to snow. I've never experienced snow like this before, it wasn't fluffy clumps, it was tiny individual snowflakes. This was the first time I got to see a whole snowflake in person. Each one with six points and many different designs.

Here is a video of part of the lake that morning.

Our campsite is just to the right of where this video starts.

While I was eating my oatmeal, a really cool thing happened. The sun was coming over the ridge and snowflakes were blowing in from the north and over the lake. The backlit snowflakes looked like glitter, Allen called it "Diamond Dust". It was a beautiful experience.

After packing-up, we left camp around 11:00am. The hike down the granite wall's was much easier and faster. Along the way, we stopped again at the small pond. This time the surface was frozen with a thin layer of snow on it. As we passed Lower Mosquito lake, I found an old 11oz beer can from the 1950's, Burgermeister. After a little research, it looks like it was produced by Schlitz. It was a little rusty on the ends but the label was legible. It had two holes punched into the top, one to vent and one to enjoy.

When we got back to the trailhead on the Mineral King Valley floor (7400ft), it was about 4:00pm and the temperature was 32F (0C). Shortly after leaving the parking lot, we pulled over to shoot the Asepn's. They were mostly green with some just turning yellow.

On the two hour drive home, we usually talk about the trip, photography and the number one topic is food. We talk about favorite foods, favorite restaurants, best places to stop when traveling, etc. It's body over mind when it's hungry.

Good times, great friends and a beautiful landscape.

Robert Adriaansen

Upper Mosquito Lake - 10,010 feet

Mineral King - John Krebs Wilderness

October 3rd and 4th 2009