Gaylor Lakes - August 26, 2007

The trailhead for Gaylor Lakes is at the extreme eastern edge of the Park on Tioga Road at Tioga Pass. A few more feet and you are at the eastern gate that leads down CA-120 to Lee Vining and the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

View of some of the peaks near Tioga Pass, east gate, Yosemite National Park

The trail up to Gaylor Lakes actually heads further east into the Yosemite Wilderness. The actual hike out and back itself is not that long - it just seems the way. However, you start out at about 9,950 altitude which, to those of us who come from sea level, is pretty high up there. You end up at close to 11,000 feet altitude. I was huffing and puffing the entire way! But it was a beautiful day with intermittent clouds - no rain though! so I took my time and made a day of it.

From the trailhead you head pretty much straight up to a saddle or a ridge near Mount Dana. This part of the hike is about 1 - 1 1/2 miles. Then you go down to the lower or middle lake, depending on which guidebook you are consulting. This is the larger of the two lakes.

Lower/Middle Gaylor Lake

There is a path that pretty much encircles the Lake; I walked part of the Path...to another trail which went up some more. This trail isn't nearly as steep as the first. It leads to Upper Gaylor Lake (all guidebooks have this same name) and to a third trail which leads up (!) to the abandoned Great Sierra Mine. The path to the Upper Lake heads east; you can also head west across a meadow (no trail) to Granite Lakes (I did not on this trip).

Path to Upper Gaylor Lake

Path up to abandoned Great Sierra Mine

A path also exists around Upper Gaylor Lake - it is not as "easy" as the one around the Lower Lake; luckily, the Upper Lake isn't quite as big. I walked around the entire Upper Lake but in sections. The first section led me to the path up to the abandoned Great Sierra Mine. Although I only have one picture of the area on this page, there were several buildings, either or wood or stone, and several large holes/shafts of which I stayed clear. Another couple made the trek up about the same time as I did so I did have some company; otherwise this was a pretty lonely, albeit beautiful, place. It was also the highest elevation I reached, close to 11,000 feet above sea level.

After hiking back down from the mine area to the Upper Lake, I found a boulder (imagine that!) on which to sit, rest, and eat lunch. I was not the only person with this idea - there were several other hikers scattered around the Upper Lake doing more or less the same. I remember it being sunny, cool, with a brisk wind (not a breeze, a wind). Several times during my meal, I was splashed with waves from the Lake due to the wind. I really wasn't sitting that close to the Lake, either, about 5 feet away.

Upper Gaylor Lake

After lunch, I completed my trek around the Lake and headed back down the path to the Lower Lake. After all the huffing and puffing, the gradual downhill hike felt good. However, there was one more uphill to complete - to head back up to the saddle/ridge next to Mount Dana. I have blocked this particular part of the trip from my mind. I do remember going back down the initial part of the trail to the trailhead. I passed a large group who, like I had earlier that day, were huffing and puffing their way up to Mount Dana and making frequent rest stops. They also made jokes about taking my hiking pole. I also saw some deer on the way down.

I slept very well that night.

Upper and Lower Gaylor Lakes from the Great Sierra Mine

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