I was lucky enough to score permits out of Shadow Lake Trail heading over to Ediza Lake for the first weekend in June. From there, we hoped to be able to explore Iceberg Lake, then head over to Thousand Island Lake. As our trip date approached, the weather forecast took a cold turn for the days we’d be out in the backcountry – dropping from highs near 60 to highs in the 30’s! When I got our permit, the ranger also advised to be prepared for snow, so we didn’t really know how extreme of conditions to expect, so we planned ahead as best we could and hoped for the best!
Friday was nice temperature-wise and we were on the trail by 10 AM. And by “on the trail” I mean a three-mile downhill road walk to reach the actual trailhead since the road to the trailhead hadn’t opened yet. We were a week too early!
The actual trail itself gently traveled alongside meadows and through forests, and after a bridge crossing over Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River we climbed up-up-up, eventually alongside a huge waterfall from the outlet of Shadow Lake. Once alongside Shadow Lake, we stayed through the trees and thankfully didn’t need to cross any of the raging waters coming down from the lakes higher up.
Well, almost – the bridge to Ediza had apparently washed away years ago, so to reach Ediza we would have to wade across a wide but flowing not too hard stream. Initially, we tried to build out a partial stepping stone bridge that was already in place, only to realize that the largest crossing was still ahead and there was no way to build stepping stones across that one. The only choice was to get our feet wet. Which sucked so close to our destination!! Cass and I changed into water shoes, and Jon charged through in his hiking shoes. I have never felt a pain from cold water like that pain. I actually got stress sweats from how bad my feet hurt when we exited on the other side.
As we reached Ediza Lake, the day had turned overcast, and although we had passed some isolated snow patches so far, once we reached Ediza, almost everywhere around the lake was still covered in snow! In fact, there was still ice melting off the surface of the lake, flowing down … to that stream we had just walked through. No wonder my feet hurt so bad!
We were really surprised by all the snow, since so far the conditions hadn’t seemed too bad at all! We struggled to follow the general path of the trail and find a spot to camp but eventually found a clear, but exposed, campsite. It appeared that there was no one else around, although after we got settled in we did see some other campers up a gully. Iceberg lake was off the agenda – the trail was completely buried in snow, and just the top of the sign peeked out from above the snow.
Thankfully, after we setup camp the sky began to clear and blue sky emerged! We could see the peaks of Ritter and Banner. At one point, we were just napping in the sun while Jon fished – and very lovely afternoon!!
We started dinner around 6, as the weather began to change. There was a 40% chance of rain (or snow) tonight, and it looked like some weather was on its way! We ate up, then bunkered down in our tents by 8 PM… where we stayed safe and cozy while the wind whipped around outside, but thankfully no rain or snow!
Overnight, the temperature had definitely dropped and we stayed in our tents until the sun got us up. We finally got on trail by 10:30, then made the painful crossing through the water. We were more prepared for it this time, but it was still shockingly painful to my feet. Jon fished while Cass and I hiked ahead, and after about 2.5 miles, turned onto the JMT towards Garnet Lake.
It was a long climb! Cassidy and I were both feeling tired and it was a slow, steady climb that seemed to take forever! Jon rejoined us right as we approached the ridge that would drop us down to Garnet Lake, and met another hiker who warned us that it was all snow up ahead! So we posthole-d and traversed the snow down to the lake (which was HUGE and gorgeous) where we took a well-deserved lunch break.
After lunch, we continued around Garnet Lake, and the wind was really picking up! Thankfully, we were soon climbing again, so that kept us warm. We passed Ruby Lake, and as we dropped down to Emerald Lake, ran into some hikers who advised that there we could go around Emerald Lake either on the right or left side, and the left side was snow free. After another snow traverse to get down to Emerald Lake, we opted for no more snow.
Finally, we reached Thousand Island Lake! It was surrounded by lots of snow as well, and also still had ice over some parts! Although the sun was shining, the wind was howling and it was very cold. We focused on trying to find a campsite that was at least somewhat sheltered from the wind, and found a nice spot up along the hillside.
Jon had seen fish in the lake as we approached, so he went off fishing while Cass and I relaxed at camp. But it was so cold! So we made an early dinner and snuggled into our tents. It took hours to warm up, we were so chilled from the cold and the wind. Jon eventually came back – with several huge fresh fish (rainbow trout)!! He cooked them up in the Jet Boil and they were SO GOOD!
That night was legitimately cold… we estimate down into the 20’s, possibly even colder if you factor in wind chill. When we got up the next morning at 7, the small stream by our campsite had ice in it, and some of our water bladders had frozen!
We got on trail by 9 and hiked all bundled up. The ground was frozen in many places, and the snowmelt on the trail had re-frozen. Even when moving, it was chilly! Today we had a long day – at least 10 miles to the car, then the drive home. To complete our loop, we would take the PCT High Trail back to Agnew Meadows.
The first part of the day was through the trees, but eventually we were above the tree line, and could see across the valley to where we had climbed to Shadow Lake on our first day. The trail didn’t descend until the very end, then dropped quickly to Agnew Meadows and before we knew it we will in the camping area.
All that was left was that LONG road walk, up hill, back to the car. Although we were above 9,000’ most of the day, the last couple of miles dropped us down to 8,300, only to then climb back up the road to 9,100’!
Trip Totals:
3 days, 2 nights
Over 29 miles and 4,750′ elevation gain
RaimerAdventures 
Leave a comment