From Taylor Swift and Luke Bryan tickets booked months in advance to Outdoor Retailer, August was a pretty jam packed month for me. I took a look at my calendar, saw one free weekend and knew I had to capitalize on it or be sad forever. I texted my friend Bobby and put together a game plan. We were going to head to Mildred Lake up Convict Canyon for some epic and mellow backpacking.
Photo by Bobby Dolan
I got us permits from Recreation.gov and called the Night Box line to set out the permits for us the night before since we would be coming in really late from San Francisco. These were super easy to “score” for a spontaneous, last minute trip.
Friday night, we drove down from San Francisco and slept in the car off Tioga Road. After being extremely excited and forgetting to pick up our permits and having to go back to the ranger station and back to the trailhead, we started off at Convict Lake around 11am. It was hot, hot, hot.
Photo by Bobby Dolan
We followed the trail around the north end of the lake and a gradual ascent up into Convict Canyon and Mildred Lake. The trail wasn’t very technical or difficult. Once we connected with Convict Creek, the trail became a little rough.
Climbing into the Mildred Lake basin was a spectacular sight to behold. High peaks surrounded a lush and green meadow with crystal clear streams running through. Camping here was absolutely amazing. It wasn’t too hazy from all the smoke from forest fires. The moon was ridiculously bright. So beautiful.
Photo by Bobby Dolan
Morning came and we woke up to catch the sunrise, but didn’t see much of anything until later in the morning. Enjoyed some Nature’s Coffee Kettle Black Tea as we packed up to retrace our steps back to the car.
Mildred Lake was so insanely pretty! And it was incredibly accessible with very few crowds. Permits were easy to acquire on Recreation.gov. Totally would recommend as a 2 day backpacking trip and 100% worth the drive.
Short on time? Hike Convict Lake instead.
Want more Eastern Sierra? Follow along on my Eastern Sierra road trip.
Gear: Mountain Hardwear Ozonic 55 OutDry Pack, Woolx Mia Lightweight Tee, Woolx Basecamp Hoodie, Norrøna Bitihorn Pants, Arc’teryx Atom LT, Salewa Alp Flow Mid GTX Boots
Awesome photos, I love the first one!
Thanks so much, Josh!!
Looks like an awesome trip! Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful photos! Were many of these photos taken in the early morning, or at dusk? The light and softness is incredible. I’m planning a trip to Convict Lake (maybe further after seeing these pictures…) and I am curious if I should go early in the morning, or right before sunset. Any insights? Thank you!