Adventure 008, Hike 024 - Middle Velma Lake to Bayview Trailhead

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 008, Hike 024 - Middle Velma Lake to Bayview Trailhead

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  June 28, 2012

Location: Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

 Hike Info:
Trail: Bayview

Distance: 6.6

Duration: 3:13

Elevation Rise: 918'

Description:

We leave our campsite around 8:45. We decide to make a little side trip up to Upper Velma Lake. Middle Velma Lake is only connected to Lower or Upper Velma Lake by name, not drainage. It is a pleasant walk—Thing One and Thing Two do it without our packs, but The Cat has hers. We spend some time around the lake—The Cat and Thing One walk out to an island to claim it for our Capture California effort. We name the land, Cat in the Hat Island. There is a nice waterfall coming into the end of the lake.



We come back and pick up our packs and then trot off down the trail. We get to see the three Velma lakes as we climb. While the climb is not bad, the sun is on us and the altitude is a bit for us sea level creatures—how are we to handle the high Sierra's? We stop for lunch in the shade. Then round one of the peaks.



As we round the peak, we start to see Lake Tahoe and then Emerald Bay. In the foreground is Cascade Lake, right next to Emerald Bay. The trail is steep going down—glad we are not going up. As we come down, we meet a couple PCT'ers. There pack is having a problem. We offer some assistance, or at least a ride to town. They said that would help. But about half an hour later when we got down, they found a ride into town already. So we got down around 2pm.