Tahoe National Forest

Dates: August 22-24, 2008

Duration: 3 days, 2 nights

Mileage: ~13.4 miles

Group Members: Chris Genger, Nick McGuire

Pack Weights: Chris (25 lbs), Nick (47 lbs)

Notes: Packing the raft out would have been heavy but worth it for the lakes. Awesome area but saw close to 100 people! Route Map Available!

Day 1: (~ 4.7 miles) Grouse Ridge Campground/Trailhead to Glacier Lake & Five Lakes Basin

Followed Trail 13E28 from trailhead to 13E13 to Glacier Lake and then 13E50 to Five Lakes Basin. Trail was relatively easy; Glacier lake was gorgeous and we left our packs at the bottom and hiked up to the top of the Black Buttes for a view of the lake and the surrounding area and to eat lunch. Extensive campsites at Glacier lake…a few groups of people so we moved on. Five Lakes Basin area was very confusing…followed trail for a while and then went cross-country to the east to explore some lakes. One lake right by the trail which there were people at and then two lakes further east, one slightly north and one slightly south. Explored northern lake which had an AWESOME campsite with stone tables, chairs, and a fire pit. Slept right near water which was super clear…no mosquitoes even though part of it is marshy. Stone sundial in the rocks to the east and above the lake.

Day 2: (~4.5 miles) Cross-country to Sand Ridge Trail, Cross-country to 13E28, Cross-country to 12E11 to PennerLake. Left camp close to 10AM and went cross country back to first lake we saw on the trail from Glacier Lake. Then climbed up Sand Ridge and followed Sand Ridge till the trail began to head back down to trail 13E13. Went cross-country north-westward till we hit 13E38 (tried to find Middle Lake but missed it). Hiked north on 13E38 to ShotgunLake. Went cross-country up a very steep hill till we found trail 12E11 and could see Penner Lake. Explored PennerLake…best campsites were taken so we chose a nice one on the north-eastern shore that was close to the trail. Hiked around entire perimeter of the lake and had an awesome view of Culbertson Lake. Awesome swimming in Penner Lake and rock to jump off of…wished we had the raft.

Day 3: (~4.2 miles) Penner Lake trail 12E11 to 13E13 by Island Lake and then trail 13E28 back to the trailhead. Left came around 9AM and hiked south along the trail to Island Lake. Gorgeous lake with 2 islands…definitely more people….swimming at 10 AM was awesome. Easy hike back to trailhead although trail was a little bit hard to follow on south-western side of the lake.