Backpacking in Stanislaus

In August, I made my first backpacking trip into the Sierra Mountains with three friends from Santa Clara University. Starting at Kennedy Meadow, a popular camp ground with a small cafe and horseback tours, we hiked eight miles into the backcountry with 2,000 ft. of elevation gain to a favorite spot of TB's. This perfect base camp sits on a granite ledge overlooking a small waterfall and pool where we filtered water, cooled off, and chilled the eight cans of Guinness we packed with us. (On a side note, freeze dried meals have come a long way.) Although tired from the first day, we were up early on Saturday to blaze our own trial up through the chain of three Lewis Lakes. Trekking over granite, sometimes using our hands to climb nearly straight up, we reached Upper Lewis at 10'000 feet. As you can see, the view is spectacular. We spent our second night again around the camp fire watching meteors, drinking whiskey and laughing. Back at Kennedy Meadow the next afternoon, with 25 miles under our boots, we devoured hot meals, sat back and smiled at the memories.