I’ve been so busy glamping and backpacking this summer that I am way overdue with my posts! Fear not, as the impending wet and chilly winter is forcing me to cozy up and write a slew of blogs. The first of which is a recap of my trip to Moose Lake in Sequoia National Park this summer. Note: you may want to save this trip for when the weather gets warmer again, as trekking to the lake now would likely require snow shoes or other snow gear.

The hike in to Moose Lake was short, which was enticing as the hot summer air (at the time) was making any long treks seem unbearable. But while we weren’t logging many miles, the hike was pretty much all uphill. I will openly admit that this was one of the slowest paces I have ever walked, and we must have stopped at least four times to travel a mere four miles with packs on.

When we finally reached the lake, we all instantly agreed that view was a fitting reward for the steep hike. You aren’t allowed to camp directly on the lake (to avoid damaging or polluting the water) but we were able to secure a spot fairly close by. You can, however, take as many dips in the cool, crystal clear water as you’d like. We definitely took full advantage of this. There is also a fair amount of trout in the water, so if you know how to fly fish, this is a great place to do so.

We stayed at our campsite for two nights so that we could have a full day of exploring. We considered hiking over to the nearby Mosquito Lake, but because of large and unstable rock formations, it would have required a long loop around to get there. Also, no one really wanted to find out exactly why it was named Mosquito Lake. Instead, we scrambled to the top of a small mountain near our campsite and enjoyed lunch overlooking (the 5 lakes), safe from any aforementioned mosquitos.

My favorite part of this trip? The epic night sky that the Sierras never fail to disappoint us with. I also (finally) figured out how to take night photography on my camera (link), as evidenced below.

If you want to check out Moose Lake for yourself, you can make reservations for wilderness permits ahead of time. We were able to get permits a few weeks before our trip, so it’s likely that this can be a fairly last minute excursion when the weather warms up a bit!