(16 miles--7 hours)
This is a good new trail and is the most direct route between Glacier
Point and the excellent fishing lakes of the southern part of the
park. The one-way trip is an easy day's journey from Glacier Point.
For those walking from Yosemite there are good camp sites and
excellent fishing _en route_ at Buena Vista and Royal Arch Lakes.
From ~Glacier Point~ we follow the main ~Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail~
about two miles. Just east of ~Illilouette Ridge~ we take the right
branch and continue southeastward up the canyon of the Illilouette.
About three miles takes us to another trail junction. To the west is
~Mono Meadow~, about one and a half miles distant, and to the
northeast, crossing ~Illilouette Creek~, are the ~Merced Pass Trail~
(Trail Trip 23) and the cut-off trail to the rim of ~Panorama Cliff~.
Our trail continues up ~Illilouette Creek~, finally crossing a low
"hog back" and turning south up ~Buena Vista Creek~. In a glacial
cirque at its head is ~Buena Vista Lake~ (Alt. 9200). The south, or
upper side is backed by a rugged rock bluff from which huge boulders
have fallen into the water, making an excellent place from which to
fish. The lake was stocked with eastern brook trout in 1892, 1908 and
1919, and with rainbow trout in 1892. It is one of the park's best and
most accessible fishing lakes. Surrounded by open parks of timber, it
offers many beautiful camp sites, especially near the outlet. Forage
is fair downstream from the lake but is rather scarce early in the
season. Ostrander Lake is four miles northeast and can be reached by
foot. There are no blazes or monuments to mark the route.
Our trail now mounts abruptly 400 feet to ~Buena Vista Pass~ (Alt.
9600). To the right about half a mile is ~Buena Vista Peak~ (Alt.
9600), and to the left and running east is ~Buena Vista Crest~.
Excellent views are obtained from the trail as it crosses the open
ridge. Near the summit the granite has fractured perpendicularly,
forming regular rectangular slabs.
An 800-foot descent thru the open forest in the next two miles takes
us to the picturesque little ~Royal Arch Lake~ (Alt. 8800). This is a
small lake, deep on the north and east sides, and shallow near the
southwest margin. It is named from the arches in the steep northeast
granite wall, which are similar to the Royal Arches of Yosemite Valley
but on a smaller scale. The lake was well stocked with eastern brook
trout in 1897 and fishing is excellent, especially in the deep water
along the rocky northwest shore. There are fine camp sites here and
good horse-feed.
Skirting the west margin of the lake our trail follows the small
stream about one mile to the main ~Chilnualna Trail~. Eastward is
~Buck Camp~ (two miles), ~Moraine Meadows~ (seven miles), and
~Fernandez Pass~ (eleven miles). We turn westward to ~Johnson Lake~
(Alt. 8550), about a quarter mile distant. This is a small, round,
deep lake beautifully set in meadows and forest. It is bountifully
stocked with eastern brook trout and rainbow trout. The locality is
ideal for camping. Further westward are ~Crescent Lake~ (one mile),
~Grouse Lake~ (two and a half miles), and ~Chilnualna Falls~ (six and
a half miles).