Grand Sawtooths Loop Trail – Day 1, to Lower Cramer Lake

Baron Lakes 8300′ to lower Cramer Lake ~8300′. A day of switchbacks.

We woke to blanketed snow on the ground and wet/muddy trails. The air was brisk hovering around freezing. Our minds were clear and we were ready for the days adventure. Waking up in the Alpine, no better place to be.

It’s a tricky task in a disrupted routine juggling pack items on to the few available dry spots while maintaining the illusion of dry belongings in a internally dry pack. The trash compactor bag lining my otherwise soggy backpack again proved an essential pack item.

Despite not wanting to wear our wet hiking clothes we recognized the need to sustain dry sleeping clothes. Thank you wool socks for your ability to retain warmth even when wet!  Again the raincoats saved the day as a wind break while sparing us the threat of sweating from hiking in clothes too warm to walk in once our engine revved up.

The snowy trail with brisk alpine air…

The trail seemed so serene coated with fresh powdery down draped over dark green pine boughs, downed tree trunks and spring flowers accenting the burgeoning ponds fed by rippling alpine streams with rustling waterfalls. Simply amazing. It’s easy to get caught up in your mileage goals for the day but without intentionally soaking in the wonder of the surrounding, you would miss the point of ever being out there.

We cover a lot less ground but quite a bit of elevation. We immediately scaled a saddleback 9150′ then descended to the particularly scenic “Alpine Lake” and it’s well used campground. The rule of thumb seemed that each lake we passed sported at least one really good and obvious camping spot. We skirted small groups totaling about 15 people making an extended climb with many thirty yards or longer switchbacks up to Alpine Lake. We were thankful to be descending what seemed like an hour into the valley and ultimately to flat rock junction Which bore resemblance to the area where Baron Creek trail bisected eastern loop edge. This and the next day were some of the most beautiful albeit windy and windy sections of the trail.  We camped at lower Cramer the first of a three lake string. The approached portion of the lake presented the most appealing camping site in the area. Water access was only mildly obstructed by reeds lining the shallow pond bank.

Summer days naturally bring more sunlight but time seems to slow even more when you’ve unplugged . The pleasant exhaustion from the day made it feel longer but the next day was longer still.

Feature Photo courtesy of Salty Dawg