The Upper Lakes of Blackcap Basin

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We decided to go on a morning hike to see some of the lakes above Pearl Lake in the upper reaches of Blackcap Basin.  There are no trails up here.  The terrain is open enough that you can pick your way easily across the mountains toward the treeless alpine lakes.

STA_3500 - STG_3506We first came upon Division Lake.

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Next came Battalion Lake.

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There are gorgeous wide-open views no matter which way you look.

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Looking down on Pearl Lake from above.

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This might be Soldier Lake (unnamed on the topos).

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Heading out across the vast expanse of granite in search of more lakes.


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Looking down on Ewe Lake.

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Mount Goddard peaking over the shoulder of Little John Mountain with Ram Lake.  One of these days, I need to climb that mountain.

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Ram Lake is really striking with the dark metamorphic rock intruding at one end of the water.

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Climbing up and away from Ram Lake looking out toward Lightning Meadow, Blackcap Mountain, and to the right up in those mountains are several other lakes (Rainbow Lake, Confusion Lake, Valor Lake, and Ambition Lake).

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Lightning Meadow was full of water this year.  I believe there are some new camping and fire restrictions around Lightning Meadow which is pretty funny since almost no one ever goes to that meadow anymore.


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Spying Pearl Lake in the distance with Finger Peak looming large in the background.  We would have come through a second pass to the left of Finger Peak if we had been able to go through the first pass where we encountered snow.


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Above Division Lake, we spied a mature adult bald eagle.  When my parents were in Blackcap Basin about a half dozen years ago, they also saw a bald eagle.  I wonder if it is the same eagle or a descendant.  The only reason eagles are able to live at this high of elevation is because the lakes have been stocked with fish.



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We found this cute little frog baking in the sun far away from any water near Division Lake.  We helped him get to a little puddle of water so that he wouldn’t cook in the sun.

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One last view before heading back down to Pearl Lake.

Morning at Pearl Lake

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Dawn breaks over Pearl Lake first on the high peaks that ring Blackcap Basin.

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The morning was crisp and still at our campsite on the moraine at Pearl Lake.
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There are many worse places in the world to wake up than at Pearl Lake.  I can see why people used to spend whole summers camped at this lake.

First Night at Pearl Lake

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After climbing up the hill from Portal Lake, we stopped at Pearl Lake for the night.  The glacial erratic rock on the moraine of Pearl Lake near the outlet makes a great place to camp.  People have been camping here for thousands of years.  In the past, we found evidence of miners and sheepherders camping here plus abundant evidence of Native American occupation.

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Pearl Lake in all her glory.  There are several good places to camp around this lake.  In the heyday of backpacking in the 70s, there would have been at least a half dozen parties around the lake.  We were probably the first people to see this lake this year.

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On the downslope side of the boulder we camped next to there is a little flat spot big enough for one person to get out of the weather.  It is well-used.

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Our campsite setup for the night.  It would be easy for someone to walk by and not even notice us.

STA_3465 - STJ_3474Alpenglow on the peaks of Blackcap Basin.  The mountain to the left of center was once named Little John by a coworker of my father when he was at Michigan State.  It was a joke but the name stuck for several years when my dad was a wilderness ranger in this area.  I don’t know if people still call it Little John but at one point in time, that is what it was called.

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The sun sinking over the shoulder of Blackcap Mountain.


IMG_3478Night settling in on our little camp on the moraine at Pearl Lake.