Emigrant Lake
Caples Lake

This was another "Monday Hikers" trip. The first half is along the southern shore of Caples Lake. Since water has a tendency to equalize in elevation, this part of the trail is pretty flat. From the end of the lake, the trail goes UP to Emigrant. The peak in the elevation profile is because a couple of us climbed the eastern ridge to get an overview of the lake.

We hit the trail at a time when the flowers were showing their best!

The trailhead is immediately off Highway 88 at the dam on the western tip of Caples Lake. As you follow the trail, the views across the lake are constant for the first mile and a half.

As you near the end of the lake, Black Butte sticks up above the ridge.

As the trail begins to climb, it more or less follows Emigrant Creek, one of the water sources of Caples. There is a cute waterfall just a short way off the trail on a well beaten path to the right

We managed to hike the trail when the wild flowers were just coming into their own. There was quite a variety, some we hadn't encountered before (thinking they were exotics when looking in the botany books) - Quite Lovely!

Reaching Emigrant Lake in a bowl of surrounding peaks, we had lunch and enjoyed the flowers growing on the eastern slope.

After lunch, a couple of us climbed the slope to get an 'aerial' view of the area (and because it was there).