Nine of us met in the lower Twin Lakes parking by Castle Junction at 9:00 am. Even though the trail to Twin Lakes via Vista Lake and Arnica Lake is more scenic, we chose the lower trailhead because the Vista Lake viewpoint parking lot has limited capacity (due to Covid we had nine vehicles). The hike up from this trailhead is solidly in the trees until arriving at Lower Twin Lake. However, from there to Gibbon Pass easily makes up for this, especially at this time of year with the larches in their full glory. It was windy at Gibbon Pass, so we retraced our steps a short distance to where we found a lovely place out of the wind to have our lunch. We returned the way we had come, arriving back at the cars at about 5:00 pm.

Thanks to Sim,David,Phyllis,Jeannette,Janice,Clifton,John, andJim for joining me Jack (C/S) for a lovely day in the mountains. A special thanks to David for offering to be my mentor on this my third mentored trip as a probationary coordinator.

Total Elevation Gain: 813 m
Total Distance: 21.3 km
Total Time: 8 hours

Entering the larch forest below Gibbon Pass

Bathed in golden light

At Gibbon Pass

Lunch in the larches just below Gibbon Pass

Lower Twin Lake