We took our son Bobby and his fiancé Chandler on their second backpacking trip of the summer - this time to the Yosemite backcountry. Our day one route took us up Budd Creek and over the ridge to Cathedral Lakes. Then it was cross-country past Echo Lake and into the country beyond with outstanding views all around.
On day two, while the young'uns hung out in camp and played, us old people went for a day hike. We crossed the ridge to the north of camp and dropped into Echo Creek. From there we picked a route up to Nelson Lake before continuing up the drainage to Reymann Lake near the divide to Rafferty Creek. It was a pleasant spot for lunch before following the same route back to camp. That evening we had a few sprinkles which left us plenty early enough for cooking dinner outside followed by a beautiful sunset.
Our final day had us hiking back to the start, but instead of following our exact route in, we took a detour that Susan scouted from below that got us high on a bench below the Echo Peaks summit. The views were outstanding, some of the best we've had in all of Yosemite (and that is saying a lot). From there we descended to Budd Lake and on to the car.
