Crown Lake
Hike Review
Cassie and I hiked an out-and-back trail from the Robinson Creek Trailhead to Crown Lake. There was only one trail we hiked which was called the Robinson Creek Trail.
Robinson Creek Trail is a straightforward single-track trail that was really nice to hike. It was mostly hard-packed dirt, and there was very little trash to be seen. However, there were some interesting parts of the trail, such as rocky patches, 9-ish water crossings, and parts with overgrown birch trees giving us high-fives as we walked by. There are two to three switchback sections on the hike (depends on how you count them), and they were brutal. But we took a lot of breaks and just kept going one step at a time. Besides that, though, the trail led us by Barney Lake, Robinson Lake, and Crown Lake—there were also numerous creeks that flowed next to or through the trail. The water, by the way, was absolutely cold and absolutely delicious on this whole hike.
I thought the most confusing part of the hike was getting from the parking lot to the trailhead, as we had to walk through a campground with poor signage. On the way up, we walked through campgrounds on the south side of Robinson Creek, and on the way back, we walked through campgrounds on the north side of Robinson Creek. I suggest taking the north side one as it is shorter, and you’re not missing much in terms of views.
The hike was mostly exposed with maybe 20% shade. The shade came in bursts as we walked through birch and redwood forests. Otherwise, we were totally exposed to the unrelenting sun. However, because of the exposure, we were given jaw-dropping views of mountains around us. What made this view slightly different from higher elevation hikes was that there were trees all throughout the mountains—it led to there being lots of dots of green and brown that matched so well with the white granite peaks.
The only parking available is paid parking at Annett’s Mono Village, where it costs $15 for up to 7 days of parking. We paid at the campground kiosk. After we paid, we went to the designated parking area, where we found the last spot available. I would assume if the parking lot was full, the kiosk attendant would have found us a different spot. There were three bear boxes for storing any scented things as bears are active in this area. The boxes were pretty full, but we found a spot on top of an icebox.
On the way to Barney Lake, there were lots of folks on the trail. Afterwards, we only saw people at destinations, such as the pond before Robinson Lake, or at Crown Lake. Also, the average age of the people that we saw was older than any other trail I had ever been on. It inspired me to see so many folks being active and it made me resolve to keep hiking even when I get older.
Lastly, there is a cafe named Village Cafe at Annett’s Mono Village and we really enjoyed the food and drinks they served there. We ate breakfast there on the first day and ordered breakfast burritos that we ate on the trail for lunch. On the second day, we ate lunch there and the Pepsi they served there was ice cold and perfectly formulated to bring me a huge smile. The ice waters tasted perfect and the sandwiches (and fries) were delicious too. Lastly, the service was great on both days.
Camp Review
We camped on the northeast shore of Crown Lake. We found a decently leveled spot and while it wasn’t a 5-star campsite, we were at least protected from the wind and it was nice and quiet. Cassie didn’t get a good night’s sleep, but I slept like a rock the entire night. I think my secret to sleeping well is hiking more than 3k ft elevation gain with 25 lbs of stuff on my back.
We initially wanted to camp at the beautiful pond that feeds into Robinson Lake, but we met some fellow backpackers who told us that Crown Lake was even prettier and that there was no one at Crown. But by the time we got to Crown Lake, all the obvious campsites were taken by large groups, and we had to backtrack a bit to find the site that we found. We were still lucky as we were going to camp at a spot on top of some rocks (and every exposed to wind), when this wonderful woman pointed us to our eventual campsite.
Our campsite was about 100 ft from the lake, and it made it easy for us to refill our water bottles. We did have to hike away from the lake when we needed to relieve ourselves though.
There weren’t that many table-like rocks we could cook or sit on, but we managed by carefully balancing our stove on the top of a sloping rock.
What I Learned
The highlight of this trip for me was the snow-fed pond that feeds into Robinson Lake. The water had this enchanting green/aqua color, and it was so very cute and beautiful. I got to learn that when I jump into said snow-fed pond, that is very cold, there’s the initial shock of cold, but after a few seconds, it turned into a feeling where I felt like my skin was burning.
It was one of the first times where Cassie really focused on eating enough calories throughout the hike, and at the end of the first day, it worked for her where she felt as good as she could feel after a long day. However, on the second day, because of various reasons, she did not eat enough calories. It led to her feeling extremely cold on a warm day, and she totally crashed on the drive home. It just taught us that we need to make sure Cassie is well fed when doing these difficult activities that we love so much.
With so many birch trees on the way to Barney Lake, Cassie and I both think that this is the trail to hike in September when the colors change and it glows in various shades of red and yellow.
This was my first time driving Highway 108 all the way to 395, and I think it has to be the most beautiful highway, especially between Dardanelle and Sonora Junction. This 25-mile stretch is jaw-dropping the entire way through, and it does not relent. This stretch is, however, extremely twisty, and Cassie got carsick on the way back. One more thing about the stretch is that the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center is located right next to 108—we were surprised to see soldiers walking fully armed along the highway as they commuted from their tents to their training facilities.
I didn’t know this beforehand, but on the way back, we saw a tangential valley that had the prettiest peaks. I took pictures and told Cassie that it’d be great to hike up it someday in the future and camp at Ice Lake. When I got back home, I found out that among the peaks was The Incredible Hulk, which has a classic 5.10, 12-pitch climb that I would love to do one day. And now I know how to get there and where to park.
We had my favorite hot drink in the backcountry, which is a Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate mix with a Mount Hagen decaf instant coffee. Absolutely delicious, and it helped us warm up as it was around 40 degrees in the morning.
Barney Lake
Robinson Lake
Crown Lake
What Happened?
10.8 miles, 9 hrs 26 mins, 3494 ft of ascent
8.7 miles, 4 hrs 49 mins, 564 ft of ascent
It had been a while since Cassie and I had done a backpacking trip to somewhere remote where it could make us feel like it was just us and nature. With that in mind, I ran across a reel on Instagram where this person was jumping into a perfectly green alpine pond, and it made me want to find it. Through my internet sleuthing skills, I was able to find out that this pond was in the Sierras, with the trailhead being about 5 hours away by drive. So, we changed our plans a few days before this weekend and set our sights on Crown Lake.
We slept overnight somewhere near Sonora Pass, and it took us about an hour to drive to Annett’s Mono Village. We actually stopped by Bridgeport as there is a highly rated Mexican restaurant there, but alas, they were on vacation and it was closed. No matter, as The Village Cafe fed us a yummy breakfast and provided us with a very satisfying burrito we would consume for lunch. We paid for parking, parked, put all our sunblock, extra food, and anything with a scent into the bear box, and we started our hike.
The hike up to Barney Lake was pleasant with the elevation being gradual and consistent, which is my favorite way to gain elevation. There were multiple birch forests, and the views were pretty as we hiked the bottom of a glacial canyon. There were lots of people on the trail, and we made trail friends with a couple of hikers as we kept leap-frogging each other. When we got to Barney Lake, we saw all our trail friends, and we took a little break—Cassie painted while I read for a bit. It would have been almost perfect, but it was windy, and we got cold fast. At first, this was nice, since we were warm from the hiking, but soon after, we were cold. We scrapped our plans to take a dip and instead, put on our packs and started hiking.
This section of the trail was exhaustive, as this is where all the switchbacks were located. We kept getting overheated, so we kept ourselves cool by showering ourselves with stream water and by taking micro-breaks whenever we found shade. After what felt like hours, we got to a notch (a narrow pass between two giant boulders), and I knew that this signified the end of the switchbacks, and we breathed out a sigh of relief. We ate our breakfast burritos and recharged before continuing.
Soon after, we got to the green alpine pond and took another break. We felt the water and it was ice cold, but we knew we’d regret not jumping in—we gathered all the courage we could and jumped in one at a time. Wow, it was cold, but we were really happy that we had taken the plunge. We almost camped here, but at the encouragement of fellow backpackers that told us about the conditions at Crown Lake, we dried off and kept going.
Because the green pond was so beautiful and our ideal little lake, we passed by the Robinson Lakes without much praise. Cassie was getting pretty tired at this point, but she kept going without complaint, and we got to Crown Lake without too much fuss.
Crown Lake was gorgeous, especially with the view of the very imposing mountain called The Juggernaut. The lake side trail was picturesque, and we started to look for our campsite. Unfortunately, all the sites we could see were occupied, and when we got to the opposite side of the lake, Cassie took a quick break as I searched this large rock formation for flat surfaces where we could camp. After 10 minutes or so, I identified a few spots (though none were ideal), and we started to get water before setting up camp. At this point, a nice lady pointed out a spot across the lake from us, and we backtracked to find our campsite for the night.
We tried making mac and cheese, but in an attempt to be healthy, we added a bit too much dehydrated vegetables, and that’s how we ended up with the worst backcountry meal we’ve ever had. Sleep came quickly for us (though I stayed up to read for a bit), and I had a great night of deep sleep (Cassie woke up every few hours, but at least she was able to fall asleep quickly).
The next day, we woke up to a chilly morning where we ate some snacks, had a hot drink, and started our way down the same trail we walked up the day before. When we came by the green pond, we stopped so Cassie could paint it—this break was doubly nice as half a dozen birds came by and talked to us while we were sitting there.
The rest of the hike down was uneventful, and we played leap-frog with a group of hikers from Crown Lake. But the only things that really stand out were how hot it got as we descended into the canyon and how hungry we got as we approached the end. And what the end looked like was us sitting at Village Cafe, munching on our delicious sandwiches as I drowned myself in icy cold coke. That first meal after backpacking hits so hard, and it’s just the best.
