Blue Lake and Dingleberry Lake

Hiked: 8/13/2022
Distance: 9.2 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 11682' (Blue), 13085' (Dingleberry)
Elevation Gain: 2338'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.8
Round trip time: 6 hours
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Sabrina Lake
Difficulty: Moderate

Our second day hike in the Bishop area started at Lake Sabrina. We were headed for two of the dozen or so lakes in the area. The trail followed the east side of Lake Sabrina, then climbed about 1600' in three miles to reach the more level basin. A few large mountains were visible along the way, but also some prominent unnamed features that probably deserved names. The trail was busy with hikers, backpackers, and people fishing. Blue Lake was large and beautiful. There were a couple of easy stream crossings along the way, with water levels slightly below normal. We spent a few minutes at Blue Lake before continuing along the trail toward Dingleberry.

Blue Lake
At Blue Lake, we carefully crossed a stream over a pile of logs and reached a signed junction with Donkey Lake in one direction and Dingleberry the other. The basin was filled with granite slabs and odd boulders, with plenty of tall trees and ground cover. It seemed like ideal bear country, but we saw no wildlife other than birds and lizards. Dingleberry was a large lake with cliff jumping options if you were into that kind of thing. With the warm sun on us, we took a nap on the granite before a mule train came down the trail. Two riders and six mules rode past us toward an unknown destination. The mules left plenty of evidence of their passing on the trail. After a while, we returned the way we came.

Dingleberry Lake

Mule Train

Returning to Lake Sabrina