This trip was a bachelor party. Zachary was getting married and the plan was simple: load up, drive to Bishop, and spend four days backpacking to Sherwin Lakes in the Eastern Sierra. For me, this was a first. I'd never been into this part of the Sierras before, and the promises of exceptional lake views and the possibility of catching fish had my expectations higher than they probably should have been.
Our bellies were full of sandwiches from Mahogany Smoked Meats in Bishop as we reached the trailhead and started the climb. The weather was hot and dry, and the heat combined with my far-from-ultralight pack were making the lack of sportiness in my current bodily build very apparent.
After a while, the group falls quiet. The once prolific chatter and trash talking has fallen away and has been replaced by determined breathing only.
Now I'll tell ya…this site did not disappoint. For me, a guy who's never been backpacking in the Sierras before, this area is exactly what you imagine it would be. Mountains peering out of the background, a babbling stream feeding the lake right next to our camp. I am smitten.
Fun detail: Sherwin Lakes was actually Sherwin Lake at this point. The water level was high enough that the upper and lower portions had merged into a single body of water.
Night one dinner was steaks that we hiked in. If that sounds excessive for a backpacking trip, it absolutely was. But this was a bachelor party and we weren't about to eat freeze-dried anything on the first night.
The sunset over Sherwin Lake closed out Day 1 the only way it should have. Nobody wanted to be the first one to leave the fire.