Mirror Lake Loop
MVP:
The Ahwahnee Hotel—After 4 miles of hiking, we were hungry for lunch and the Ahwahnee delivered. We absolutely devoured the delicious lunch, which recharged us for the hike back to Camp Curry.
Hike Review:
We hiked from Camp Curry to Mirror Lake, then to The Ahwahnee Hotel, and back to Camp Curry.
Because the roads were closed to vehicles (and because it had less snow and ice), we ended up walking quite a bit on roads.
The unavoidable snow slowed us down (the heavy snow boots didn’t help either), but it also made the hike much more fun.
The first half of the hike was in shade and was chilly. The second half of the hike was mostly in sun, and was very warm.
What I Learned:
On our way to Mirror Lake, we saw a Lynx! It was the first time I’ve ever seen a Lynx in the wild.
Mirror Lake lived up to its reputation, and it reflected the beautiful landscape around us.
The girls loved Mirror Lake as they were able to play around on some frozen ponds and a snow-covered island. If we weren’t craving lunch, we probably would have played around a bit more.
The Ahwahnee Hotel was a fantastic host, as always, and we relaxed around the fireplace for a bit after lunch.
When we got there, we saw a family of deer crossing its frozen grass lawn.
What Happened?
5.4 miles, 3 hrs 49 mins, 292 ft of ascent
I wanted to hike to Mirror Lake, so we hiked there from Camp Curry. The girls were constantly getting distracted, which slowed us down, but I was just happy that they were having so much fun. A mile and a half into the hike, the girls were getting pretty tired of the hike, but once we got to Mirror Lake, because they had so much fun playing with snow and ice, their energy levels rebounded and we marched to The Ahwahnee Hotel with gusto. Once there, we did not wait for our lunch. We sipped our well earned sodas; the girls ate a mix of healthy (salad and fruit) and unhealthy (fries and chicken tenders) foods; I had myself a vegan burger with fries.
After resting a bit, we decided to hike back to Camp Curry instead of taking the bus. What I remember the most about this last leg of our hike was the girls making snowballs and trying to hit my backpack—Momo was mostly successful, Mia was mostly successful in “missing” and hitting my derriere.
