Shaver Lake

After the hike on Twin Lakes, we headed to our cabin from Shaver Lake Village Hotel. The sunset time caught us by the end of our drive right near the scenic pullout. Everything was red and orange. It was like a fire surrounded us. But not the fire you fear. I mean the fire from the fireplace, warm, and safe, and cozy.

I had a plan for the next day to wake up before the sunset and hike to the lake. I overslept. I woke at 7 AM and saw the bright morning sun. It was too late for the excellent morning photos. Anyway, I drank my coffee and headed to the lake with Eugene sleeping in the cabin. It was a bright and crisp fall morning. The lake was quit even for the low season: the lonely fisherman on the whole bank and me.
Shaver Lake is an artificial reservoir made with the completion of the namesake dam in 1927.

The lake is not in the full capacity, and the muddy shores aren’t the best foreground for it. But what was my surprise when returning later that day from the hike, we saw the lake turned into cotton candy pink cloud. The setting sun changed the color of the skies, and still surface of the lake became a glass.

Huntington Lake

While in the region, it’s almost impossible not to visit Huntington lake above the Shaver Lake. Another artificial lake completed in 1912 is a home of dozen of campgrounds. The shores are very scenic.
If you are hiking in the Kaiser Wilderness, there are two ways to return to Shaver Lake. One is to take Tollhouse Rd (and GPS will tell you to do it); another is to take a longer and more scenic way. Narrow Huntington Rd goes along the northern lakeshore and dives down to the views of the bush-covered canyons. We drove there before the sunset, and golden sunlight created nice textures on the ridges around us.

If you still have some free time on your hands, check out Indian Pools.