We decided to spend a couple of nights in Bishop on our way north to begin our Yosemite trip, so Sunday’s agenda called for a short hike to stretch our legs and tune up a little. We looked at literally dozens of options, in the end settling on a 5+-mile out-and-back exploration up the Bishop Pass trail from South Lake, targeting Long Lake as a likely turnaround. The forecast for Bishop was in the high 90s, but the South Lake trailhead at nearly 9,900′ was a cool 61 degrees when we arrived about 9am. We were lucky enough to grab a parking spot about a hundred yards north of the trailhead proper – the expansive lot was already full, and we were passed repeatedly by vehicles over the next few minutes as people drove past us and back after unsuccessfully finding an open space. There were a few groups of backpackers beginning their treks as we started out, which was definitely the order of the day – we were some of just a handful of day hikers, the vast majority of the dozens of folks we saw carrying much heavier loads than we. The trail south along the lake climbs steadily but moderately, and we walked at a comfortable pace up the incline without too much trouble, spurred on at first by a packer on horseback pulling a pack mule behind – we would leapfrog with her a couple of times over the next mile or so. Above South Lake, the trail crosses a lovely flat atop the ridgeline, crossing a small creek before ascending through a narrowing draw – we climbed through a short sequence of very tight but gently graded switchbacks, emerging into a beautiful meadow below the aptly-named Chocolate Peak. Here, the outlet of Long Lake has created a small pond at the head of a sizable grassy meadow, and, although we couldn’t even see the lake itself yet, the view over the meadow to the mountains beyond was stunning. It got better – not 100 yards further south, we met the northern finger of Long Lake, finding the main body of water a little further south. It was gorgeous – Bishop Pass was visible in the distance to the south, flanked by the northern end of the Palisades group to the left and the impressive Mt. Goode to the right. Across the lake to the west stood Hurd Peak, whose jagged top had dominated the southern horizon whenever views had opened up on our ascent. The lake itself was magnificent, and it dawned on us that virtually all of the short trips we had considered would have yielded a similar experience to this – the eastern Sierra is overflowing with scenes such as the one unfolding before us. We followed the trail southward along the lake, choosing to rest and snack in the now-sparse shade of some short cliffs near the lake’s southern end. The further we had walked, the less people we encountered, and we actually had about 30 minutes of solitude before being passed by some backpackers heading out northward. The return trip was just as beautiful, if not a little warmer – it was in the mid-70s when we got back to the trailhead just before 1pm. There are so many options for both day hikes and backpack trips here – a great way to spend a few hours, refresh and stretch muscles that will see plenty of activity over the next week, and sample just a morsel of what this area holds in the way of experience.