I spent this long holiday weekend in the Inyo National Forest doing an overnight backpacking adventure. This was Indhu’s first time backpacking, and she did great! My dog Nali also came along, who had a blast climbing up rocks and exploring all the smells & open space.

This area of Inyo is quota-free, which means you can backpack here last minute even on a busy holiday weekend – you just need a permit from a ranger station. I highly recommend to fallback to this area if your walk up permits don’t work out, it is an amazing trail.

The loop itself is ~8 miles with little elevation gain, which makes it a great intro loop for backpacking. The trail we did can be found here. You can also extend it by going down and up Lundy Falls, or any of the other connecting trails.

We got to walk in the snow in September, which was pretty cool. The lakes being fed from the snow melt were pristine, with many flowing rivers and waterfalls. We found a really cool spot next to a waterfall to spend the night – Nothing like falling asleep to the sound of running water. All in all, an amazing experience.

I’ll leave you with something fun. Pillows take up a lot of room in a backpack, so they are often left behind. Luckily I have my own mobile heated pillow!