Our trail now mounts abruptly 400 feet to Buena Vista Pass (Alt. 9600). To the right about half a mile is Buena Vista Peak (Alt. 9600), and to the left and running east is Buena Vista Crest. Excellent views are obtained from the trail as it crosses the open ridge. Near the summit the granite has fractured perpendicularly, forming regular rectangular slabs.
An 800-foot descent thru the open forest in the next two miles takes us to the picturesque little Royal Arch Lake (Alt. 8800). This is a small lake, deep on the north and east sides, and shallow near the southwest margin. It is named from the arches in the steep northeast granite wall, which are similar to the Royal Arches of Yosemite Valley but on a smaller scale. The lake was well stocked with eastern brook trout in 1897 and fishing is excellent, especially in the deep water along the rocky northwest shore. There are fine camp sites here and good horse-feed.
Skirting the west margin of the lake our trail follows the small stream about one mile to the main Chilnualna Trail. Eastward is Buck Camp (two miles), Moraine Meadows (seven miles), and Fernandez Pass (eleven miles). We turn westward to Johnson Lake (Alt. 8550), about a quarter mile distant. This is a small, round, deep lake beautifully set in meadows and forest. It is bountifully stocked with eastern brook trout and rainbow trout. The locality is ideal for camping. Further westward are Crescent Lake (one mile), Grouse Lake (two and a half miles), and Chilnualna Falls (six and a half miles).
TRAIL TRIP 23
YOSEMITE OR GLACIER POINT TO MORAINE MEADOWS via THE MERCED PASS TRAIL
(From Yosemite, 22 miles—10 hours. From Glacier Point, 18 miles—7 hours)
The Merced Pass Trail has been replaced to a large extent by the more scenic and better built Buena Vista Trail, which offers a short-cut to the splendid fishing lakes in the upper basin of the South Fork of the Merced. For those whose destination is the wild country at the headwaters of the San Joaquin River, the Merced Pass Trail is still the preferable route. The upper basin of Illilouette Creek abounds in glacial phenomena and fishing is reported good.
From Yosemite we follow the Vernal and Nevada Falls Trail (Trail Trip 1) as far as the rim of Panorama Cliff just above Nevada Falls. Here we turn to the right on the Mono Meadow Trail, which bears due south four miles to the main stream of Illilouette Creek. To reach this point from Glacier Point one should follow the Vernal-Nevada Falls Trail (Trail Trip 2) for two miles, turn to the right on the Buena Vista Trail (Trail Trip 22), and after three miles more turn to the left on the Mono Meadow Trail. A short distance will take one to the banks of Illilouette Creek.
At this point—twelve miles from Yosemite and five and a half miles from Glacier Point—the Merced Pass Trail turns eastward, following for ten miles up the main stream of the Illilouette and keeping always within a short distance of its north bank. Gradually ascending to an elevation of 9295 feet, we traverse Merced Pass. To the right is the long ridge of Buena Vista Crest (Alt. 9712). A descent of 600 feet in the next two miles takes us to Moraine Meadows. This is a splendid camping region with abundant horse-feed and good fishing. Nearby will be found a summer ranger outpost. A trail to the east leads to Fernandez Pass and the headwaters of the San Joaquin; one to the southeast to Chain o' Lakes, where is most excellent fishing; and one to the west to Royal Arch, Johnson, Crescent and Grouse Lakes and Chilnualna Falls.