Finally to GEM!

We've been to Snow Lake twice now and attempted to get to Gem Lake last fall but we were stopped by rain that was supposed to stop but only got worse.  With no rain in sight and a nice warm day promised us, we set off to see what all the fuss was about.  We were able to go on a Friday so the crowds were less, but still many hikers out and about.  We ran into most of them late in the afternoon--those who were going up to camp for the weekend.  On the way to Gem we had only a few hikers either ahead of us or behind and the path was far more quiet. We made great time getting to Snow only  1 hr and 15 minutes to the crest and another 20 minutes down to the lake.  There was no breeze yet and we were met with the most amazing reflections.

After spending some time at Snow we headed off to Gem as we were very excited to get there.  We read in another review that Gem was another 2+ miles away.  We were please to find that this was not the case...it's just a little over 1 mile.  The trail to Gem is very pretty.

This rock field means you are almost there!

We got to Gem rather quickly. We were a little disappointed there was no place near the lake to get close and have lunch.  Gem is pretty, but we both agreed Summit Lake just 1 week before was superior. 

So we returned to Snow and found a quiet place to eat lunch, although by now there were far more hikers out and about--but the view more than made up for losing the solitude.