Here's what John Muir had to say about Cathedral Peak in his book My First Summer in the Sierra, published in 1911: "No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself. The same may be said of stone temples. Yonder, to the eastward of our camp grove, stands one of Nature's cathedrals, hewn from the living rock, almost conventional in form, about two thousand feet high, nobly adorned with spires and pinnacles, thrilling under floods of sunshine as if alive like a grove-temple, and well named "Cathedral Peak.""

Cathedral Peak

Lower Cathedral Lake with the moon rising over Echo Peaks.

At the edge of the meadow at the east end of Lower Cathedral Lake, we came upon a doe grazing in the trees. She was spectacularly unconcerned that we were there. Keith and I stood 20 feet from her, and talked to her, and about her, and she turned her back on us and continued to graze. Must have been good grass! At this point another couple walked up and we stood there and talked to them and we all watched the doe and she just stood there and ate until we all walked away.

Then we walked across the meadow, and skirted around the edge of Lower Cathedral Lake. There were at least 6 tents pitched around the shore of the lake. It would be a beautiful place to make a base camp for a few days and do day hikes from. We took a right and skirted around the edge of Medlicott Dome. We found the climber's trail coming down from Medlicott, which was easier going than climbing up the slabs on the way up. It wasn't long until we were back at the car with a little daylight to spare (unlike our hike to Shadow Lake the day before, which we finished by flashlight).

Cathedral Peak from Lower Cathedral Lake.

Cathedral Peak from Hwy 120 by Pywiak Dome.

This hike rates really high on my list of places we've been this summer. It was so quick getting to the Lakes, and the scenery was awesome. We're not always motivated to repeat a hike, but I think this one is worth doing more than once.

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