I visited a couple of lakes in Ansel Adams Wilderness, California from Reds Meadow Valley/Devils Postpile trailhead.
This is a 24 miles loop by combining King Creek Trail and Superior Lake Trail. I completed the trip in 2 nights 3 days. Part of the trail was unmaintained and I went off-trail to save distance, too. The trail starts at Devils Postpile. You need to take the Reds Meadow Shuttle from Mammoth Lakes to get there.
I was able to visit 4 beautiful lakes (Fern Lake, Anona Lake, Ashley Lake, Holcomb Lake) with the last 3 of them all visited on the second day. The third day was purely hiking back and driving back to SF. The trail back down was shaded most of the time so there was no notable scenery.
It was late June and mosquitoes are RAMPANT, especially by the water. And I mean, any water, even all the 9000+ feet alpine lakes. They can penetrate your fast-dry shirts so please make sure to wear long sleeves and consider wearing 2 shirts.
