The day after a rather exhausting hike to Shadow Lake, I opted for a shorter hike from Reds Meadow to Rainbow Falls. The route is popular with day-trippers who shuttle down from Mammoth Mountain, and it’s easy to see why. The trail is about 3 miles round trip and gently undulates through forest and meadow. The reward is Rainbow Falls, a 101-foot waterfall, the highest on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River. A carpet of lupines and coyote mint. The hike begins in the fore