Marlette Lake

On Saturday the 12th of October, the group that went to Winnemucca Lake (plus or minus a few members) met and carpooled to Spooner Lake (Nevada) State Park, to hike the 4½ miles to Marlette Lake, a reservoir a few hundred feet above Lake Tahoe.

The first almost-a-mile of the hike is along the locally-famed North Canyon Road, known for its many cabins and its access to the wilderness area along Tahoe’s east shore. After this distance, we reached the marked trailhead for the hiking trail that was completed only a few years ago.

Half the group is waiting for the other half. Again.

After the group leader took a group picture, we started up the trail. We quickly became spread out. Joe and my own DW were out in front, with me a few hundred yards behind them, and the next fastest group–including a young woman about 25 years my junior–probably about the same distance behind me.

The hike to Marlette Lake is nearly all uphill, with a couple of sets of switchbacks. Not terribly steep, but mostly constant. About ⅔ of the way there, the trail reaches the top of a rise with a somewhat expansive view of the valley and road below.



Approaching the apex;
note the stump.

There’s that stump,
with the canyon below.

The trail continues to climb, and soon I was entering elevations where the early-season snowfall of the previous week was not yet completely evaporated:

Shortly after that, there was snow actually ON the trail!

OK, maybe there wasn’t much snow on the trail, but I did see a bit more before reaching the summit, where the trail starts back down toward North Canyon Road and the lake.

At one point, the hiking trail comes within a few yards of the road, and an access trail–fit for bikers as well as hikers, that leads to the trailhead off of NV SH 28–crosses both. Because this was only the second time I’d been on this trail, and I had no other hikers to guide me, I mistakenly took the access trail down to the road. Since I knew the road led to the lake, by the time I realized my mistake I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to go back and regain the hiking trail. Besides, only the road had views like this:

When I reached Marlette Lake, the north wind had come up, and was quite chilly after blowing across the water. I made my way to a pile of rocks where I expected to find DW and Joe, and I was not disappointed. I was surprised, however, when they told me I was only about ten minutes behind them! I did not expect to have moved so quickly.

We ate lunch there, hounded by this chipmunk:

It was very aggressive, and even climbed on DW’s lap when she wasn’t looking, trying to get a nut from the snack-size bag she had there. Startled, she moved the bag away, and this cute little fellow bit her! Not hard enough to draw blood, thank goodness. No rabies shots for her.

Finally, we had had enough of the wind and rodent harassment, so shortly after the rest of the group arrived, the three of us decided to leave, and take the road back to Spooner Lake. On the way out, I noticed this plea for people fishing there to complete an “Angler Survery”:

Your tax dollars (and donations) at work.

The walk back was pleasant enough, especially after we had crested the summit again and were somewhat protected from the chilly north wind. We discussed all sorts of things, from politics to pop music, from advertising to Zurich (Joe had recently been to Switzerland, although he spent most of his time in the area near Locarno). We made it back home just in time to cook supper! I think we had chili, to warm up from being outdoors all day.

Winnemucca Lake

On Saturday, 27 July, we joined our friend Joe and a different group he hikes with for a hike to Winnemucca Lake, in California just off Kit Carson Pass. We met at a shopping center near the south end of Reno, and carpooled to the trailhead. There is a new segment of freeway, opened just this past spring, that makes the trip to and through Carson City nearly non-stop. I don’t mean to bore people; it’s just that this was a pretty big event around here.

Anyway, for those unfamiliar with this part of the Sierra Nevada, Carson Pass is on CA SH 88 about 6 miles west of its intersection with SH 89 going north to Tahoe (Luther Pass), or about 16 miles west of the CA-NV state line south of Minden, NV. Kirkwood ski resort is only about 4 miles west of the pass. The new freeway makes the trip quicker than ever, and soon we were pulling into the parking area at the pass’s summit.

The trail starts south, sloping slightly upward into the forest. At one point, there is a tree whose trunk is twisted about 4' above the ground, which with the help of a rock placed there by the trail-builders makes it a wonderful seat for a photo opportunity. Too bad I don’t have any photos there I’m willing to post. But here is a nice photo of the trail in the trees.

You may recognize Joe's wide-brim hat.

After about ¾ mile (I guess), the trail emerges onto a grassy, rolling hillside.

Soon there is a minor trail that goes left, over a rise, past a small body of water called Frog Lake, leading to a rocky crag that overlooks the infamous Red Lake–infamous because the waters are currently a vibrant emerald green due to the algae. It may not show up well in the photo; you’ll just have to come see it in person.

Approaching Frog Lake

Panoramic view of Red Lake

Back down to the main trail, and on to the south and west we went. Soon we were on the side of a ridge looking west toward the beautiful and popular Caples Lake.

Caples Lake

A bit further on

It wasn’t much farther now! We had passed the rounded peak known as the Elephant’s Back, and the wildflowers were maybe not at their peak, but certainly putting up a good display.

Lilies of the Field

Elephant’s Back and some flowers

Past the ridge and over a small hill, and we were at our destination: Winnemucca Lake!

Uh-huh.

Yeah, it was kind of anti-climactic, especially since the sky had clouded over a little, dulling the first impression. However, while we were there I took a panoramic photo of the entire lake, and DW was moving around as I got to the end. I thought it made for an interesting effect:

See, I told you there were more pictures than last post! Three more, nearly a 50% increase.

Relay Peak via Mount Rose and the TRT

On Saturday, 20 July, a somewhat larger group of us hiked another part of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), this time North from the Mount Rose Summit trailhead. The trail goes up somewhat steeply from the highway along the side of the southernmost peak of Mount Rose–at least, logic tells me that the Mount Rose Highway touches Mount Rose.

We had a largish group of about a dozen people, most of whom were just introduced to each other at the trailhead, and we got separated fairly quickly. I spent a fair amount of time talking with some people who I thought were part of our group, but were actually part of another largish group that started at about the same time. Oh, well. More new friends!

Our group coalesced again at the base of a waterfall–scratch that: the waterfall. It is the only one on the Mount Rose Trail, and is a destination for some, and a waypoint for others. This is because from that point, the TRT turns west, and the Mount Rose Trail continues north and east on its climb to the summit.

Oops, I stand corrected. This trail map at the Tahoe Rim Trail Association site says that part of the trail climbs Tamarack Peak. It also says it’s about 2½ miles to the waterfall.

The hike leader Dave had been working over the past two (or three) summers on a new section of trail that climbed through the forest on the south side of the fall, replacing the old trail that climbed the rocky, bare slope on the north side. So he was sort of showing off his work a little, and he certainly had reason to be proud. The trail consists of several switchbacks through the forest and brush, with a couple of small rocky sections. It’s much more pleasant than the old trail, and much less prone to erosion (which was probably the main motivation for it).

Unfortunately, I have no pictures because I was mainly trying to keep up a pace so as not to be the last one through. I guess I did pretty well, because I even stopped for water once, and was still in the first half of the group to reach our second waypoint, which was where the TRT crosses the dirt access road to the radio relay towers on Relay Peak. (Hmm, I wonder what that peak was called before the radio towers were installed?) This map tells me that was another 0.7 miles, for a total of 3.2 miles so far.

The rest of the first half

Joe likes his sun protection.

Everyone made it! …this far.

Besides, I’ve already shared a couple of photos of that trail on this post, from a hike we did in 2011.











From this point, it was only another mile-and-a-half to the top of Relay Peak–if you take the boring road. No, you want the nice trail cut through the forest! It only adds another half-mile!

Well, we actually stopped for lunch about a tenth of a mile short of the peak, on top of the ridge called (unassumingly enough) Relay Ridge. From it, we had extensive views of the east shore of Lake Tahoe to the south, of course, but also Washoe Valley, and to the north the Truckee, CA area, including Donner Lake and the three reservoirs of Prosser, Boca, and Stampede.

W view; Truckee over that ridge

N view; Oregon over there somewhere

Panoramic view of the north side of the ridge

Panoramic view of the south side, from Washoe Valley to Kingsbury

After lunch, a few of the group wanted to continue on to the peak, but most of us relied on the hike leader’s opinion that the view wasn’t any better there than where we were, and we headed back down the way we came. There are some ups and downs, but it’s mostly down. This time, DW and Joe nearly broke records getting back to the parking lot, and I was blissfully alone on the trail for most of the return trip.

The next weekend, we did a hike with yet another group, this time to the south of Lake Tahoe. That post will have more pictures than this one. Don’t miss it!

Tahoe Rim Trail, Sheep Meadows to Diamond Peak and Beyond

On the 2nd weekend in June, DW and I went with our friend Joe (from the previous Lakes Basin hike) to hike a short, 5½ mile or so (each way) section of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). Joe wanted us to see this section of the TRT, because he was part of a group that built a mile of that section.

We accessed the TRT by hiking a short distance on the Ophir Creek trail. We parked at the top of the rise just (highway-) south of Tahoe Meadows, aka Sheep Meadows, and trekked through the well-worn bush to the trail. This spot is very popular year-round, for hiking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and mountain biking. We got there early enough to get a nice spot that would be shaded most of the time we were on the trail.

When we got to the intersection of the Ophir Creek trail with the TRT, Joe insisted we take the left fork. We went maybe ¼ mile down that trail, and he realized we were still on the Ophir Creek trail! He remarked, “I always take the wrong turn there!” and we set out bushwhacking west toward the TRT. Well, there aren’t many bushes; mainly ground cover and pines. Anyway, in what seemed like an even shorter distance than we had gone the wrong way, there was the trail we wanted. And we were on our way!

The first place we took a photo break, and a little water, was a view of Washoe Valley on the east side of the Sierras.

Fearless Leader Joe

Washoe Lake (R) and Little Washoe Lake

The TRT isn’t called a “rim” trail for nothing, and we spent a lot of time meandering back and forth between views of Washoe Valley and Lake Tahoe. The next place we stopped was on the Tahoe side.

Crystal Bay, Agate & Carnelian Bays, Dollar Point beyond

We continued on south, and pretty soon we saw the top of the Diamond Peak ski resort.

Poles mark the ski boundary

From then on, we were on the Tahoe side, with lovely views of the lake, Incline Village, and the Ponderosa Ranch. About another ¼ to ½ mile down the trail, Joe pointed out a clearing where his trail-building group’s supplies were stored, and said that was the beginning of the mile they built. That mile was mostly uphill, but not terribly steep, and ended where the trail turned back to the east side of the crest, at a big pile of boulders.

That isn’t Joe.

The views of the southwest side of the lake were wonderful, with snow-capped mountains above Rubicon Point.

I believe Tunnel Creek goes down that slope.

Just for fun, I experimented with the panoramic mode on my iDevice.

After lunch, and before we left there, I noticed there was a very good view of Incline Village, the golf course and condos, and the bottom of Diamond Peak resort.

Joe checked the elevation using his phone (about 8,350'), and we checked again as we approached the parking area (about 8,650'). We were a little surprised that the turn was actually lower than where we started, but of course being a rim trail, the TRT does go up and down quite a bit.

We were back home within about 6 hours of when we left the house that morning, and all tuckered out! Well, DW and I were, but Joe is a powerhouse. He even went to our local Total Wine store and tasted a few of the wines they were offering that afternoon.

First Hike of the 2013 Season

Well, since I sort of promised (no one in particular, except maybe myself) that I would share photos when we went for a hike, I’m posting what I have.

Earlier this week, DW and I met up with a friend from the Reno Ski & Recreation Club to go with him on an exploratory hike in Lakes Basin Recreation Area, in the Plumas National Forest in northern California. He will be leading a hike in June, and wanted to see how much snow was left, and where. We met at his house, near the University, and he drove. Before we left, he stopped to refuel his vehicle.

Good thing his car uses Regular.

He told us the weather report called for increasing cloudiness with some possible rain around 2pm. We were leaving at 8:30 am, and expected to be there by 10:00, so we figured to be done by then, but we took some light rain gear just in case.

As we got closer to Lakes Basin, though, the clouds got heavier and heavier, and around Portola it started to drizzle. By the time we reached the road off the Gold Lake Highway to the trailhead, it was a nice steady rain.

Undaunted, we put our boots and hats on, grabbed our day packs, and set off down (or should I say up) the trail. This was the trail between the Bear Lakes and Gold Lake, a former mining road. Our destination for the best vantage was near Round Lake, which has a historical marker explaining some mining ruins. It starts out pretty easy, and there’s only one section that is anywhere near steep, which switches back but once. After that section, as we rounded the face of the mountain that holds Round Lake in on the south side, I snapped this photo of, I believe, Little Bear Lake.

 On around the mountain, and up to the mining mill ruins we went. Since the main focus of the exploration was how much snow was left, we were all looking up toward the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), rather than down at the ruins and the lake.

Not enough snow to build a fort.

After we got back to the trailhead, our friend happened to mention the weather forecast again, and this time he said it was for Reno. No wonder it turned out so differently!

So, I guess if you want to see what’s left of the mill and shaft, and read all about the gold mining around Round Lake, you’ll just have to come visit Plumas County! Even if that isn’t your thing, the Lakes Basin is filled with many lakes, large and small, and criss-crossed with hiking trails, including access to the PCT. It’s certainly worth a visit. When you do, be sure to stop in and see me.

Post Script: On the way back to Hwy 70, Hwy 89 passes just west of the little settlement of Blairsden, CA. A short side trip will take you to the Village Baker, where they have the flakiest pastries and best espresso–not to mention the cutest kids–in Plumas County. Don’t miss this gem!