THE
FIRST CHANGE
Monday
evening, Christy and I discussed our plan for the next few days. We were scheduled to start a 3-day
backpacking trip in the Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, Christy’s had a lot of pain in
her knee just from the easy hikes we had done over the first few days of the
trip. She wasn’t ready for a backpacking
trip that included a couple of miles of off-trail hiking. Ed and Carolyn offered to let us stay at
their camper at Lower Blue Lake south of Tahoe instead. That area is surrounded by the Mokelumne
Wilderness, and the Pacific Crest Trail passes nearby. There are a lot of hiking options in the
area, so we decided to take them up on their offer. We would stay there two nights before getting
back on schedule and heading for Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Christy
wasn’t feeling well the next morning, and we suspected that she had come down
with an infection. We picked up
groceries and stopped at CVS on the way out of Jackson. Then we headed for the Blue Lakes. It was a scenic drive, highlighted by the
views of Thunder Mountain from Silver Lake.
We drove on through Hope Valley and down to Lower Blue Lake. The Blue Lakes feature several campgrounds,
but most of them were closed due to construction on the dam that forms Upper Blue
Lake. We drove over to the trailer,
where we met Ed and his friend Vic. They
had driven up from Jackson to show us around.
We unpacked, had lunch and hung out for a bit. Eventually Ed and Vic had to head back. At that point, we finally got motivated to do
something with our afternoon.
Christy
and I drove out a bumpy dirt road almost to Lower Sunset Lake. We parked at the top of the final hill above
the lake, as driving farther seemed like a bad idea. There are several rough, narrow roads leading
from here, but they didn’t look like they would be passable in the Jetta. Our only dilemma was finding the trail. My map showed the PCT passing through here,
but we didn’t see it.
I
scouted down the road to Lower Sunset Lake.
I found a nice, occupied campsite at the end of the road on the
lakeshore, but no trail. I returned to
the car, and Christy and I headed up the road towards Summit Lake. After a short climb we intersected the
PCT. We followed it east (southbound)
into a granite wonderland. Before long
we were drawn off-trail to explore among the smooth granite rock faces in
search of better views. We found a good
one, overlooking Lower Sunset Lake, with Jeff Davis – a dramatic spire – in the
distance beyond.
We
returned to the trail and hiked to a prominent saddle. There, we followed a beaten path north to the
summit of a minor, unnamed peak. That
mountain top provided a stunning view of the jagged cliffs of Raymond
Peak. We hung out there for a bit, but
the wind was howling, so we hurried back down.
Returning
by the same route would’ve been simple, but that isn’t how we do things. Instead, we followed a dirt road around the
east side of Wet Meadows Reservoir. The
map showed this road leading back to where we had parked. We rock hopped a creek, but a few minutes
later the road disappeared underwater.
Melting snow had turned this stretch of road into a small pond. Turning back would’ve been the sensible choice,
but that’s no fun! Instead, we decided
to bushwhack to the PCT. We walked
through the woods until we reached a wet meadow. It didn’t look promising, but I found a dry
route through. Christy took a different
route, and ended up in a nasty willow thicket.
Luckily, she survived, and we managed to keep our feet dry.
We
returned to the trailer and grilled dinner over the campfire. Afterwards, we debated hanging the
hammocks. However, it was expected to
get down into the upper 30’s that night, and there was a perfectly good bed
inside. The temptation was irresistible.
I
got up early the next morning for a short hike.
I let Christy sleep in while I hiked down to the waterfall on Blue Creek
a short distance downstream from Lower Blue Lake. There is an impressive cascade there, and I
was glad I did it early while the light was nice for photos. Afterwards, I returned to the trailer to have
breakfast and coffee with Christy.
My
plan for Wednesday was a big hike in the Blue Lakes area. Actually, I was kind of planning to make it
up as I went. My goal was to hike to The
Nipple, a prominent peak high above the Blue Lakes. The PCT passes below it, but a bit of cross country hiking would be necessary to reach the
summit. From there, I’d return to the
PCT and hike on to the Lost Lakes. I’d
return on the dirt road that passes by Upper and Lower Blue Lakes. However, if time allowed, I would add another
loop to the hike. Ideally, I’d cross the
dam that forms Upper Blue Lake and hike the trail up to Granite Lake. From there, I’d bushwhack to Evergreen Lake
and Twin Lakes, before returning to the trailer.
Christy
still wasn’t feeling well, so she planned to take the day off. She drove me back down the road to where the
PCT crosses. This was more complicated
than expected. For some reason, the PCT
completely disappears from my map on either side of the road. Despite this, the crossing point seemed
obvious. When we reached the area, there
was no sign of the trail. The trail
actually crosses the road a ¼ mile north of the junction with Sunset Lake
Road. We found it eventually. Christy dropped me off and headed back to the
trailer to relax.
I
hiked up the PCT on a steady, graded climb through woods and rock
outcrops. I eventually emerged above treeline and hiked through vast meadows covered in
wildflowers. This stretch of trail was
fairly busy with thru-hikers. I
continued on until I was directly below The Nipple. The direct approach looked very steep, so I
stayed on the trail well beyond the peak.
Eventually I reached the point where I couldn’t stand it anymore, and
headed up. As it turns out, it would’ve
been better to stay on the trail a little longer. After a steep climb, I stumbled upon a beaten
path coming from the PCT farther west.
From there, a gentle walk and a quick, easy scramble brought me to the
summit.
The
Nipple is an easy peak to bag, and the view is spectacular. It’s a 360 degree
vista. My favorite view was northwest,
towards the Lost Lakes. After hanging out for a bit and signing the summit
register (titled “Nipple Thoughts”), I was ready to check out the Lost Lakes.
I
followed the beaten path back to the PCT, and followed it to the lovely Lost
Lakes. From there, I headed down the
(closed) dirt road to Upper Blue Lake. I
walked it to the lower end of the lake.
There, I encountered a small group of women. They were trying to cross the dam, but a
construction worker halted them. I’m
guessing they were trying to cross to access the trail to Granite Lake. That was also my plan, as it was only 3pm and
I had plenty of time at my disposal.
Dejected, they turned back for the long walk to Lower Blue Lake.
I’m
not that easily defeated. I followed the
road downstream along Blue Creek below Upper Blue Lake. After a short distance I veered over to the
creek. The water was up, but it looked
passable. I picked out a wide spot,
where it wasn’t too deep or swift, and changed shoes. The crossing was pretty easy, despite water
that was above my knees. Once across, my
challenge was finding the trail to Granite Lake. I actually found it pretty quickly, but it led
me to a huge snow drift. Hmm, now what?
I
climbed over the snowdrift, expecting to find the trail on the far side. Of course it wasn’t
there. I wondered around for a bit,
before stumbling upon it. I followed it
briefly, before encountering another snow drift. I continued pressing ahead, losing the trail
once again. Stubbornly I pushed on,
until I really had no idea where the trail was.
I had over a mile to go to reach Granite Lake, and bushwhacking there
through the snow wasn’t a realistic option.
I decided to bail.
I
turned back, but after a short distance I noticed open forest off to my
right. There was less snow over there,
because there were fewer trees and more exposure to the sun. I decided to give it one more try and headed
that way. I climbed through open woods,
and after a few minutes, I stumbled upon the trail again. From there, the snow drifts were less
frequent and much smaller. When I
encountered one, I was able to regain the trail on the far side. The rest of the climb was straight-forward. When I reached Granite Lake, I was thrilled
that I had pushed on. Granite Lake is a
beauty, backed by jagged cliffs.
It
was getting late, so I didn’t linger long.
From there I bushwhacked downhill to Evergreen Lake and on to Twin
Lakes. The only obstacle was one band of
cliffs, but I was able to find my way around them. From Twin Lakes I followed the dirt road back
down to the dam that creates Lower Blue Lake.
I crossed the dam and met Christy at the trailer.
That
evening we grilled bison meatloaf over charcoal. After dinner, we drove back out the road to
the trailhead above Lower Sunset Lake. A
15 minute hike brought us to a cool expanse of granite
on the shore of Wet Meadows Reservoir.
That was a spectacular spot for sunset alpenglow on the rugged cliffs of
Raymond Peak. We returned to the car in
the dark, and slept well again that night.
Back to California
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