Monthly Archives: June 2026

Granite Chief 2026-06-24 maintenance

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My third Granite Chief Wilderness trip was for trail maintenance. My original intent was to work on either the Five Lakes Creek Trail or the Western States Trail, but on my way in, found that the ‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail, PCT-d segment (my term, not related to PCT segments), and Whiskey Creek Trail needed work, so spent my time on those.

‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail (needs to be renamed by apparently has not been renamed by Forest Service) is now in good condition. Open Street Map shows Five Lakes Trail going by the largest lake and then reconnecting with the ‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail, but signing indicates this is not an official trail. I’m calling this ‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail all the way to junction with PCT.

PCT-d, the segment between ‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail and PCT is in good condition except for one down tree that intrudes into the trail but can be stepped around. I did a lot of spot brushing on this trail, as brush was starting to encroach.

Whiskey Creek Trail was a mess. Four down trees remain, one a slide under and three with good bypasses. At the crossing of Whiskey Creek, there is a log jam where the trail once crossed. You can cross below the jam, going down the bank, using a rock hop (at current water level), and then climbing up beside boulders and willows. I removed or modified several down trees.

Five Lakes Trail is maintained by Truckee Trails Foundation, and it is in good condition. It does not maintain the section west of the largest lake, which is no longer an official trail.

Though this work was not my original intent, at least it will be easier and quicker to get to Whiskey Camp next time. One family was camped at the camp on Saturday night, but I saw no one else there. In times past, it was rare that there was not a group, or many groups, at Whiskey Camp, but use seems to have tapered off.

I spend a lot of time pulling creeping honeysuckle or creeping snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis) out by the roots. The hiker name for this plant is tripwire, as the vines root, creating segments that harden into a black, very strong trip wire. If it crosses the trail and roots, it is a clear hazard to hikers. I have been tripped up a few times, even though I am quite aware of the plant. Cutting the vines simply produces more vines, so taking it out by the roots is the only solution that lasts more than one year. Strangely, I don’t have a photo of the trip wires. The snowberry shrub (Symphoricarpos albus) also has tough stems, but doesn’t grow low to the ground. On the PCT section, huckleberry oak, whitethorn, and sagebrush were the most common plants crowding the trail.

Mosquitos are present, but not abundant. There are probably as many flies, but I did not see the large one with green eyes that bites a chunk out of you.

It rained for a half hour or so on Thursday morning

Sunday morning was a magical cloud day, a great one for lying on the back and making animal shapes of the clouds. It eventually thickened, and there was a smattering of rain on my way out.

creeping snowberry, Steve Matson 2003

Granite Chief Wilderness additions: Blackwood & Ward

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This is the second of a series of posts recommending additions to the Granite Chief Wilderness. The first was Granite Chief Wilderness additions: Barker Creek.

Granite Chief Wilderness was established in 1984 with the California Wilderness Act, at about 24,000 acres (97 km2). About 10,000 acres were purchased by American River Conservancy under the Granite Chief Wilderness Campaign, some of which were added to the wilderness after restoration, mostly putting an old and barely passable road to bed (see new wilderness boundary), bringing the wilderness acreage to 28,374 (114 km2).

But there are extensive areas contiguous with the existing wilderness that are of wilderness character that I believe should be added to the wilderness. Some sections of the Pacific Crest Trail are not in the wilderness, when they could easily be with slight boundary adjustments. Some of the additions are pristine wilderness, and some are areas that were logged but are healing and could be added now or in the future.

I believe in wilderness, not just for the recreational value, but as areas we set aside for nature to flourish and heal, where we interfere little if any in natural processes. This has become all the more important with climate change and all the related issues including insect die-off and red fir die-off. When we have the opportunity to expand existing wilderness areas, we should. As our use of non-wilderness lands intensifies, we need to balance that will additional wilderness. The Granite Chief is one of those areas.

So, I will post a series on my proposed additions. It is a lot of work to look closely at maps and on the ground to develop recommendations, and then map them accurately. I’m using ArcGIS Pro to do this, and investigations on the ground. The posts may stretch out over a couple of years, and I’m guessing there will be at least six. When the series is complete, I’ll create a single map showing all the additions together.

Caveats

Some of the areas I’m proposing have been logged, many of them just before or just after the wilderness was established. I don’t believe that it will be economically possible, and questionably, environmentally responsible to log these areas again. The distance from the forest to remaining mills is just too great. Barker Pass Road was originally meant to go across Five Lakes Creek watershed to Mosquito Road and to mills in Foresthill or Placerville, but that will never happen, and those mills are long gone.

That is not to say there could not be fuel reduction projects, and perhaps some of these areas should be treated before inclusion in wilderness. Because of the misguided Forest Service policy of immediate suppression of lightning caused fire, even when far remote from human development, there are overstocked forests and years of debris on the forest floor, a conflagration waiting to happen. In the lower elevation forests, this is a completely unnatural, dangerous, and human-created condition. In the red fir and hemlock forests at higher elevations, it is not clear to me what the natural fire regime was or should be.

There are also logging roads associated with that logging. Almost all of these have deteriorated to be 4WD, not accessible for most recreationists, and are used primarily by off-road type users. This, in my mind, is not a valid use of National Forest lands. As an example, old logging roads on the mesas above Five Lakes Creek valley were closed for a while by downed trees, allowing nature to recoup and the peace and silence to return (see Granite Chief 2025-09-13 mesas). The views from the edge of the mesas are incredible, but the vehicle use here is not of that purpose, it is just for using vehicles. Unfortunately 4WD users with heavy chain saws and long bars managed to cut the trees out and return the roar of engines and tearing up of road surfaces. I have no sympathy for this.

Blackwood Creek & Ward Creek addition

The first area I’m recommending I call the Blackwood Creek and Ward Creek addition. It is within the drainages of Blackwood Creek and Ward Creek, which are tributary to Lake Tahoe. It would not result in any road closures. It includes some logging and fuel reduction areas in both watersheds, but these are healing fairly well, with the access roads having been long closed. It also includes much pristine wilderness lands.

The area is about 3,825 acres. A map is below, showing the adjacent designated wilderness and the proposed addition. It includes a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, shown on the map in orange dashed. (pdf)

Granite Chief 2026-06 PCT

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My second backpack of the mountain season was not for trail maintenance, though I did a bit of winter debris removal. Rather, it was to see what condition the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and others were in.

My trip got delayed a bit, so I ended up taking the Amtrak bus rather than California Zephyr, to Truckee, then TART to Tahoe City. A short walk from the Tahoe City Transit Center is the Tahoe City trailhead for the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). I headed south on the TRT, through Page Meadows, and up Ward Creek to Stanford Ridge where I camped for the night. The trail to that point has been logged out and is mostly in good condition.

The next day I headed the rest of the way to the crest where the TRT joins the PCT. They are coterminous to the south. There were some snow banks but nothing difficult, and four down trees, moderate winter debris and no brush issues.

I dropped my pack near the junction, and headed south on the PCT to Barker Pass. There are 59 down trees on this section (which I call PCTf, though this is just my terminology, and unrelated to the PCT lettered sections), up to 24 inches diameter but most in the 15 to 18 inch range. Debris light to heavy, some snow patches but none difficult (the wall of snow just south of the wilderness boundary was not difficult, as it is many years). A lot of seasonal creeklets were flowing. Barker Pass Road is now open, and there were a few cars at the Barker Pass trailhead. I passed about 12 people, a few PCT thru hikers and some day hikers.

Returning to my pack, I headed north on the PCT. The brushy ridge section north of Twin Peaks is starting to close in but should be OK until next year. This section has the greatest number and diversity of flowers at this time. Safebrush is freeze burned, from not being covered with snow during very cold temperatures, and other plants lesser so. I camped at a small flat beside the trail, one of the few spots on the ridge. In the late afternoon there was warm air coming up out of Bear Pen drainage, from the high temperatures in the foothills and valley, but the wind shifted from the north and that was chilly.

photo of PCT brushy ridge section, starting to be overgrown
PCT brushy ridge section, starting to be overgrown

There is only one tree down before the switchbacks down to Five Lakes Creek, but on the lower switchbacks there were 29 trees down, the largest 21 inches. From the Five Lakes Trail to Whiskey Creek Trail, there is one tree down. The Whiskey Creek Trail has 16 down trees, most small. The crossing of Whiskey Creek has been further complicated by two new down trees which caused a log jam and moved the large down tree that had previously made an easy crossing. The creek is low enough for an almost dry jump, but steep banks and alder thickets make that crossing awkward.

Continuing north on the PCT, there are 34 down trees to the ‘Tevis Connector’ (this trail will be renamed but I don’t know what to). It was finally cooler in the upper Whiskey Creek basin, with the gully creek and Whiskey Creek still flowing but low. From there to the Tevis Trail / Western States Trail crossing, 5 down trees. The Middle Fork American River is flowing well.

photo of arrowleaf balsamroot flowers
arrowleaf balsamroot flowers

The north slope of the Granite Chief saddle still has snow, but less than many years. The trail can mostly be followed, particularly with close reference to the mapped route. Seven trees down. I camped at the sand flat north of the meadow and Washeshu Creek, good spot for sunset and sunrise.

The next day I headed to the Granite Chief Trail, and then down to Olympic Valley. This trail is maintained by Truckee Trails, and is in good condition.

Overall, the condition of these trails surveyed is poor due to down trees. Brush is mostly OK but will need maintenance next year. Winter debris is mostly moderate, but very heavy in a few places. There are snow patches, but nothing difficult to manage. Creeks and creeklets are flowing well, though creeklets will dry out quickly. It doesn’t look like a great flower year, but that is alway uncertain. Trail use is low so far, but of course the PCT will be heavily used shortly.

Granite Chief Wilderness additions: Barker Creek

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Granite Chief Wilderness was established in 1984 with the California Wilderness Act, at about 24,000 acres (97 km2). About 10,000 acres were purchased by American River Conservancy under the Granite Chief Wilderness Campaign, some of which were added to the wilderness after restoration, mostly putting an old and barely passable road to bed (see new wilderness boundary), bringing the wilderness acreage to 28,374 (114 km2).

But there are extensive areas contiguous with the existing wilderness that are of wilderness character that I believe should be added to the wilderness. Some sections of the Pacific Crest Trail are not in the wilderness, when they could easily be with slight boundary adjustments. Some of the additions are pristine wilderness, and some are areas that were logged but are healing and could be added now or in the future.

I believe in wilderness, not just for the recreational value, but as areas we set aside for nature to flourish and heal, where we interfere little if any in natural processes. This has become all the more important with climate change and all the related issues including insect die-off and red fir die-off. When we have the opportunity to expand existing wilderness areas, we should. As our use of non-wilderness lands intensifies, we need to balance that will additional wilderness. The Granite Chief is one of those areas.

So, I will post a series on my proposed additions. It is a lot of work to look closely at maps and on the ground to develop recommendations, and then map them accurately. I’m using ArcGIS Pro to do this, and investigations on the ground. The posts may stretch out over a couple of years, and I’m guessing there will be at least six. When the series is complete, I’ll create a single map showing all the additions together.

Caveats

Some of the areas I’m proposing have been logged, many of them just before or just after the wilderness was established. I don’t believe that it will be economically possible, and questionably environmentally responsible to log these areas again. The distance from the forest to remaining mills is just too great. Barker Pass Road was originally meant to go across Five Lakes Creek watershed to Mosquito Road and to mills in Foresthill or Placerville, but that will never happen, and those mills are long gone.

That is not to say there could not be fuel reduction projects, and perhaps some of these areas should be treated before inclusion in wilderness. Because of the misguided Forest Service policy of immediate suppression of lightning caused fire, even when far remote from human development, there are overstocked forests and years of debris on the forest floor, a conflagration waiting to happen. In the lower elevation forests, this is a completely unnatural, dangerous, and human-created condition. In the red fir and hemlock forests at higher elevations, it is not clear to me what the natural fire regime was or should be.

There are also logging roads associated with that logging. Almost all of these have deteriorated to be 4WD, not accessible for most recreationists, and are used primarily by off-road type users. This, in my mind, is not a valid use of National Forest lands. As an example, old logging roads on the mesas above Five Lakes Creek valley were closed for a while by downed trees, allowing nature to recoup and the peace and silence to return (see Granite Chief 2025-09-13 mesas). The views from the edge of the mesas are incredible, but the vehicle use here is not of that purpose, it is just for using vehicles. Unfortunately 4WD users with heavy chain saws and long bars managed to cut the trees out and return the roar of engines and tearing up of road surfaces. I have no sympathy for this.

Barker Creek addition

The first area I’m recommending I call the Barker Creek addition. It is within the Barker Creek drainage, which is a tributary to the Rubicon River. It would close Barker Pass Road at the Powderhorn Trailhead. It leaves open Barker Creek Road, which connects to the famous Rubicon 4WD trail, but it would close the rogue user-created roads off that road. It includes the logging area of West Meadow Creek, which was logged long ago, but is healing fairly well, with the logging road having been long closed.

The area is about 5,611 acres. A map is below, showing the adjacent designated wilderness and the proposed addition. It includes a small section of the Pacific Crest Trail, north of Barker Pass. The western boundary is the Rubicon River, which I’ve used for convenience of mapping, though there are wilderness quality lands west of the river as well. (pdf)

Granite Chief 2026-05 Powderhorn

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My first trip of the 2026 season to the Granite Chief Wilderness. This late May trip may have been the earliest I’ve been into the Granite Chief, with my first trip usually being mid-June to mid-July. This year had low snowfall and early warm weather, though there was some late snow and colder weather.

As usual, California Zephyr train to Truckee. I had tea at Dark Horse Coffee, then TART to Tahoe City and Alpenglow Sports for a fuel canister, and then TART to Kaspian Campground on the west shore. Then the walk up Barker Pass Road to Blackwood Campground, and the night. Next morning, the 4WD road to Barker Pass, then more along Barker Pass Road to the Powderhorn Trailhead. This is by far the longest entry point to a trailhead of all of the entry points. Being out of backpacking condition, and altitude acclimitization, I went very slowly and didn’t get to the trailhead until early afternoon.

I did some trail maintenance on the first part of the trail, which goes from the trailhead to Powderhorn saddle, but little progress. I attempted to cut one tree but couldn’t make the saw cuts (from top and bottom) meet, and gave up. This part of the trail is a mess, a lot of down trees and debris, which can be avoided by walking the old logging road to the saddle.

I then walked down the trail to what I call Powderhorn meadow, not an official name, which is short of the Powderhorn Creek crossing, the last part in the dark. The top part of the trail still has a number of snowbanks, one hard to cross. I was able to follow the trail across snow, though familiarity with the route helps. Someone has chainsawed out all the large trees all the way down. Though I have mixed feelings about chain saws, I can’t fault someone maintaining a trail which the Forest Service has long abandoned. It is what I try to do in my non-mechanized way. But of course there are four new large downed trees since the chainsawing last year. Three are easy to bypass. The fourth, just west of the wilderness boundary, could be bypassed by a bypass has not yet been established. Other than this one downed tree, the trail is now safe for equestrian use, which it has not been in many years. There are also a lot of small down trees and leaners (trees that are bent over into the trail but are still alive), and a lot of debris, particularly in the red fir zone.

photo of chainsaw cut down tree, Powderhorn Trail
chainsaw cut down tree, Powderhorn Trail

There are quite a few flowers out, which probably got started during the warmer weather. Service berry, woolley mules ears, forget-me-not, phlox, wallflower, larkspur, violet, sanicula. Some of these are in the Flickr photos (see below).

I worked the bottom part of the trail, cutting small downed trees, brushing whitethorn, and cutting some leaners. I remove gooseberry (two species, at least) and creeping snowberry but the roots when I can, because just cutting them results in new sprouts and more sprouts the following year. The creeping snowberry is also called trip wire, because the long runners when they cross the trail and root develop a very tough stem which is the trip wire. This is very slow work, but when I can get the roots and runners out, lasts for many years. And of course removing winter debris which varies from thick to very little. But is did almost no work beyond the lower quarter, leaving much to be done higher up. I’d guess there are three to four days of work to return the trail to where is was when I last worked it in 2024. There are places, particularly high up, where conifers are encroaching on the trail, and it is very slow work cutting those back.

I cut corn lily out of the section of trail between the meadow and Powderhorn Creek. It is strange to cut perennials, which will of course come back from roots year after year, but on the other hand, the trail tread was completely obscured by plants, making it hard to find in this short section.

I did not cross Powderhorn Creek because it was high enough to be a wet crossings, but knowing the trail from past years, I would not expect any major issues between the creek and Diamond Crossing trail junction.

I notice more tread erosion from the winter than most years. I think there has been more heavy rainfall and less snow, and that leads to more tread erosion. The trail has very few water control structures, and there have always been sections with erosion issues, but it seems worse and more widespread now.

Venus and Jupiter are prominent in the west after sunset.

I returned to the saddle and trailhead, then walked Barker Pass Road, all the way down rather than the 4WD road. Mistake. The road is almost twice as long, and boring. When I went in on Friday, Barker Pass Road was gated at Kaspian Campground, and when I came out, it was gated after the creek crossing where it starts to climb. There was extensive work cutting down trees, so I assume the road will be open to the pass soon.

I met one PCT thru hikers at Barker Pass, unusually early in the season. He said he’d been on snow almost all the way through the Sierra. Most of the thru hikers will show up in mid-June, and then there will be a stream of them.

I came out a day early, so changed my return home to the Amtrak bus rather than train. Went to Dark Horse again, and ate breakfast at Squeeze In, which used to be a regular part of my trips but has not been.

I have another backpack this coming week, and it will probably be a trail survey trip so I can report on conditions on a few of the trails. Stay tuned!

photo of western groundsel
western groundsel