Tag Archives: PCT

Granite Chief 2025-08-05 trail work

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My fifth trip of the season was primarily for trail work. As I do when I can, I attended Palisades Tahoe Bluesday on Tuesday evening, camped out on the Granite Chief Trail, and next morning headed up the trail, south on the PCT, and into the wilderness. I’ve been walking a lot on the PCT, and have ignored the needed trail maintenance. I realized that I don’t consider it my responsibility any more. There are plenty of other trails that no one else would work, and the PCT should really be maintained by people who have done the PCT, to give back to the trail that provided them their experience. The wave of PCT thru hikers has passed, but a few are still struggling northward.

Wooley Mules Ears are starting to yellow- and brown-out for the fall, while the less common Arrowleaf Balsamroot turns a brighter yellow. Here and there are touches of fall color.

I checked out the route to Little Needle Lake and basin. This trail was partly maintained and heavily used by the CCC trail crew last summer, so is now easy to follow. The junction with PCT is just south of the Middle Fork Trail junction, and is not obvious. It is not an official trail, so probably won’t ever have a trail sign. Passing the Whiskey Creek meadow, a blond and brown black bear was tearing up a dead log, apparently finding morsels to eat, but ran off when it noticed me. I’ve seen quite a number of grouse, and some quail, in addition to the ubiquitous juncos.

I camped at Whiskey Creek camp. Two other backpackers were in, using my favorite camp site. I talked a while with them, and noted that this area used to get a lot more use. I would almost always see families camped there on weekends, and others during the week. No more.

I spent the next two days working on the Five Lakes Creek Trail, south from Whiskey Creek. I brushed, removed winter debris, defined bypasses or climb-overs of large down trees, and cut a few smaller down trees and leaners. I did 1.4km, to the creeklet crossing, about 2/3 of the way to the Big Spring trail junction. My objective was to the junction, but the work was slow, particularly working snowberry which has to be taken out by the roots to keep it from bushing out the next year and blocking the trail, and gooseberry with its sharp prickles on stems and seeds. Whitethorn is past its gentle early summer phase and extract blood. The photo below is approaching the creeklet crossing. Doesn’t look like much, but it was an impenetrable thicket of alder and yearly growth before.

photo of cleared Five Lakes Creek Trail creeklet crossing
cleared Five Lakes Creek Trail creeklet crossing

A dirt bike has been ridden on the Five Lakes Creek Trail, damaging the trail tread and scarring some meadow areas. I don’t know who this is, it has happened at times I’m not in the wilderness. It may have even been a Forest Service person, as there are rogue employees who do this sort of thing. I was a wilderness ranger for years, and this deeply offends me. If I ever catch them, there will be hell to pay. The linear tracks of a dirt bike become conduits for water erosion during thunderstorms and snow melt.

I camped at ‘Squaw’ Saddle above the ‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail, overlooking Olympic Valley so I had cell phone reception to prepare for a Saturday Zoom meeting. I decided to go out through Olympic Valley to avoid walking Alpine Meadows Road from the Five Lakes Trailhead to the bus stop at River Ranch. In the morning, I followed the old ‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail down the hill. It is steep and severely eroded most of the way down to the Western States (Olympic Valley) Trail, but that trail is in good condition. I realized that on my 2025-07-01 trip, I veered off the Western States Trail, missed a trail junction, so my description of the upper part of that trail is in error. Once on the trail, I began to remember having walked this section years before. It is still not signed, but is clearly the correct trail. My route on GaiaGPS is correct, more or less. Ironically, the one Western States Trail sign provided by the ski area is incorrect, it is NOT on the WS Trail, but on an access trail to the WS. Shown below.

I have surveyed all the significant trails of the wilderness this season, except Hell Hole Trail and the related complex of paths at the bottom of the Hell Hole Trail, along Five Lakes Creek and the Rubicon River. This survey awaits a stretch of cooler weather. It was uncomfortably warm along the Five Lakes Creek Trail, 600 meters higher than Hell Hole.

photo of Western States Trail sign at the WRONG location
Western States Trail sign at the WRONG location

Granite Chief 2025-07 WS trail work

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Second trip of the season, July 1 to 6, 2025. As always, I got to and from the wilderness using Amtrak train or bus from home in Sacramento, and the TART bus south from Truckee to Tahoe City. No need to drive!

I started at the Western States trailhead on Hwy 89 at the Truckee River bridge. I’m calling this the Western States (Olympic Valley) Trail to distinguish it from the Western States Trail through Picayune Valley. Both parts have the same trail number, 16E10. There is parking on the east side of the bridge, and a sidewalk on the bridge to the west side, where the trail starts. The first part of the trail is very well maintained, by Truckee Trails Foundation, and includes some new signing. As the trail crosses into Palisades Tahoe ski area, the trail is not as well maintained, and there is almost no signing for the trail, making it hard to follow. There were actually more signs when I last hiked it in 2021. Some parts are trail, some parts are on ski area roads. Nevertheless, I made it to Watson Monument on the ridgeline, and then descended to the PCT at the PCT/Tevis Cup Trail/Western States Trail junction.

photo of Western States Trail (Olympic Valley) in Tahoe Palisades
Western States Trail (Olympic Valley) in Tahoe Palisades

I proceeded south on the PCT to Whiskey Creek Trail and then camped near but not at Whiskey Creek Camp. The PCT has not been maintained this year, so has down trees, light to heavy winter debris, and brush in some areas.

The primary purpose of this trip was to do trail maintenance on the Western States Trail. I had done a little last year, and continued, working west from the camp. There were two very thick brush areas, one of whitethorn and aspen, and the other of whitethorn. Whitethorn is much softer at the beginning of the season, but gets harder and sharper as the season goes on. It is not too hard to cut now, but later will exact a revenge in blood. I also cut a number of small down trees. Ten larger ones remain, but now with bypasses or step-overs. I worked as far as the creek crossing, which is a tributary to Five Lakes Creek, and the only water on the the trail before it drops into Picayune Valley. Only 1.4km of progress, but satisfying. I’ll likely continue on Western States next trip. I continue to be very happy with my Silky Big Boy folding saw and Fiskars nippers.

photo of down trees at Whiskey Creek crossing
down trees at Whiskey Creek crossing

After completing as much as I could, I returned to the PCT and headed south, camping on the ridgeline at one of the few flat spots. The tread has a lot of loose rock, particularly from Ward Peak south for a mile, and has some brushy spots. The section where I have spent many trail work trips keeping brushed out is starting to close in again, but should be OK until next year.

At the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), I headed out through Ward Creek to the road, and thence to Sunnyside. Lunch at the store, and bus to Tahoe City, for shower, pizza, concert, and sleep.

I have been buying a few things at Alpenglow Sports in Tahoe City. I can get the same, often less expensive, at REI, but since I’m in Tahoe City at the beginning or end of every backpack trip, it is actually more convenient to go there than the Sacramento REI which is in a car-infested part of Sacramento. And they are good, knowledgable people.

Check the Trail Conditions page for specific info on each of the trails that I walked.

Granite Chief 2025-06

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My first Sierra backpack of the season! Rode to Truckee on the California Zephyr, and then Olympic Valley on the TART 89 bus. I enjoyed Palisades Tahoe Bluesday, then hit the trail to sleep out. Went up the Granite Chief Trail, which is largely in good condition. I took a side trip north on the PCT to North Fork American River, and then a short way down the Painted Rock Trail. A reader had asked me about that trail, so I wanted to at least know if it was still there and findable. It is, though hard to follow and not used so far this year. I’ve not used that trail in many years, but the challenge was the wet areas with alder and willow thickets where is was hard to follow the trail.

Then headed south on the PCT, I was intending to traverse north to south as a survey trip. But my attention was grabbed by the Tevis Cup Trail reroute, which I’d written about last year in Granite Chief 2024-08 trail survey. There is no evidence of trail crews there this year, and information on Western States Endurance Run indicate that funding was canceled or held as part of the Trump destruction of the Forest Service. I walked the east end, which is more or less as it was last year, though one blast area has been reconstructed. The middle part is a bit more polished than last year, and extends a little further west though a meadow. I had been told last year that the flagging extended all the way west, but I was not able to follow it past a alder and willow riparian area, so it may or may not exist. I gradually descended through open forest and small meadows to rejoin the existing trail near the switchbacks (the nearly-flat switchbacks). I headed out to the trailhead at Forest Hill Divide (as I call it, it doesn’t seem to have an official name) where the Tevis Cup Trail continues west along the ridge, heading eventually to Auburn.

photo of Tevis Cup Trail and flowers
Tevis Cup Trail and flowers

Walked down the Talbot Creek Trail, which was constructed a few years ago, some following an old logging road and some newly constructed. It has a nearly-flat switchback section as well, probably the same designer. The trail is not much used. The southern end trailhead is not marked by any signage, nor is the junction of Forest Road 51 with French Meadows Road, which leads to the trailhead.

After a rest at Talbot Campground, I headed back into the wilderness on the Western States Trail, my favorite trail and location in the wilderness. There are a lot of trees down, joining those already down from previous years. And a lot of winter debris, heavy in some areas. Crossing Middle Fork American River is close to a rock-hop, but still wet. I used a log downstream. The wet areas beyond, particularly in the aspen grove areas, have dense growth that obscures the tread, though your feet can find it, and branches hidden away to trip you. Other than an area on the switchbacks to the saddle, and descending to Whiskey Creek, brush is not bad.

photo of Sierra stonecrop
Sierra stonecrop

I passed a group of eight backpackers headed along the Western States trip from Whiskey Creek, which is about as many as I usually see in a year. The crossing of Whiskey Creek has another tree down, blocking the rock-hop, but the large tree that has been down for several years makes a good crossing. Whiskey Creek Trail has a few rotted down trees, and one new small, otherwise in good condition. I camped north of the ‘Squaw’ Saddle Trail, at the divide between Five Lakes and Olympic Valley. With runners in the area for three events, including the Western States Endurance Run the next day, there were runners all over the place. Most place names have been changed away from ‘squaw’ but I don’t know if the trail name has been. This trail descended into Olympic Valley, and is the original trail route before the Five Lakes Trail was constructed.

Walked out the Five Lakes Trail, which is in good condition, caught the bus to Tahoe City, grabbed some items at Alpenglow Sports, best in the area, then back to Truckee on the TART bus, to Word After Word for a book, to Dark Horse Coffee in Truckee for tea, reading and writing, and then the Amtrak bus home to Sacramento. Whew!

Though plans are never certain, and I often change my mind, I think my next two trips are going to be for trail maintenance on the Western States Trail. Survey trips on the other trails will have to wait. It was hot enough at Talbot Campground/Trailhead, 1722m, that I think my trip on the Hell Hole Trail to the end at 1439m will get delayed until September, though I’m always looking for cooler stretches of weather.

Granite Chief 2024-08 smoked out!

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This was a ‘didn’t go as planned’ trip. My plan was to do a lot of trail work on the Powderhorn Trail.

Train to Truckee, bus to Tahoe City and then Barker Pass Rd. I had hoped to hitch-hike to Barker Pass, but it was a weekday in the afternoon, and all the vehicles were going out, not up, so after a short hitch to the campground, I walked up the jeep road to the pass and then to Powderhorn trailhead. On my way up on the train, people were commenting on the smoke plume to the south, which turned out to be the Crozier fire north of Placerville. When I got to Powderhorn saddle, the plume was quite visible and spectacular, overhead. I started down into the canyon, but in short order the smoke descended into the canyon, reducing visibility to less than a quarter of a mile. I went back up to the saddle and camped there, where the air quality was a little better.

Crozier fire smoke plume

In the morning, smoke was filling Powderhorn, so I waited, and walked west on the old logging road to the creek, refilled water, and then back along the Barker Pass Rd to the saddle. The air cleared mid-morning, so I headed down and started my trail work. I have a new folding saw, which I’ll say more about next post, that allowed me to cut some down trees that I’ve always had to bypass, plus a little spot brushing. And then the smoke descended again, worse than before. So I headed out, and went to Barker Pass where the air was better, camped, and waited to see what would happen. Both the Rubicon drainage to the west and the Tahoe basin to the east were socked in with smoke in the morning. I realized that the only thing to do was head south on the PCT, away from the smoke plume. I was surprised by the number of PCT thru-hikers I saw, seems late in the season for them to be here.

By Richardson Lake, the air was good, and continued to get better on the PCT south. Looking back north, I could see that the smoke had descended into the valleys again, so if I’d tried again, I would have gotten smoked out again. There are a few patches of snow in the Crystal Range, but much less than two weeks ago. I spent time at my favorite juniper along the PCT, and then headed down into the General Creek drainage.

The connecting trail from PCT down to Genevieve Trail (which used to be called the General Creek Trail) is not really a trail. It was never constructed, has a lot of down trees, and is very hard to follow in places. This time of the season General Creek is just large pools with no flow, so is easy to cross, but I’ve had problems with that earlier in the season. I camped near the trail junction. This is a seldom used area. In the morning I headed over to Genevieve Lake, on a trail in decent shape with some down trees but easy to follow.

The Meeks Creek Trail (also called Tahoe Yosemite Trail on many maps, but it is a relict name) is a different world, only wilderness in name. Suddenly a whole lot of people, and more and more heading down Meeks Creek and out to the trailhead near Meeks Bay Resort. After iced tea, to Sugar Pine Point SP for a shower, then on to Tahoe City and Truckee, and the Amtrak bus home.

Photos on Flickr:

Granite Chief 2024-07

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For my second trip to the Granite Chief, I took the Amtrak bus up to Truckee, then TART to Palisades Tahoe. Attended Bluesday, the weekly blues music. The band was Mark Hummel, famous, so the event was packed. I camped off the old Granite Chief Trail at a place that I’ve settled in on for sleeping out after the music. In response to getting chewed by mosquitos on my last trip, I brought my inner tent with mosquito netting, though the mosquito clouds had fallen off to some degree.

As always, I checked the weather forecast for Tahoe City when deciding what to take. The forecast was zero percent chance of rain. But while going from Granite Chief Trail to Whiskey Creek Camp, it rained for about two hours, moderate rain, from a thunderstorm with lightning and thunder. It stopped late afternoon, and I was able to stay somewhat dry by sheltering in a hollow dead tree. There was a preview when it rained lightly for a short time the night before. In fact, it rained a bit every night on the trip, while every day the forecast was the same, zero percent chance of rain. Either these thunderstorms were happening just over the ridges, not over weather stations, or the weather forecasting has failed.

On this trip I had several negative interactions with trail runners. The rule, though not the law, is that downhill people yield to uphill people. But runners seem to think they have the right of way over everyone else. One runner actually ran into me and knocked me off the trail. Several other runners said I should get out of their way. So I’ve adopted a new policy for myself: I don’t yield to trail runners. If they insist on having a negative physical interaction with me, I’ll knock them off the trail.

The morning after the thunderstorm, there were helicopters up with water buckets, first a small helicopter, and then a heavy-lift dual rotor helicopter. I’m not sure whether they were fighting a single location or more than one, because the fire was over the ridge from me.

The Forest Service, with this suppression-at-all-costs policy, is harming the wilderness ecosystem. Every fire that gets put out the same day is a fire that cannot reduce the fuel build=up. The wilderness will burn, that is inevitable, and when it burns, it will be a catastrophic, forest-clearing fire. Why? Because the Forest Service has suppressed fire and allowed fuel to build up to a completely unnatural level. Fire is part of the natural environment. I realize that it may be necessary for fires close to towns to be suppressed, and the fuel reduction function replaced by mechanical reduction, but the fire being suppressed was in the middle of the wilderness, not close to any human habitation. There have been trends over the years towards letting wilderness fires burn, and away from that, and the last few years there was a trend toward fire, but for some reason this year, all that progress has reversed and we are back to suppression-at-all-costs. The Forest Service, and the wilderness, will regret that.

Wyethia mollis, Asteraceae

I worked the Whiskey Creek Camp trail, the short segment between the PCT and the camp, brushing and removing winter debris. This is the time of year to be cutting whitethorn, as it is soft with winter moisture. When it dries out more later in the season, it becomes hard and stiff, and draws a lot of blood from trail workers.

I still call the branches on the trail winter debris because it used to fall almost entirely during the winter and show up at snow melt, but in a sense it is a misnomer now, because dead red firs are coming down year-round now. In the Granite Chief, there are areas where more than half the red firs are dead, and other areas in which only a few are. Though not current, and focused on the northwest, the article Massive die-off hits fir trees across Pacific Northwest has some information. Apparently the die-off is not from a single cause, but a variety of factors. In any case, red firs are falling and will continue to fall, the trunks laying across trails and the dead branches scattered everywhere. Fire is not common in the red fir forest, so I can’t say whether suppression is contributing the the die-off or not.

I headed down Five Lakes Creek Trail to Diamond Crossing. This trail is worse every time I use it. It has not been logged out in more than 12 years, and there are more down trees every year, in some places I have to scramble up and down over several trees in a row, and the tread in between is covered with branches from the fallen trees. I get very frustrated by this trail and every time I use it, I wonder why I even try. I’ve not counted down trees recently, but it must be over 100. Use of this trail has dropped off over the years as other people abandon it as well. There are some footprints, but fewer every year.

I camped at my favorite spot beside Five Lakes Creek.

Powderhorn Canyon
Powderhorn Canyon

Next day I did a half day of trail maintenance on the Powderhorn Trail. I’d planned on more, but ran out of motivation and energy. As I said last year, the upper third and lower third of the trail are in decent shape, but the middle third is in poor condition and getting worse. My tool set is nippers and a fanno saw, but by Fiskars, so quality and fairly lightweight. But I have no tools to tackle down trees larger than about four inches, so anything large gets ignored. Sometimes I can clear a path to and from the down tree, so at least it is easy to step over without getting feet tangled in debris. One large tree, that has been down for years, is a slide-under tree. I had built a bypass of this tree last year, useable by trail-wise stock, but a red fir fell directly on the bypass and it is beyond me to clear it again. So the trail is yet again closed to equestrian use.

I hiked out to the Powderhorn Trailhead, then to Barker Pass, down the jeep road to Blackwood Canyon, and out the next morning to catch the TART bus to the Amtrak bus to home.

Water is abundant so far this year. In addition to the larger creeks, many smaller creeks and creeklets that are not year-round are still carrying water.

My Thermarest NeoAir sleeping pad has been deflating during the night for quite a while. I’ve got to find the leak and fix it.

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PCT & Granite Chief 2024-07

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Yes, I’m still here. I’ve been backpacking a bit in the bay foothills and Bay Area, but this is my first backpack of the season in the Sierra.

I took the TART bus to Sugar Pine Point State Park, which is the end of the route. It used to go a little further, to Meeks Bay, and there used to be a shuttle that went all the way to South Lake Tahoe, but no more. I hiked up the General Creek Trail, and then a side trip to Lost Lake where I camped the night. Lost Lakes gets bicyclists, but few backpackers. The trail was rerouted, and it needed it, but it was laid out by mountain bikers so is not that pleasant to hike. But the lake is beautiful and quiet.

The next day I went south along General Creek. This used to be called the same General Creek Trail, but apparently has been renamed the Genevieve Trail. Last time I was there, years ago, the trail was impassible with down trees, but it has been maintained and there are only a few down trees now. The trail is easy to follow except in a few wet areas where the annual lush growth has obscured the trail. There is a steep connector trail heading west up to the PCT, where I turned north. I spent some time at my favorite tree, that I call The Juniper, and then continued north past Richardson Lake, across Miller Creek (still flowing in early July), and then up to Barker Pass where I camped the night. A long day!

photo of The Juniper along PCT
Juniperus occidentalis, Pinaceae

From Barker Pass I continued north along the PCT/TRT, and camp at Whiskey Creek Camp, and the next night near the Tevis Connector trail.

To my surprise, the PCT has been brushed from the PCT/TRT junction to the Middle Fork American River crossing south of Granite Chief (a small creek at this point near the headwaters). I don’t know who did the brushing, maybe Forest Service, maybe Pacific Crest Trail Assocation, but it was a professional job, not the rough work done by one-off volunteers crews. I had figured to spend at least a week, maybe two, brushing this section, so now I can focus on other trails. Trees were also cut, but there a a few new ones down.

I continued north and then down the Granite Chief Trail to Olympic Valley. Music at Palisades Tahoe in the evening, sleep out up the trail a ways, and catch the TART bus back to Truckee. The train was quite late, and I had a meeting to make, so I returned to Sacramento on the Amtrak bus rather than California Zephyr.

Water: Almost every creek is flowing well, so I was able to stay stocked up and hydrated with no problem. There were a few snowbanks left, on and adjacent to the trail.

Insects: This year is what used to be an average mosquito year, though we have not had an average year in many years. I did not have my inner tent, the mosquito netting, with me on this trip, so had to hide out under my shirt at night. At lower elevations there were more flies than mosquitos, some of them biting flies. While at Lost Lake I expected to see bats munching mosquitos, but did not see a single one. The ecosystem is out of whack in the Sierra.

PCT thru hikers: It is thru hiker season, and there are a lot of people on the trail, heading north to Canada, or as far as they make it. There were also a few TRT hikers, most heading south rather than north.

I am having difficulty getting to labeling photos and posting in between trips, so my trip reports may be erratic during the summer. One day back home is not enough to clean and repack, and post. And I’ve been taking some other trips in between, like San Francisco and Oakland this last weekend (July 20-21). Ah well.

photo of trail and crest to the north

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rain, rain, rain 2023-09

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My last backpack was cut short by rain, again. As mentioned, I discovered on my last trip that my tent is no longer waterproof, and had ordered a new tent. It came after I had headed out on this trip. I wasn’t worried because the forecast was for a few times of light rain, and my old tent was up for that.

It started raining as I left the Granite Chief trailhead, at 2:00PM, and it continued for 14 hours, through 4:00AM the next morning. I continued hiking in hopes of a break to set up camp, but there was never a break and I finally stopped at Whiskey Creek Camp and set up in light rain. I had my rain jacket, so my upper body was not soaked, but my lower body was drenched and cold the entire time. Though the section of PCT from Tevis Cup Trail to Whiskey Creek junction is not terribly brushy, every bit of brush holds water to shed on me as I walk by. Whitethorn seems better at holding water than any other shrub. The willow thicket along the trail was like a rain storm on the spot.

upper Washeshu Creek in rain

During the night, the rain was never heavy, light most of time and moderate in the thunderstorms from about midnight to 2:00AM. But nightlong rain and saturated ground was too much for my tent. My sleeping bag was quite wet, and some of my other gear.

The next morning was another one uncertain whether the sun would come out. It did for a few minutes, but by late morning I realized that even if it came out it would not be enough to dry my bag. So I hiked out to River Ranch. The sun was out for a while there, and I managed to dry all my gear except sleeping bag, which would have taken several hours of direct sunlight. I had decided to take the bus into Tahoe City and dry my bag at the laundry, but then I looked at the weather forecast. It was another night of rain, never heavy, but light to moderate, for hours. So I took the bus to Truckee and went home!

Extensive rain at night is not characteristic of the Sierra Nevada. Summer thunderstorm season it often rains in the afternoon, and often clears by sunset but sometimes goes into the early evening. But all night? Not the way it used to be. I check my weather apps before heading into the backcountry, and in those few places where there is cell reception, while out hiking. Though at home in Sacramento, they tend to give similar forecasts and be reasonably accurate, no so for the mountains. The Apple Weather app continually underestimates the amount and duration of rain. Accuweather comes closest to what actually happens. Weather Underground is mixed.

Trail conditions, for the section of the PCT from Tevis Connector to Whiskey Creek junction: Getting brushy and needs brushing by next year. A few small trees down and one medium tree. A fair number of spars (the dead conifers that lean into the trail and rip at skin and clothing). Winter debris light to moderate.

There is a large tree down across the crossing of Whiskey Creek. The rock hop is still available, but requires climbing through or around branches. You can also walk the log itself, but the bark is still sloughing off, and it is a little hard to get up onto down off the tree.

PIcayune Valley, and rain, 2023-08

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For my third Granite Chief backpack of the season, I went in at Granite Chief trailhead in Olympic Valley. Since I get to trailheads by transit and walking, this is the most convenient one of all, with the trailhead about 200 feet from the bus stop. I headed up the Granite Chief trail, which is in pretty good condition, with maintenance by Truckee Trails Foundation. I used to do brushing on this trail, and I’m glad for one less trail to take care of, particularly since I can’t come close to keeping up with the others. On my way up, I saw a Western Tanager, the first I’ve seen in a while, and am amazed as always at how bright they are.

Heading south along the PCT, I stopped for the night just south of the meadow that is the headwaters of Washeshu Creek. It had been raining lightly off and on through the afternoon, but mostly cleared by sunset, with a rainbow. However, it rained lightly for several hours during the night. It is unusual for it to rain during the night in the Sierra, as most thunderstorms are afternoon and then clear by evening. In the morning, under mostly clear skies, I explored around the meadow beyond Granite Chief that is the source of Washeshu Creek.

rainbow at sunset over Washeshu Peak
rainbow at sunset over Washeshu Peak

In the morning I walked up to the top of Granite Chief (this is the full name of the peak, no peak or mountain qualifier). The rain had compacted the loose granitic soil enough that the walking was easy, despite the climb. From the top, spectacular views in all directions. I noticed a large camp in the dry meadow along the Middle Fork American River, and was curious about who and why, so I walked down the trail that I call Tevis Connector, to see what was up. The camp was for a large crew of Forest Service and California Conservation Corps (CCC) members. I talked for a while to the trail crew foreman. The project is to reroute the Tevis Cup trail out of the boggy areas to higher up the slope. Tevis Cup is the worst trail in the Granite Chief Wilderness, and one of the worst trails I’ve been on, so I am very happy to see it being addressed. He said this is a multi-year project. The project is based out of the American River Ranger District of Tahoe National Forest (Foresthill), which this area is on, though in the past the management of the wilderness has been the responsibility of the Truckee Ranger District.

This is the first trail crew I have noticed in the Granite Chief since 2009. The Forest Service has largely stopped doing routine trail maintenance, so trails, not just here, are declining rapidly. So I am glad to see the work being started, and glad that they picked the worst of the trails to address.

I found an old WS Trail sign along the Tevis Connector trail. The alignment of the Western States has changed many times over the years. The trail down PIcayune Valley is now the named route. I had found another sign years ago, but have not been able to find it again, so I presume someone took it as a souvenir. I have found these signs at a few obscure locations all the way from Galena Creek on the Nevada side to the Mosquito Ridge road.

I left the PCT to walk up to Little Needle Lake. This old trail is easier to follow now as the trail crew did some light work on it. From the lake (pond), I went up onto the ridge, which is a steep climb but not too hard, and headed south along the ridge. Some parts of the ridge show a vague use trail, some parts to do. The ridge is centrally located in the wilderness and therefore has some of the best views. I rejoined the Western States Trail near the saddle at the head of Picayune Valley, and headed down into the valley to my favorite campsite area.

Again, there were thunderstorms in the afternoon, which cleared, and then hours of light rain during the night.

I walked down to the junction with Middle Fork American River, exploring along the way, finding some old trails, and waterfalls along the creek, and visiting the reflecting pond near the Middle Fork – Picayune junction. Flowers are very thick in the wet meadow areas along the trail, with mountain larkspur more common than most years. Hundreds of hummingbird moths (white-lined sphinx moth Hyles lineata) were nectaring on the larkspur. In the wet areas, the growth is so lush it completely obscures the trail, and one has to feel the tread with your feet. Which has its risks, at it can conceal step ups and holes and branches and down trees and standing water.

I found several waterfalls that I did not know existed. Travel along the creek is difficult to impossible, but there are many opportunities to drop down to the creek. I was of course also in search of the petroglyph panels, but again, did not find them. The success in finding them is about one-third, even though I have a clear picture in my mind of the setting.

The second night in Picayune was very similar, afternoon thunderstorms and then light rain during the early night.

I headed up out of Picayune Valley the next day, and ran into other people. Todd is a horseman who volunteers to cut trees on trails that otherwise are not getting any maintenance. We talked for a while about the history of some of the trails. Also met two backpackers from Grass Valley, and we were surprised to see each other. I was the first they had seen on their trip, and they were the first I’d seen, other than the trail crew. They had come in Greyhorse, and said the trail was very hard to find. I had done some spot brushing on this trail not too long ago (but can’t locate the date), but those areas may have brushed in again, and maybe been joined by other areas. They had come to the saddle from the Shanks Cove trail northern section, and said it was better though still had snow patches.

I headed towards camp at Whiskey Creek Camp, and as I came down from the ridge, the skies southeast were darkening to black, the main crest completely obscured. With just brief showers, I made it almost all the way, but then the skies opened. It rained hard for 30 minutes, and by hard, I mean visibility was about 50 feet. I partly sheltered under a leaning red fir. This is the most intense thunderstorm I have ever experienced in this wilderness. Perhaps more in the Carson Range, and certainly more in the desert southwest, but not here. After the storm I proceeded to camp and set up my tent. That is the point at which I discovered that my tent footprint and bottom are no longer waterproof. There was standing water everywhere, and it soaked through. I fortunately have a water resistant down sleeping bag, so was able to stay warm through the night, but everything was wet. And it rained again for three of hours during the night.

dark clouds over Sierra crest
dark clouds over Sierra crest

At dawn, the sky was dark with clouds, and I assumed, correctly, that the sun was not going to come out, so I hiked out to Alpine Meadows trailhead, walked to Olympic Valley, caught the TART bus to Truckee, and the Amtrak bus home.

I do not know whether all the rain I experienced was part of the Hilary storm. Maybe not, because it didn’t really hit northern California until Sunday. I do know that different weather apps gave very different forecasts for those days. Accuweather was the most accurate.

Trail conditions:

  • Granite Chief Trail: Good condition, down trees already cut, very little brush.
  • PCT from Granite Chief Trail to Tevis Connection Trail: Good condition, one down tree, very little brush. Note that I did not hike the PCT from Tevis Connection Trail to Whiskey Creek Camp Trail, so nothing to report.
  • Western States Trail, Middle Fork American River to Whiskey Creek Camp: Many trees down, all easy to step over or bypass for hikers, but one tree on the switchbacks that probably cannot be safely passed by equestrians. Some areas need brushing, particularly towards Whiskey Creek Camp where the whitethorn is growing like crazy.
  • Five Lakes Trail: Good condition, very little brush.

PCT Richardson to Five Lakes 2023-07

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I realized that I never posted on my third trip last season, in early September. My season was interrupted by COVID and smoke, and I never got back up to the mountains. I may or may not get to posting that trip, but here is my first trip of the 2023 season. A late start to the season, in mid-July, but there was still plenty of snow, so it was really early season.

I went in at Sugar Pine Point State Park, which is where the TART west shore bus route ends, and walked up the General Creek Trail. That trail is well maintained to the junction with Lost Lake Trail, but not thereafter. I crossed over to the old road and jeep road which leads up to Richardson Lake. There were quite a number of backpackers at Richardson, PCT thru-hikers I imagine, but I didn’t talk to them. I stayed at Ludlow Cabin because the mosquitos were thick and I would not have gotten to sleep, not having any of my tent with me. Mosquitos have been scarce the last few years of drought, and so I had stopped planning for them, but this year they seem to be back in former numbers.

From Richardson I headed north on the PCT. There are quite a number of down trees and, in places, a considerable amount of winter debris. I waded Miller Creek, as there is no dry crossing at the current water levels. The junction of the PCT with Rubicon jeep trail is now signed well, as it has not been for years. The Bear Creek Lake outlet creek was flowing well, and I waded it because my feet were already wet, but two backpackers managed a rock hop crossing.

There were no vehicles at Barker Pass TH, so I think most hikers have decided the trail north is not open yet. And that is sort of true. From the lake overlook north there are a lot of snow banks along the trail, including a continuous part in the headwaters of North Fork Blackwood Canyon. At the point where the trail crosses a steep north facing slope just before the wilderness boundary, a steep snowbank blocks the trail, but it is easy to head up to the ridge and bypass this. All of the sections of trail north of here in the trees had snow banks. The trail is not hard to follow, but involves a lot of clambering up one side and sliding down the other side of snowbanks.

yellow flower hillside, PCT near Ward Peak

The worst part of the day for snow is mid-day, when there is a few inches of slush on top to hard packed snow, impossible to keep footing. Earlier, the snow is hard and steps can be kicked, and late afternoon, it is all slush. Some of the backpackers have step crampons, though those are only useful in the early morning before the slush layer develops, and most of them have hiking poles, which help, but I can tell from the slides down the far sides of snowbanks that these were not keeping everyone from falling. I fell more times on this day than I have fallen in the last ten years, so rather than continuing north on the PCT, I decided to go out at Five Lakes. The north facing switchbacks from Five Lake Creek to the ridge actually had less snow than many other sections, a surprise to me after the snow beforehand.

I camped at Squaw Saddle (so far as I know, this has not been renamed yet, but several other Squaw names such as the peak and creek are now Washeshu), and explored around Five Lakes basin in the morning. The main lake of the Five Lakes basin is full, so the two lakes are one, and the ponds are all full. There are probably about 10 lakes at the moment.

I walked out Five Lakes Trail to Alpine Meadows TH, and then followed the Bear Creek Trail out to near River Ranch. This trail climbs a great deal, but the surroundings and view are good, so worthwhile. From there, bus to Olympic Valley so I could catch music in the evening, slept out near there, and walked the bikeway to Tahoe City. A shower, and pizza and a movie, and slept out again. I caught the last bus on Sunday from Truckee back home to Sacramento, delayed as much as possible to miss the 100 degree days in Sacramento.

The trailhead for the Granite Chief Trail is no longer beside the fire station, but further up the road where there is a parking lot of the ropes challenge course.

Granite Chief Trailhead, new location and sign

PCT & Picayune 2022-07

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This was my first trip of the season, probably the latest I’ve ever started. I had been doing a lot of short backpack trips along the Bay Area Ridge Trail, intending to complete that trail in a single year, but now taking a break because it is just too hot there. And I’ve been traveling and dancing a bit, which left shorter periods of few days for backpacking in the Sierra.

I went in at Palisades Tahoe on the Granite Chief Trail. This trail has been adopted by Truckee Trails, and is being appropriately maintained, so I’m scratching that one off my list of trails that I need to maintain. I headed south along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), over Granite Chief saddle and down Whiskey Creek drainage. I camped near Whiskey Creek Camp, and had a nice long conversation with five people camped there, parents, two children on their first backpack trip, and a friend from Chicago.

The next morning it was a little smokey, so I hung out and it didn’t seem to be getting worse, so I headed out the Western States Trail toward Picayune Valley. And then the smoke really came in! The Five Lakes Creek drainage was completely filled with dense smoke, and the ridgelines barely visible. So I sat it out for quite a while. When it thinned a little, I headed to Picayune Valley, wearing my N-95 mask, to one of my favorite camp spots.

smoke in Five Lakes Creek basin

The smoke mostly cleared in the evening, and the stars were good. Next morning I walked the rest of the trail down to Talbot trailhead. The wet meadows and seep areas along the trail were chock-full of flowers. Because the trail is not getting much use, the soft vegetation crowds in and obscures the trail tread, but is easy to push through.

I had partly headed to Picayune in an effort to get away from the smoke, which I figured might be less further west, if the smoke plume location was correct. But the next day was mostly clear, so I went back out and back to Whiskey Creek Camp area. The smoke was from the Oak Fire in Mariposa County.

Next day I continued my way south on the PCT to Barker Pass. Though I’d seen very few PCT thru hikers previously, that day there were a more ‘normal’ number, about 70. I headed down the Blackwood Canyon jeep trail and camped near Blackwood Campground. The campground is no longer free ($17/night for a campground without water and trash service!), and the Lake Tahoe Basin has outlawed backcountry camping. Not sure what the rationale is, but the effect is to discriminate against people of low and moderate income. Of course I believe that people have a right to travel over the earth, and to camp where they need to camp, and that is what I do no matter what the bureaucrat bean-counters think.

There are alot of red firs (Abies magnifica) dead, sometimes in clusters, and sometimes individuals. They seem to die branch by branch until they are completely dead. It looks as though middle aged trees and the most susceptible, not so much young trees and very old ones. Though there are also dead white firs, the red firs are particularly noticeable because of the intense reddish brown of the needles. The primary cause seems to be prolonged drought and over-abundance of trees (due to fire suppression). Once weakened by drought, they are susceptible to root rot, mistletoe, fungus, and bark beetles.

Small and seasonal creeks are dry. Medium creeks are low but still flowing well. Wet meadow and seep areas are still green and wet, but drier ridge areas and crispy dry. Flowers are abundant in wet or moist areas, but long gone in drier areas. The two most common species of flowers are pennyroyal and yampah.

The trails I walked on this trip are in pretty good condition. Light to moderate winter debris. A few down trees, almost all easy to step over or bypass. The one tree that might not be able to be bypassed by equestrians is on the switchback down from the saddle into Picayune Valley. There are a few places that could use spot brushing, though the alder wet area on the PCT at the crossing of the Middle Fork really needs brushing.

I did something on this trip that I’d not done in years – I took a paperback novel to read. I’ve listened to books, with Audible, but my iPhone battery runs down pretty quickly. I rather enjoyed hold a book in my hands!

I’ve had for a couple of years the idea of creating a digital presentation or book on the flowers of the wilderness. So I took a lot of flower photos on this trip. Not everything, and of course missed the early season flowers. I’m better labeling them than I have before, with common name (if I can figure it out), species name, and plant family. I’m hoping that when I get to the project, that will make it easier. I’m using primarily Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, Falcon Press (Kindle edition); and Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, California, Redbud Chapter of California Native Plant Society. macOS Photos app now makes suggestions for photos that contain one flower. Sometimes the suggestion are exactly right, sometimes they are good to the genus level, and sometimes they are completely wrong. It is interesting to check, but the lookup is rather slow.

Mule Ears, Wyethia mollis, Asteraceae

Back in tomorrow!