Tag Archives: Talbot Creek

Granite Chief Wilderness additions: north area

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This is the third of a series of posts recommending additions to the Granite Chief Wilderness. The first was Granite Chief Wilderness additions: Barker Creek, the second was Granite Chief Wilderness additions: Blackwood & Ward. See the first for background information on the wilderness and the idea of additions.

North Areas (Granite Chief Creek, north area, and Talbot Creek)

I have mapped these three areas separately, because they are not contiguous, but together they round out the north and northwest boundaries of the wilderness, protecting both pristine wilderness lands and areas that were once logged but are recovering. The three areas total 3,405 acres.

Granite Chief Creek: This is the upper Granite Chief Creek watershed. The creek is tributary to the North Fork American River. The north boundary is section lines, the south boundary is the current wilderness boundary, which is also the watershed boundary along Lyon Ridge. It is entirely Tahoe National Forest. This area is pristine wilderness, without logging or roads. It includes a little less than two miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, which is now outside the wilderness. It is 1,419 acres.

North area: This is uppermost part of the Talbot Creek watershed, which is tributary to Middle Fork American River. The north boundary is the watershed boundary, and the south boundary is the current wilderness boundary. It is within Tahoe National Forest and American River Conservancy lands. It was in part lightly logged and had logging roads, but those traces are fading, and there are no permanent roads. It is 398 acres, but the significance is greater since it would round out the upper watershed protection and protection of the Tevis Cup Trail, which were missed in the 2015 wilderness additions.

Talbot: This is another segment of the Talbot Creek watershed. The north and west boundaries are the watershed boundary of Talbot Creek, which is also the Tevis Cup Trail on Red Star Ridge. The south boundary is section lines. The east boundary is FR 51 and the Talbot Trail. It is within Tahoe National Forest and American River Conservancy lands, with a small inholding of private property, which could be excluded or acquired. Some of this area was logged and had logging roads, though there are no permanent roads. It is 1,687 acres.

My original vision was a significant northward expansion of the wilderness into wilderness-quality lands along the Pacific crest, including the Pacific Crest Trail as far as Anderson Peak, however, it turns out that Chickering American River Reserve, which I had assumed was state lands administered by University of California, is actually private lands with a conservation easement, therefore not available for designation as wilderness. I did not want to propose additions that are not contiguous to the existing wilderness.

A map is below, showing the adjacent designated wilderness and the proposed additions. It includes a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, shown on the map in orange dashed. (pdf)

walking the ridges 2014-06

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Last week I walked the ridges to the north and south of the Middle Fork American River. I’d looked at these ridges for years, thinking the scenery would be pretty cool, but had never gotten in a trip.

Lyon Peak Ridge, looking west from Granite Chief

Lyon Peak Ridge, looking west from Granite Chief

I went in at the Granite Chief TH in Squaw Valley, and walked the Granite Chief Trail and Pacific Crest Trail to the saddle beside Granite Chief. I walked up over the peak and continued west, past Needle Peak, over Lyon Peak, and on out the ridge to the saddle between Talbot Creek and Soda Springs. Though the ridge is not called Foresthill Divide in this section, it is a topographic extension of that feature that separates the North Fork American River from the Middle Fork. There is a clear use trail from Granite Chief to the saddle above Needle Lake, so I assume the destination for many is the lake. Again, there is a prominent use trail, part on old logging roads, from the Foresthill Divide saddle east on the ridge. But in between, the trail is vague, indicating that not many people walk the entire length. Though it is somewhat rough, there is nothing too challenging. I skipped going up Needle Peak due to the wind. The wind was blowing at least 30 mph the entire day, with gusts to 50 mph, and one gust that knocked me to the ground and prevented me from getting back up was at least 60 mph. The south wind, and the cold that came with it, was not in the forecast. It was an intense day, with the constant roar of wind in my ears and the need to re-balance with every step to keep from falling. And it was exhilarating!

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