Tag Archives: trail maintenance

Granite Chief 2026-09-07 maintenance

Leave a reply

My sixth trip of the season was to continue maintenance on the Five Lakes Creek Trail, which left short on my previous trail maintenance trip (Granite Chief 2026-08-01 maintenance) in early August. As usual, I took the train to Truckee, had tea at Dark Horse Coffee, and took the bus to River Ranch. I hitched up to the Five Lakes trailhead. I’ve grown increasingly tired of walking the road to that trailhead, and have had good luck getting a ride from locals. I walked in that afternoon and evening to Whiskey Creek Camp, and camped for the night. Whiskey Creek is very slow, the lowest I can remember seeing this time of year, and it cease flowing this fall, though there will probably still be pools. The spring that crosses the Pacific Crest Trail on the way there is still flowing, though low.

I worked the Five Lakes Trail the rest of the way to the north Big Spring Trail junction, cutting all down trees and leaners that are small enough to cut with my folding saw, clearing debris from the trail and minor brushing. This section of Five Lakes Creek Trail is in acceptable condition, with larger down trees, but easy step-overs or good bypasses. I then worked the Big Spring Trail across Five Lakes Creek, which is low but flowing, to Big Spring Meadow, and to the area above Big Spring. The best trail to the north of the spring, and the best trail to the south of the spring, do not match, so I cleared alder in the dry (usually) creekbed, to connect the two. If you cross directly from the south section, you will end up in the Big Spring bog. I set rock ducks through the Big Spring Meadow, where the trail does not get enough use to define a tread. I did not work south of Big Spring, and this section of trail to the south Big Spring junction, is in poor condition, many down trees, debris heavy at times, and some uncertainty where it crosses a dry meadow.

Wednesday was a perfect day for cloud watching, with cumulus clouds forming and dissipating. Not great day for animal shapes, but the process and edges are endlessly fascinating.

And at night a nearly new moon made for great star watching. Jupiter and Venus are down below the horizon at sunset, but Saturn comes up in the east not too long after.

I also worked a short distance on Five Lakes Creek Trail south of the north Big Spring Trail junction, cutting many small down trees and leaners, clearing debris, and some brushing. I made a good bypass of a huge down yellow pine. But this was only perhaps 10% of the distance to the Shanks Cove Trail junction, and it will require several days of work to complete. This trail is not much used, so following it through the many down trees and heavy debris is challenging. At the junction with Shanks Cove Trail, the trail sign post is long gone, and the sign is often on the ground, but is in good condition, quite readable. The section of Five Lakes Creek Trail to the south Big Spring Trail junction is in better condition, but not maintained. The crossing of Five Lakes Creek has been brushed.

For more detail on the trails maintained, and not maintained, see the Trail Conditions page.

Heading out, I went over ‘Squaw’ Saddle and dropped into Olympic Valley to the Western States Trail section that traverses the valley from Watson Monument to Hwy 89, and then dropped down to Palisades Tahoe to catch the bus back to Truckee, and more tea at Dark Horse Coffee, and jalapeño cheddar bread at Cornerstone Bakery. And home on the train again.

On the last day I smelled smoke on the trail and in Truckee. I looked in Watch Duty and saw nothing near except a small prescribed burn which could not have produced that much smoke. Turns out it was the Lucas Fire in Mendocino and Lake counties, which is still burning though not actively spreading. The smoke was taking a circuitous route though Sacramento and up to the Tahoe area.

This may or may not be my last trip of the year to Granite Chief Wilderness. I have one more window in October, but that depends on the weather. And water sources, as most will be dry by then unless there is rain. There have been almost no thunderstorms this season, and though precipitation was about normal last winter, it came early and the snow melted early, so it dry out there.

photo of Western States Trail in Olympic Valley
Western States Trail in Olympic Valley

Granite Chief 2026-08-01 maintenance

1 Reply

This was a short trip, trimmed down from nine days to five days. I’m also a transportation advocate (Getting Around Sac) and sometimes I make the choice to focus on that. And of course all the other traveling and activities I do. But during the summer, Granite Chief Wilderness is my focus.

I went in at Five Lakes Trailhead. I went over the the lakes, which I’ve not stopped at in several years, and enjoyed my time just spacing out and enjoying the coolness. It was very hot in Sacramento, and hot in Truckee. Then on to Whiskey Creek Camp, which was my base. No one else was camped there. It used to be that any summer weekend would see at least one family camped at Whiskey Creek, but that has lessened over time. Unfortunately.

I did some work on the Western States Trail, cutting and clearing several down trees near the beginning, and removing debris. The trail is in good condition for a ways, but I know there is much more work to be done further along, and I did not get to it.

My main objective was working on the Five Lake Creek Trail south to Big Spring, but I got only about 2/3 of it finished, cutting small trees and removing debris, and a little brushing. There were a lot of new down trees since last year, many too large for me to cut. I perceive that the die off which started in the red fir zone about ten years ago has now reached the white fir zone, and a lot of trees are coming down at that lower elevation. The down trees can be stepped over or bypassed easily, except for one that has just come down. The bypasses are largely picked and defined by bears, not people. I would consider this trail maintained, and still recommend the trip down to Big Spring Meadow. Beyond there, the trail is much worse, and not recommended unless you like poor trails. And more wilderness.

In addition to whitethorn, which grows rapidly and encroaches on trails, two low growing and slower growing plants also encroach, creeping honeysuckle and various gooseberries. Cutting these back only lasts one year, as they come back strong the next year, so to keep them back for a few years requires pulling them out by the roots. Early season, this is not too hard, though a lot of detailed work. But by now the soil is dry and hard, and it is difficult to get these out by the roots. The honeysuckle in particular has a very complicated root system as it roots wherever the stems touch the ground. The big problem with the honeysuckle is that if a stem crosses the trail and roots, it produces a hard black stem that is a trip hazard, and one of the common names for this plant is trip-wire.

photo of Five Lake 5 reflection
Five Lake 5 reflection

I walked back past the Five Lakes (of which there are a variable number depending on time of year) to the edge above the Bear Creek headwall, and camped there. A good place to enjoy the view east, sunset color and sunrise, and the lake nearby. The moon came up blood red, from smoke off to the northeast, though the smoke was aloft and not down at ground level until the next day. Apparently smoke from Oregon fires. California has had remarkably few fires this summer, compared to all the other western states, in large part because there have been far fewer thunderstorms than most years.

Most of the creeks and creeklets are lower for this time of year than most years. I think this is because the snow melted early, and at middle elevations, a lot of the precipitation was rain rather than snow. I think winter precipitation was only a little below normal, but the pattern was unusual. Small creeklets are almost all pooled by not flowing, or dry.

I went back out the same way. A brief stop in Tahoe City for a shower and picking up fuel canisters at Alpenglow. Alpenglow Sports is a good store, if you need supplies in Tahoe City. Then to Palisades Tahoe for Bluesday (Tuesday) for great music. Then back to Tahoe City to sleep on the lakeshore. And then to Truckee in the morning for tea at Dark Horse Coffee, and the Amtrak California Zephyr home to Sacramento.

August 1 is a cross-quarter day, one of the days in between the solstices and equinoxes, called Lughnasadh in some traditions. It is the time of year when a yellow cast begins to develop, the first of fall changes. Corn lilies are the first to change, in fact many are already dried and black by now. All the plants that will turn bright yellow or red in the fall already have tinges of color. Except the aspens, which are still green. Mosquitos are light but still present morning and evening, with flies of many species taking their place. Mosquitos were light this year, perhaps due to the early snow melt.

I have a new Nemo Tensor sleeping pad, a replacement for one that the valve failed on. This valve on this one appears to be made of a higher quality plastic, so hopefully it won’t fail. In the time it took to get the replacement, I needed some sort of pad, so I bought a Nemo Switchback, a closed cell form pad. It is great for insulation, as good at the Tensor, but of course doesn’t have the padding that my old body now prefers.

Granite Chief 2026-06-24 maintenance

Leave a reply

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 2026-05 Powderhorn

Leave a reply

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

Granite Chief 2025-08-20 trail work & survey

1 Reply

My sixth trip of the season was for trail work and trail survey.

Five Lakes Creek Trail

I completed trail work on the Five Lakes Creek Trail, from the creeklet crossing where I’d stopped last trip, to the Five Lakes Creek Trail & Big Spring Trail north junction, and then on the Big Springs Trail down to the crossing of Five Lakes Creek. There remain about 14 down trees, too big for me to cut, but I created either good climb-overs or bypasses, and in one case, a duck-under of a hanging tree. Also removed winter debris and brushed several sections, though there was less debris and brush on this second part. The trail on the west side of the crossing of Five Lakes Creek was brushed in with alder and willow, and I cleared that. At current creek levels, there is a rock-hop crossing, but at higher levels one must go upstream or downstream, which means fighting alder thickets. I was expecting the work to take two days, but it only took one, so I had a free day, and used it to re-survey the Western States Trail in Olympic Valley.

Western States Trail (Olympic Valley)

I realized after looking at my old trail track for the Western States Trail, that I had been off-route for much of my survey trip in early June. So I backpacked from Whiskey Creek where I’d camped north on the PCT, and then the Western States Trail to Watson Monument on the ridge above Olympic Valley. From that point, the trail goes south a short distance along the ridge, and then down a trail across the ski area. None of these upper trails are signed, including where it uses a short distance of road. The trail stays as high along the north-facing slope of the valley as is possible. I have no idea where the original, historic Western States trail went, if it was even in the Olympic Valley at all, but the existing designated trail is quite nice, and avoids as much of the ski area infrastructure as it can. Before Alterra bought ‘Squaw’, the old Ski Corp groomed slopes with bulldozers and dynamite, built roads wherever a bulldozer could, and maximized disturbance of the natural environment. It was a terrible company. Alterra is not perfect, but it is far better.

Where the trail crosses ski area roads, of which there are an abundance, it is usually not signed at all. There are signs, here and there, but not at every crossing or junction, and they are often not obvious, sometimes small signs high up in trees, or very old wood signs. Every time you get to a trail junction or road crossing, it is worth pausing and orienting, or you will likely end up on the wrong route.

The most confusing location, for me, was where the correct trail stays high under a cliff, and does not descend on the more used and obvious trails. On my GaiaGPS maps, I’ve marked this waypoint as ‘Jct WS stay high’. A side trail, from the marked junction ‘Jct WS access’ is signed as Western States Trail, but it is not.

When I got above Palisades Tahoe village, I broke off the trail and descended to the village, for Friday music and some rest. I was tired! The remained of the trail east to the trailhead on Hwy 89 is correct and not very confusing. And better maintained.

So, is this trail worth the challenge of following? Absolutely. The north-facing slope of the valley is sometimes bare rock or scree slopes, but it is also host to beautiful flower fields and clusters of trees. There are whole fields of brilliant pink rock fringe (Epilobium obcordatum, Onagraceae), which are fairly rare in this part of the Sierra crest. Gentian, probably explorer’s gentian (Gentiana calycosa, Gentianaceae), with its bright blue flowers is common, and again rare in this part of the crest.

photo of rockfringe, Epilobium obcordatum (Onagraceae)
rockfringe, Epilobium obcordatum (Onagraceae)
photo of explorer gentian, Gentiana calycosa (Gentianaceae)?
explorer gentian, Gentiana calycosa (Gentianaceae)?

There is only one water source along this entire trail, at this time of year, a spring that may or may not be year-round. When I passed it, a dog was luxuriating in the cool shallow water, so I passed it up as a water source. Earlier in the year, there are many creeklets that cross the trail.

GaiaGPS and Open Street Map

Part way through my effort to make sure I had an accurate route for the Western States Trail through Olympic Valley, I realized why I was having a hard time. GaiaGPS has mis-labeled other trails as the Western States Trail, though they are not.

Which led to a closer look at GaiaGPS. The company, now owned by Outside, claims that they update from Open Street Map (OSM) on a regular basis, and if there are errors that have been corrected in OSM, they will be corrected in GaiaGPS. This is false. There are trails in GaiaGPS that have not been in OSM in years, if ever. I’m sure some of the trails are remnants from Forest Service maps, which include mistakes 20 or more years old. It may be that new information is added, but old, incorrect information is not deleted. Though I selected GaiaGPS over a number of other field mapping apps, years ago now, I’m becoming increasingly unhappy with it. Since it was bought by Outside, it has noticeable deteriorated.

I’m at work correctly labeling the Western States Trail (Olympic Valley) in OSM, but it is going slowly because I have a lot to learn about OSM and how to make edits. When I get the segments right, I’ll combine them into what is called a ‘relation’, for the whole trail from the trailhead on Hwy 89 to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail.

Granite Chief 2025-08-05 trail work

1 Reply

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 2025-07-22 trail survey and trail work

Leave a reply

My fourth Granite Chief trip of the season was a trail condition survey, and then work with a trail reroute group. I surveyed three of the trails which I had not done this season, the Greyhorse Trail and Shanks Cove Trail. And then joined a Western States Endurance Run trail work crew working on the Tevis Cup reroute.

I entered the wilderness from Five Lakes Trailhead (formerly Alpine Meadows Trailhead) and camped at Whiskey Creek Camp. Heading down Five Lakes Creek Trail the next day, I was able to follow the trail from north Big Spring Trail to Shanks Cove Trail, which I’d lost on my previous trip. 38 down trees, and heavy debris in many areas, but the trail can be followed with a close eye.

The southern leg of the Shanks Cove Trail, from the Five Lakes Creek Trail to the junction with Greyhorse Trail on the ridge, has not been maintained since 2009, and it shows. Many, many down trees, dating from those 16 years. Since the trail is seldom used, the lower crossing of Shanks Cove Creek is completely filled in with alder and willow, so you’ll have to find your own way. Across the creek is a deep pile of down trees and debris, obscuring the trail. It is hard to find where it starts up the rocky slope through brush, but once found, is not hard to follow. After the upper crossing of the creek, the trail climbs up the headwall to the ridge, sometimes steeply and sometimes switchbacks. Again, many down trees and areas of heavy debris. At the top of the ridge, the junction with Greyhorse Trail is signed and obvious. Enjoy the views!

I descended the Greyhorse Trail to the trailhead, which seems to have been renamed the Shanks Cove Trailhead. The trail is not too hard to follow, no worse then when I last walked it in 2008. About one-third of the down trees have been chainsawed. I’ve come to terms with accepting chain sawing by private individuals since the Forest Service has long given up on trail maintenance, but it looks as though the person who cut was riding a dirt bike, sometimes on the trail and sometimes off. More about chain saw use in a future post. The official trailhead signing is gone, but there is a user-made trailhead sign. I think the trail name is still Greyhorse, and the number 15E13, but the trailhead has apparently been renamed to Shanks Cove Trailhead on the Forest Service and other maps.

Back on the ridge, I headed on the north leg of the Shanks Cove Trail, going to the Western States Trail. There are a few down trees on the ridge, but other than one stretch through a dry meadow where the trail starts to head off the side of the ridge, easy to follow. And great views into Picayune Valley. The trail down across the volcanic bedrock is sketchy but acceptable. It drops steeply down a gully to the valley where an early season creek runs. Then up the other side, though down trees and brush fields, but the trail can be followed with care.

photo of view east from Shanks Cove Trail north section
view east from Shanks Cove Trail north section

I walked back on Western States to Whiskey Creek Camp, and slept. A long day, 27km on unmaintained trails.

The next day I went up Whiskey Creek Trail and north along the PCT. Sadly, there were bicycles ridden on the PCT the day before. At the junction with what I formerly called the Tevis Connector, and am for now calling the Middle Fork Trail, I headed down to the dry meadow beside Middle Fork American River, and set camp. With time left in the day, I explored the Tevis Cup reroute. The Middle Fork trail was worked last year and is in good condition, with two down trees. Where is meets the existing Tevis Cup Trail, there is no sign, just some ribbon. When the reroute is complete, the Middle Fork Trail will follow the old trail eastward, to a completed but hidden switchback to connect to the reroute.

I walked west on the reroute to the end of work, where the Great Basin Institute (GBI) trail crew was building switchbacks down through a mules ear meadow to eventual connection with the old Tevis Cup Trail, west of the difficult riparian and bog areas. My thought was that the Forest Service had given up on ever completing the full reroute, and was connecting to the old trail short of that, but got clarification from the WSER leaders on Saturday.

WSER Tevis Cup Reroute Project

I had signed up for a trail crew session with the Western State Endurance Run (WSER) organization. This is the lead private organization working on the reroute. I met the group of 14 at the PCT-Tevis Cup junction, and went to the work site, which is primarily the rock causeway through a wet area. Photo below, from an earlier trip. I worked on a pan through to carry a tiny creeklet, which turned out to be just the surface part of a considerable below-ground flow. A muddy mess, but the pan was build, and the beginning of the causeway extension beyond. Early afternoon the thunder boomed, it got very dark, and it rained and hailed for about two hours. The work crew set tents on tiny pieces of flat ground and waited it out, but my tent was on the Middle Fork, so I head back there. The sun came out, and I had four hours of sun to dry things, and the crew got more work done. Next morning I headed up to rejoin them and continued the work. Most of the crew was finding large rocks for the causeway, breaking up rocks into small pieces to fill the causeway and gaps, and sawing logs along the trail.

In the middle afternoon we hiked east on the unfinished reroute, then up to Watson Monument, down to High Camp, rode the tram down to the village, and ate dinner together.

I quite enjoyed working with this group of people. I had last worked with a trail crew on the Tahoe Rim Trail, about 15 years ago, and was nervous about working with people instead of by myself, but the group was welcoming and fun. They are all runners, both on the Western State and other runs, so they live in a different world than I, but are good people, and the crew supervisors were great, low key but with high expectations.

Some info about the reroute:

  • A Forest Service crew has drilled both the roughly blasted area at the east end of the reroute and many other spots to the west, and will blast sometime this season.
  • There will be two trails, the switchbacks down to the old trail, being worked by GBI, will be the horse route. The hope is that it will be complete for use next year.
  • A runner reroute will stay high all the way to Lyon Saddle, where Road 51 comes up to a trailhead. I formerly called this Foresthill Saddle, and it is on Foresthill Divide, but Lyon Saddle makes much more sense. It will take at least two more years to complete the runner route.
  • California Conservation Corps is not working this year, which will slow down the project.
  • When the reroute is complete, the trails may receive different names, hopefully less confusing.
photo of Tevis Cup reroute rock causeway

Granite Chief 2024-08 smoked out!

Leave a reply

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:

Powderhorn trail work 2024-07

Leave a reply

I started this trip at Granite Chief Trail in Olympic Valley, as it is the most convenient trailhead. The evening before I attended the Palisades Tahoe Bluesday concert in the village. A lot of people there, many from the Reno area, and the Reno blues group is one of the event sponsors. Camped out at a favorite spot part way up and off of the trail after the concert, and then headed up the trail early morning. My break was at a juniper tree about half way up, where I have often stopped, but someone has made a nice bench out of a dead juniper trunk, just below the tree. There have been helicopters up all morning, but over the ridge south, in the Alpine Meadows / Bear Creek valley. Probably a lightning strike tree.

Thunderstorms were building over the Mt Rose area northeast of Tahoe, but I don’t know if rain came of it. Someone at the concert was mentioning heavy rain that afternoon, but I didn’t catch where. As with last trip, there is zero precipitation in the forecast, but the reality is different. But I had no rain on this trip, and one full day of completely clear skies.

photo of Angelica lineariloba, Apiaceae
Angelica lineariloba, Apiaceae

I headed south on the PCT and then to Whiskey Creek Camp. There are a lot more PCT thru hikers than I would expect at the end of July. A few of them may make Canada. Then down Five Lakes Creek Trail, which raises my frustration level, climbing over down trees for long stretches. I took the main trail, not through Big Spring Meadow, and it appears to be unused until it rejoins the meadow trail. I lost it several times before and after the junction with Shanks Cove Trail. I walked a short distance on Shanks Cove, at it also appears unused. The few people who use Five Lakes Creek Trail go through Big Spring Meadow, which is understandable, it is a beautiful place. And the spring, though hard to access, is wonderful water. I camped at my common site beside Five Lakes Creek, off the trail near Diamond Crossing.

I did two and a half days of work on Powderhorn Trail. Though I had done the lower one-third last year, there were new down trees and winter debris, so I re-worked that section. I had laboriously cleared a bypass of the slide-under tree, safe for at least backcountry-wise horses. But a tree came down on the bypass, so the Powderhorn is again not accessible for equestrians. I then tackled the part I’ve not maintained in many years, the middle third. I made good though slow progress, completing up through the postpile meadow to the creeklet. This is about another 1/6, leaving 1/6 yet to do. And that 1/6 is largely a mess, about 1 km of down trees and winter debris, including one tree fallen directly on the trail.

I saw eight backpackers and two day hikers on the Powderhorn, which is a little surprising for a difficult trail that seems to be not much used. So maybe my work is worthwhile. It is certainly a pleasant experience on some parts of the trail, and if I can make is so, it is worthwhile.

photo of Ageratina occidentalis, Asteraceae
Ageratina occidentalis, Asteraceae

I explored the Hell Hole Trail from the Diamond Crossing junction to Five Lakes Creek. It is hard to follow through the seasonal growth and dry grass. There are duck markers but they aren’t all inter-visible. The most recent trail alignment is very hard to follow as it approaches Five Lakes Creek, though the alder thickets. Someone has partly ducked an alternative route that stays north of the dry drainage and comes out on the gravel bar just upstream of the crossing. It is also not well marked, but may be a better alignment. The ducks/cairins that I had set up two years ago are all gone, washed away or fallen over, but the crossing is upstream of the log jam across the creek. It may be a little hard to find the trail on the west side of the creek, but once found, it should be pretty easy to follow. I’ve spent a lot of time finding and clearing this trail, all the way to the bottom near Hell Hole Reservoir. Of course, as with every trail, it has a lot of down trees.

After a half day of trail work, I headed out Powderhorn Trail, FR 3 to Barker Pass, north to the PCT-TRT trail junction, and then down the TRT into Ward Creek, and camped at a small site beside a creeklet. Though I hadn’t really needed my inner tent for mosquitos on this trip, I did here, ample mosquitos. All day there had been a strange overcast, which turned out to be smoke aloft from the Park Fire. Nothing at ground level, where the smoke is going north and east, but smoke aloft was coming south.

Next day I walk out to the road and down Ward Creek to Sunnyside, and caught the bus into Tahoe City. Went to the Commons Beach concert, and camped in the forest nearby, then morning TART bus to Truckee and the Amtrak bus home.

An update on my inflatable sleeping pad. After patching some small leaks, it was still deflating during the night at an accelerated rate. So after seven years of good use, it is retired. I bought a Nemo Tensor inflatable sleeping pad as a replacement. Slightly more weight and slightly bigger, but in the same range.

Photos on Flickr:

Powderhorn trail maintenance 2023-09

Leave a reply

Finally, a trip without rain! The weather was perfect. Cool mornings, warm afternoons, fair weather cumulus clouds in the afternoon, clear skies at night with a new moon and incredible stars.

I camped four nights beside Five Lakes Creek, in a gentle area below the gorge but above where the Hell Hole Trail crosses. There is no trail to this place, but I found it in my explorations and it has become a favorite.

I went back to Powderhorn Trail to do maintenance. The horrible condition of this trail gnaws at me. Very few people used this trail this year, and I am afraid that people will just stop using the trail completely. The bears, of course, still use it, but even they seem to be using it less.

I worked the bottom part of the trail for three days. The first 1.5 miles from Diamond Crossing are now in good condition, other than the down trees. I spend a lot of time cutting back and thinning the fir trees which encroach on the trail. Most young trees die, the larger trees you see a the result of a long process of natural thinning. But in the meanwhile, the live trees crowd the trail, and both live trees and dead trees lean over into the trail. Along this section of the trail, traditional brushing is not the main work.

The upper 1.4 miles of trail is in acceptable condition. It needs some brushing and winter debris removal, but is quite usable. That leaves the middle section of the trail, about one mile, which, still, sucks (see my earlier post Powderhorn Trail maintenance 2023-07). In this section there is heavy winter debris on about half the trail, firs are crowding the trail, a lot of live and dead firs are leaning into the trail, and there is some brush. This section includes the postpile meadow, where the alders are beginning to crowd in but are not too bad yet.

One down tree on the trail presents a barrier to equestrian use. This is an off-the-ground tree that hikers and backpackers can slide under, but there is no safe bypass for equestrians. One could be created, with a lot of work, but for now, it is not safe.

It is unlikely that I’ll get back to Powderhorn this year. In fact, this may be the last of my mountain backpacks for this year, as my next window is not until the second half of October. If fall is late, perhaps again. Otherwise, foothill and coast range backpack trips.

I did my usual Amtrak bus to Truckee, TART bus to Barker Pass Rd, hitched a ride to Barker Pass and walked to the Powderhorn trailhead. Coming out, I walked back to Barker Pass, then attempted to hitch down, but during the week and after Labor Day, there isn’t much traffic, so I walked more than half the way. Bus back to Tahoe City, and the next morning, bus to Truckee and the Amtrak California Zephyr home. The train was almost on time!. Several times this season and others, I’ve had to take the Amtrak bus instead because the train was many hours late.