Carson Pass Weekend TR

[balzaccom]

Just back from a three-day trip along the PCT to Meiss Meadows and beyond. This section of the El Dorado National Forest is not a designated wilderness yet, but there are plans to make it one.

We left Thursday about noon from Carson Pass. FOr the first time in my life, we didn't have a permit. We planned to get one at the NF office at Carson Pass, but last week they didn't tell me they were only open FRI/SAT/SUN. So we arrived at noon, only to find the only permits available were back down the mountain more than an hour's drive away.

We hit the trail.

Great hike into Showers Lake, where we saw only one other pair of backpackers. It's a great time of the year to do this trip--weather ranged from the mid-40s at night to about 75 during the day, and we didn't see a single skeeter on the whole trip. Fishing, on the other hand, was dismal. Very low water and very small fish. sigh.

The second day we backtracked to Meiss Meadow, and then cross-countried into Meiss Lake..which was lovely, if shallow. And then decided to x-country down to Round Lake as well. A tough bushwhack down the canyon...wedged between alders and cliffs. Not one that I would recommend. Once at Round Lake we followed the trail to Dardanelles Lake, which was also lovely. And in eight hours of watching, I saw only two fish rise. sigh.

But the moon was new, and the skies were dark, so we did enjoy using some binoculars to pick out some cool stuff in the sky.

This morning we got up early and hiked to Round Lake again, where the overcast skies and 20mph winds suggested that maybe it was time to just hike out--which we did.

Great trip, and wonderful way to forget the usual work worries!

Photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/M ... arsonPass#

[Wickett]

Thanks for the trip report!

[bill-e-g]

Thanks for the report. It's nice to see this stuff.
Gives people other ideas and areas to explore.

Really appreciate it.

[balzaccom]

The amazing thing about this area is that I can get to the trailhead in less than 3 hours from Napa. That makes the first day a lot easier!

[balzaccom]

Another update:

We liked this area so much that we went back for a series of dayhikes this weekend. We stayed at Kirkwood, and were two of only a handful of guests in the whole place. That was odd, and not at all unpleasant!

Day One: Arrived, checked in, and then hiked to Winnemucca and Round Top Lakes out of Woods Lake. This area is just jammed with people in the summer, but we only saw one large group of about ten people, and a few other couples. Lovely hike, and the snow they had ten days ago really made the mountains come to like. Five mile hike, with about 1000 feet of elevation gain and loss.

Day Two: A longer hike--out of the Blue Lakes trailhead to Granite and Grouse Lakes. Again, Granite Lake is only about two miles, so there are usually hordes of people there. We saw about ten, Past that, we saw a total of three guys in eight miles as we hiked out to Grouse Lake and back. And while the lake is nice, the traverse across those granite ridges is amazing...and the views to the south are simple some of the best I have seen in this part of the Sierra. Unbelievable. 12 miles...

Day ThreeL with a storm front on the way, we chose to take a shorter hike, to Lake Margaret. We began with frost on the ground, and some of the ponds with a thin coating of ice. If you really want to test your powers of concentraion, try walking across an ice covered log to cross a deep stream! But then the weather warmed up, and we had a great morning of it. 5 miles

If you are interested, I've posted the photos as an extension of the original group on Picasa. The new photos start here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/M ... 2859286018