Just got back from a great day in Desolation Wilderness. Ethel and I went and met Chase and his friend Andy at the Hancock cabin at Lower Echo Lake. I hadn't met Andy before, but he is an ultrarunner built like a football player and an exceedingly cool guy.
We knew from the get-go that it'd be a long day hike, so we made quick work of the hike from Lower Echo into Lake Aloha. After a break for a dip in the lake at the dam, we left the trail and started our cross-country adventure.
We made our way across the moonscape terrain and worked up the eastern face of Pyramid Peak. Scrambling over huge glaciated granite slabs, we crossed to the southern ridgeline and made our final push for the summit.
Up top, we were treated to this magnificent view:
Lake Aloha from Pyramid Peak
While Desolation is seemingly devoid of non-tourist life, we did see quite a few little critters.
Weathered woodchuck
Andy filling negative space nicely
We descended the scarier ridgeline on the north side of the summit and crossed one of the season's last snowfields before arriving at the tiny lake visible at the bottom of that first picture. We followed the outflow of that lake downhill until it disappeared over the edge into a little corner I'd seen once before.
Little hidden waterfall
Taking the opportunity for another snack break here, we relaxed while Chase poked around in the water. He found some frogs that he thinks are endangered and appear to be the Cascades Frog. Quite a rare critter to be living above 8000'.
Sunning him (or her) self
The pro at work
Just a few hundred meters later, we were off the slopes of Pyramid and in the greater Aloha basin.
Over a couple big bumps of granite, we found ourselves at American Lake, just around the corner from the dam at Aloha. The draw for another dip in cool alpine water was too much to resist, and all four of us took the plunge. Big rocks overhang deep clear water here, prime for diving.
Chase, performing the jackspoon
The sun was getting low in the sky, so we finished enjoying our reward and made the push back up to Haypress Meadows and down towards Echo. We walked into the cabin about exactly 10 hours after we started out; a solid day of hiking!
Chase's dad had arrived in the meantime and had a feast nearly ready. After a warm night, we hopped back in the little aluminum boat this morning, crossed the lake, and headed home. A short trip but worth every minute...
After a weekend trip down to the Bay Area a few weeks back, I dragged Ethel kicking and screaming to Reno. Well, it wasn't that hard. She was bound and gagged in the trunk, after all.
Right.
So we found a place to live; we're renting the downstairs of a cool old-Reno house up near the top of Skyline (for all ye locals) from Josh, the cool young guy who owns it.
Ethel is still looking for work.
I am technically employed although not working much, as I'm determined to get my upstart engineering consulting business off the ground.
Much is apparent to me after New Zealand. At the top of that heap is that an 8-to-5 job is simply not in the cards for me. If I look for one, I'll find one, and I'll be unhappy, so I shall continue to look for clients while my small reserves of cash dwindle away.
Work stuff aside, summer here has been great, especially once all the smoke from the California fires cleared out. I've been keeping moderately fit, swimming, biking, and running my way around. It's a chill summer of racing (or not racing), what with the cost of gas (driving to races), airline bike charges (flying to races), and not making much money (every other aspect of this sport).
Next big athletic push will be for a return to Silverman in November; I'm already looking forward to it.
Triathlon stuff aside, Burning Man is in just over a month.
And that's about that.
Little Lake (formally Incline Lake) is a, well, little lake, nestled into the forest below Mt. Rose. It's been privately owned between several families ever since it was created by dam in the 1930s or so.
After a few years of negotiations, it has finally been sold to the Forest Service and will become public land. As of this writing, the houses, cabins, and other structures up there have been demolished. I feel very lucky to have gotten up there a couple times this summer before everything got torn down.
Norm is taking it pretty hard as he's lived up there nearly year-round for the last 4 or 5 years, not to mention spending all the summers of his childhood up there.
Here's a photo tour of the place and some of its regulars.
Norm's girlfriend Sarah with a fresh catch
Duke
Max...
...and Max
Even though they're easily distinguishable, I think they need to, um, duke it out (sorry Duke) to determine who's the better of the Maxes. Just ask Jesse 1 and Jesse 2 about that.
Max keeping a watchful eye
Ben's puppy Buckshot
The dam
Poor crime scene management
Wandering around
I think it's hilarious
The observatory
Funky antennae and chimneys
Last light at a special jewel in the mountains
So not 3 days after getting back to Reno, a certain Irish bird flew up from San Francisco for a wee break from the city life. We planned a couple days at Tahoe, a stop at Russell's wedding here in Reno, and then a 2-night backpack trip deep into the heart of the Sierras.
The plan was to meet Jesse and Lisa at a hot spring 13 or so miles from the nearest trailhead down near Mammoth. It's not super-well-known, so we'll call it I*a B*ll ;). They were going to be 2 days ahead of us, and I got a voicemail right before they went in that they had learned about an alternate route in, and that we should check it out since it would be shorter. The red flag should have popped up when Jesse mentioned the "short overland section," but it didn't.
Long story short, "short overland section" meant hiking through high altitude snow, occasionally within sight of a trail, staying on a trail, then going truly overland over inhospitable terrain and not making it all the way to our destination that day. Oh yeah, then waking up, wandering around for a couple more hours, fording a creek rushing with snowmelt, and then finally stumbling into the hot spring after a day and a half of hiking.
Jesse and Lisa's experience was similar, however enhanced by both their canine companion and their ursine intruder.
Once at the spring, things were sweet, although Jesse and Lisa had already hiked out. We still soaked to our hearts' content. And then went back the easy way...hitchhiked back to where we left the car...and called it good...
Along the PCT
Calm water
Looking east into the High Sierra where we left the trail to go overland
Looking south into the drainage we'd be descending into 2000' below
Roaring Fish Creek
Fish Creek from the south bank
Little fella
Our reward is nestled in here
Little puddle of paradise
View from the springs
Steep mountain creek
Hearty flowers
Standing above the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin
More flora
Indian Paintbrush in front of a charred tree
Irish bird
First step of a huge waterfall on the way out
Rainbow Falls
