Grouse Lakes Motorless Area, Tahoe NF
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Grouse Ridge Lakes Grouse Lakes Motorless Area, Tahoe NF |
July 30, 2023
Located high up on a mountain side, this trailhead is more scenic than most:
Fall Creek Mountain
I climbed that one a month ago.
Sierra Buttes over Milk Lake
Black Buttes to the east
Desolation Wilderness in the distance, Sanford Lake below
Lassen Peak is 80 miles north
The primary trail here runs eastward toward Glacier Lake. Once one leaves
the parking lot, however, very little if anything is seen of the many lakes in this
basin, including the good-sized Downey Lake, the area's principal attraction.
I explored several little guys to the south last year on
Hike #517, and I hope
to visit the others today, which are clustered just north of Downey. No fewer than
eight lakes and ponds are displayed on my topo map, and doubtless there are others.
The catch is that there will be no established trails to assist me. Great skill
and cunning, plus numerous pre-established GPS waypoints, will have to
suffice. The adventure begins a quarter of a mile past the spur route to Downey
Lake.
Cutting off the trail here
Two-flowered Dwarf Dandelion
A 200-foot uneventful drop through the forest begets the first attraction.
Lake #1
The next item is that-a-way
A helpful cairn
Lake #2
A closer look reveals that this one is inhabited:
Five young swimmers are over there
Lake #3 has nice reflections
I won't count these two
Occasionally, there is a semblance of trail
Lake #4
Pussy Paws and Mountain Pride
The nearby granite hill attracts my interest
Atop the rock
Sand Ridge to the north has a nice trail on it
I can see my car
Grouse Ridge Lookout
Interstate-80 in the distance
Black Buttes to the east
Jewel Flower
Showy Penstemon
Getting off the hill in a different direction proves an interesting challenge, and more scrambling is required.
Lake #5
Three other hikers are nearby at Lake #6
Lake #7
Lake #8
Admittedly, all these little gems are individually lovely; but it feels that I am just counting coup now. This is becoming something of a "Seen one, seen them all" scenario.
A stronger breeze raises some whitecaps on Lake #9
Lake #10 is prettier than most
A month ago, this place was under several feet of snow; but now, no water is flowing anywhwere. Pshaw.
Following the water channel
Lake #11
Downey Lake is hiding right behind this one
And suddenly, there is is — the gem of the basin:
Half of Downey Lake is in view
Nice campsite
From here I'll just wind around the north end of Downey to the access trail.
Believing my little-lakes loop to be complete, I am surprised to encounter the next one, until I realize what it is.
Back at Lake #1, but on the other side!
Red Mountain Heather
Lake #12
From here, the scenery improves dramatically.
Log jam at the Downey Lake outlet
The easiest way to continue is to go down and walk across the logs themselves, so I do that. This choice soon is rewarded:
Beautiful
Now I must detour away from the lakeshore to avoid many rock piles. This leads me to an area garden spot.
Wandering Daisy
Alpine Lily
Sierra Penstemon
Corn Lily
Seep Monkeyflower
A bit more walking brings an end to my off-trail adventure:
That's the way out of here
Last look at the basin, and Little Lake #13
Now it's just a 600-foot climb to the trailhead. I break out my Walkman to help relieve the tedium of the upcoming slog, but the battery is depleted. Shame!
It is approaching a hot 80 degrees at the finish.
There's the car
§: Well, the objective was accomplished, with no falls, no scrapes, and
a minimun of mosquito bites. It would have been much nicer had there been some
running water anywhere, and cooler tempuratures would have helped some as well.
Should I return here, my interest probably would be limited to circumambulating Downey
Lake itself, which looks like fun.
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