Ted's Hiking World Winnemucca Lake Garden Loop
Mokelumne Wilderness

July 11, 2014

Injuries and heat waves notwithstanding, I must go hiking; moreover, my attendance is mandatory at Carson Pass every mid-July.  Because I will be joining friends later today in nearby Kirkwood, I'll make this walk a shorter one.

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Round Top and The Sisters still have some snow

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Woolly Sunflower *
Royal Penstemon

A mile and a half into the walk, at the big meadow, is a group of four women busily identifying flowers from a book.  One of them believes that a larkspur is a penstemon, and another suggests that a columbine is a paintbrush; so I volunteer some corrections, which are welcomed.

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In Ted's Garden #1 — The Meadow

As the five of us continue to walk together, I show them the outlet to the spring.  Right here is a delightful example of a favorite flower:

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Elephant Heads

As we reach Winnemucca Lake, one of the group invites me to join them for lunch; so I stop to chat for a time.  Some of the women hail from Carson City, home of my formative years; so I share a couple of stories about the town that I knew, circa 1950.

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Winnemucca Lake, 8980'

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Janie, Wendy, Pam, and Mary Beth

After the usual exchange of a calling card for the promise of an email response, I must venture a bit farther, across the lake's outlet stream.

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Paintbrush and Lupine *
Shooting Stars

A couple hundred feet up the Round Top Lake Trail, a left turn gets me over to the trickling creek and one of my favorite spots in the Northern Sierra:

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Ted's Garden #2 — Heavenly Heather

I spend nearly an hour here, munching gorp and reveling in the verdant environment.  This is why I go hiking.

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Red & White Heather hang out together

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Nice colors

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Winnemucca Lake and Elephants Back

Two middle-aged women are skinny-dipping down there, uncaring that others are just a few yards away.  They're my kind of people.  Come to think of it, this is Nude Recreation Week!

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Sulfur-flower Buckwheat *
Mule's Ears

As is normally done at this juncture, it is time to depart the main trail; so I head for the first of three nearby ponds, of which most visitors are unaware:

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Tarn #1

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Pink is in fashion here — Slendertube Skyrockets & Giant Red Indian Paintbrush

That's the most delicately colored paintbrush I ever saw.  I have observed at least four different varieties today.

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Fascinating geology in The Jumbles

Because of my gimpy right wrist and arm, I uncharacteristically opt to circumvent the flower-laden granite boulders comprising Ted's Garden #3, but there seems to be no way to get above the moraine without a modicum of scrambling.

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Martin Point on the left, Caples Lake on the right

Up here well above the main route, the walking is effortless.  Before crossing the Pacific Crest Trail, I pause briefly to let a couple of backpackers pass by.

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The edge of Elephants Back *
Heading toward Frog Lake

On the slope of the next little hill is another attraction that one never would know about without some off-trail exploration:

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Ted's Garden #4 — Spearleaf Stonecrop

Frog Lake is in view directly below, and there is an easy route down to its leeward beach.

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The back side of Frog Lake

Directly above the beach is another favorite spot that I discovered on Hike #14.  It looks even better today:

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Ted's Garden #5 — Splendor in the Sand

Continuing along the northern lakeshore, I head over toward the old trail that actually is shorter than the new one.  Unfortunately, I impatiently turn downhill too soon, necessitating a crappy fifty-foot plunge toward the old path.  This route, albeit unmaintained and officially abandoned, remains perfectly serviceable.

At the bottom of the hill, the former trailhead — now designated as overflow parking, is in fact overflowing with twenty vehicles.  The other big parking lot across the highway is cluttered by concession stands and other facilities; for tomorrow it becomes the terminus of the annual Death Ride Bicycle Race.  In fact, the reason my friends are staying in Kirkwood is that one of them is loony enough to test his mettle on five mountain passes at breakneck speeds on one-inch tires.

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Trying to reach the old trail


§: Wow!  I got my annual flower fix at a perfect time.  Garden #1 will continue to bloom and grow for another month or so, but the rest will not fare so well.  Other species will come along to take their places, however; I have seen some pretty fine displays around here in mid-August.

Scenery *
Difficulty *
Flowers *
Solitude *

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Today's route (counter-clockwise)

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