Tahoe NF
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Around English Mountain Tahoe NF |
June 17, 2015
On the way to the trailhead, my companion and I get a view of an amazing modern logging method. Apparently chain saws are largely outmoded; that big yellow machine simply grabs a tree in its jaws, snips it off at the base, and dumps it onto a pile. The entire procedure takes less than thirty seconds per tree.
Note the standing tree just to the left of the yellow cab.
Now you see it...
Now you don't
Today will be something new. For decades I have been coddling
hikers less capable than I, and now it's my turn. I have invited myself on a
walk with my son-in-law David, who lives down south but is currently
vacationing in the Lake Tahoe area. Being twenty-eight years
my junior and super-fit as well, David already has conquered San
Diego County's Top-100 Peaks; now he has an eye on the Tahoe-OGUL
collection of 63 peaks in the northern Sierra.
Not being a diehard peak-bagger, I nevertheless have summited 16 OGUL points thus far; David's selection for today is one new to us both. English Mountain is somewhat unusual in that it is not visible from any major highway. Because this destination has appeal only for those aforementioned dedicated souls, there will be no trail.
Having gotten a couple of routing ideas from online bloggers, we opt to start our trek at the Faucherie Dam.
Lake Faucherie, looking west
At the boat launch is an entreaty not to contaminate the lake with one
of several non-native, invasive species that have fairly recently
begun to plague the waters of the western United States. At the
formerly pristine Lake Tahoe, official boat inspections now are mandatory.
David is getting ready. The destination looms behind
Almost immediately, we do find a trail heading up beside Canyon Creek, which drains French Lake some 500 feet above us.
It surely won't last
Later I would discover that a camera setting was out of whack for most of
this hike, but I have done the best I can with the images. Meanwhile,
this being mid-June, the flowers are out in force. Most of the
usual suspects are present:
Royal Penstemon
Heartleaf Milkweed
Meadow Sweet
Alpine Lily
David tries to focus on some of the biggest alpine lilies I have seen
What we didn't know about, yet should have suspected, were the visual treats provided by the local waterway.
A kayaking website has written up this stretch of Canyon Creek
Negotiating the creekside rocks is a lot of fun, but it saps a lot of energy
Despite the relative difficulty of getting through it, this garden
paradise exemplifies the rewards of cross-country exploration.
Leichtlin's Mariposa Lily
Sierra Stonecrop
The kayakers would need a lot more water than this for an enjoyable passage
The use trail crosses here, but that is the wrong direction for us
Trying to follow a creek closely rarely is the easiest route, and this one is no exception. I appear to be a bit off my feed today, for I am feeling the effects of our efforts already.
A lake is hiding back there
David suggests a snack break here; so I munch some grapes and gorp, as usual.
Is Weil Lake inviting us in?
Maybe later
Now it seems natural to start heading up toward a visible saddle, so we find a way around the bushes and do just that.
It's only a couple hundred feet
Nice colors on the cliff face
The view behind us is pretty nice:
Black Buttes and Weil Lake
Stonecrop garden
Moss garden
To our right now is French Lake, which I photographed from the far side two years ago.
The lake is more than a mile and a half long
David has concluded from the top map that the best route up the mountain is at the forest's edge farther to the east; so we bushwhack down through a hundred feet of manzanita to a roadway that is no longer used as such, because it is inside the Grouse Lakes Vehicle Closure Area.
Doing what we must do
A mile up that road, the crux of the mission is at hand. We have reached the place to start up the ridge toward the summit. Although I certainly could manage it, I am just weary enough to be willing to forgo the final segment on this occasion. Besides, notching his OGUL belt is David's goal, not mine; and I believe that he would rather tackle this last lap at his own pace. In fact, he seems already to have decided this, even if I had not.
But what will I do from here? David recommends that I not return the way we came, suggesting instead that I follow the road north to a junction where we could meet later. That route would represent extra walking distance; but it would be easier going, and I might see some interesting new stuff, so I agree.
There he goes
Okay. I have plenty of time now, for I surely will reach the junction
before David does. He estimates a five-o'clock meetup time;
but that's four hours away, and I don't believe it will take that long.
Almost immediately, I encounter a locked gate at the edge of the closure area. This means that we could actually have driven to this point! I am appalled that the online references to an ascent of English Mountain have ignored what appears to be the easiest and most direct access of all. Perhaps that is not what they wanted.
Some folks' priorities leave a lot to be desired
David will be passing on the other side of that mini-peak
It definitely is warmer and drier over here. The roadside flower varieties have changed to paintbrush, checkerbloom, and these:
Crimson Columbine
Dandelion
Progressing northward, I zoom in on the mountain summit at regular intervals, hoping to catch a glimpse of my erstwhile companion somewhere. No Luck.
I presume that the flagpole on the right is the
true summit
The Sierra Buttes are 13 miles away for a crow, but 45 miles for a car
The mountain is just over a mile away
The big excitement on this route
Cattle loading chute
Actually, I am pleased to find this little stream, because it is time to stoke up on water. I have consumed three bottles already.
Someone is shooting guns near Catfish Lake
The first humans I have seen on this outing approach me, looking for a little black dog. I confess that I have not seen it. About half a mile later, here comes the little black dog from the other direction, accompanied by a little yellow dog. They both yap at me like mad, then continue down the road. Then, seemingly not happy with its accomplishment, the black one rushes back up near me to issue yet another tirade of warnings. Finally, the two of them take off toward the campground.
I presume that they will be back together soon
I reach Bowman Lake Road at just after three o'clock. Finding a shady roadside rest doesn't last long, though; for the ants promptly drive me away. Rest being seemingly out of the question, I amble down Bowman Lake Road toward Lake Faucherie for nearly two additional miles, where David and his Subaru finally appear. It seems that he had stopped to take a dip in Weil Lake after all.
There's no place to rest here
§: Well, wasn't that interesting! Will I ever repeat a
scenario such as this? I think not. In retrospect, I cannot
imagine why I would have opted to walk five miles more than necessary
on a hot, dusty road while my partner went swimming, rather than returning
to the land of cascades and flowers myself. I believe that David doesn't
realize that, despite my being somewhat out of sorts today, I was
in my element back there, scrambling and bushwhacking and
route-finding. That's why I go hiking, and some extra work was
not going to present a problem. Most likely, I would have tried some
new routes as well.
In any case, had we known the best approach, we never would have experienced
the Canyon Creek Wonderland. Serendipity. The hike up to Weil Lake
alone was worth the price of admission. Other adventures are possible
from Lake Faucherie as well, including a short-cut into the Five Lakes
Basin just to the south. The established trail into that area involves a
round-trip trek of 12+ miles from Grouse Ridge.
OGUL-baggers, take note: The easiest way up English Mountain is to drive
up CR-843 past Catfish Lake, bearing right on CR-84320 to the
locked gate; that portion of Meadow Lake Road is mostly in better condition
than Bowman Lake Road anyway. That leaves just a 1,300-foot
scramble to the summit.
Armed with this knowledge, I definitely will return — probably in the
fall when it is cooler — and finish the trek. Stay tuned.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Personality | |
| Adventure |  |
| Solitude |  |
Here are a few of David's photos from the hike:
Ted scrambling at Canyon Creek
English Mountain summit
French Lake and Old Man Mountain to the south
