Granite Chief Wilderness
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Five Lakes Granite Chief Wilderness |
August 1, 2023
Having lived within an hour's drive or so of this trailhead for most of my life, I actually visited it just once in all that time. Go figure. Also, I did not find all of the lakes, and other memories of the area are rather dim; so I am back for a modern update, hopeful that this destination will offer more than what I found two days ago over at Grouse Ridge.
I'm in the middle of a big ski complex
Right at the start, the trail has been torn up by a wash
Immediately my camera is put into action by a proliferation of wildflowers on this hillside.
Nodding Thistle
Henderson's Angelica
Bitterroot
Mule Ears
Waxy Checkerbloom
Skyrocket
Several switchbacks help me up the steep slope
A mysterious water spout high on the hill
I really must ask about that thing, because its existence makes no sense to me. There is another one like it over on Red Lake Peak at Carson Pass.
Royal Penstemon
Sulfur Flower Buckwheat
Creambush
Pinemat Manzanita
Wavyleaf Indian Paintbrush
An Alpine Meadows playground in the distance
Heartleaf Milkweed
Lambstongue Ragwort
A new gondola lift connects this complex to Palisade Tahoe's KT-22 Mountain
Lots of green in this verdant canyon
A mini-cave high in the granite cliff
Alpine Meadows Village
I cannot speak for the modern era, but there was a time when the Lake Tahoe Basin sported the largest collection of ski resorts in the world. I frequented two or three of them as a teenager, but never this one.
Hikers everywhere, above and below
The destination is behind that granite wall
The lone cabin below is hardly any bigger than the owner's car
The next quarter-mile of trail is quite tricky in spots; but what it is, it is.
There still is some work to do...
...but it doesn't seem like work to them
All right! The climbing is more or less finished. This is exciting.
A relatively rare treat
Juvenal's Duskywing Skipper
I see water ahead, off a little spur trail to the left.
Lake #1 appears
All right! It's time to start taking more pictures. Seeing that I have a real camera, the three women I had passed on the trail ask me to take a photo, so I do! Of course, I then must repeat the procedure with their own camera.
Bonnie from Tahoe, Emma May from SoCal, and Ellen from Sacramento
From here, I follow another hiker back along the trail that I believe I want, only to encounter this signpost a few minutes later:
That's odd; I thought that I already was here
Lake #2 is bigger than expected
None of this is jibing with my data, but eventually I get it. Having enlarged my map more than usual, the distances are not as great as they usually appear, and I have taken a route that I didn't need or want. This has caused me to bypass one of the lakes, so I'll have to detour back there later.
Nobody is swimming today in the ice-cold water
This message makes sense now that I know what is going on
There is a real trail along the left-hand side of the big lake, so I take it.
The only snowdrift of the day
At the end of Lake #2 is a glimpse of the next one.
A little channel leads to the next attraction
Larry is sunbathing
Social trails abound in here
Meadow Sweet
Mariposa Lily
Both of those bees are slithering around sideways in order to cover themselves with pollen.
Looking back at Lake #3
Everything is beautiful around here. This place is simply in a different league than the basin I explored two days ago. Perhaps that's why there are lots of trails here, but none at Grouse Ridge. Duh.
Most of the action is on the far side of KT-22
Lake #4
Some wanderers on the other side
My favorite spot of the day is a feel-good place
Mountain Pride
Labrador Tea
I haven't seen any campsites, though. Strange.
A little spur leads to a nice overlook:
There's the trail
More folks are coming up
Lake #4 gets my 'Best of Show' award
The gondolas are moving now, so maintenance is in progress
I guess that the two ski facilities must have merged into a mega-complex.
A little tarn hugs the edge of the cliff
This pond isn't numbered
Now it is time to backtrack over the the lake I missed earlier, but there is no trail.
Some boulder hopping is necessary
Nice!
Wow! Had I taken the right trail earlier, I never would have viewed this lake
from this side, and a great photo-op would have been missed. Serendipity.
More of Lake #5
A huge Penstemon grove
A Northern Checkerspot in the Pennyroyal
Well, this time I found all five of the lakes. Mission accomplished!
Starting back
The guys at Lake #2 are following me down
Butterballs
Purple Nightshade
I fear that it always will remain 'Squaw Valley" to me
I have been using that name since I ushered for the 1960 Olympics men's hockey final, in which the USA beat Russia 3-2. What a day that was!
It's just a dusty, sometimes rough downhill from here
I might as well extend my survey of the local flora.
Bitter Cherry
Hemlock Waterparsnip
Mountain Dandelion
Mountain Monardella
Whitethorn Ceanothus
More Sulfur Flower Buckwheat
Oneseed Pussy Paws
Lobeleaf Groundsel
Across the canyon is the haven of the richies
End of the line
§: Well, this was a real eye-opener. The lakes basin itself is so
much nicer than what I remembered from my one other excursion. Coming back here
next season with my gang is a must-do.
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