It's Friday! 9/16/23

 

I thought I knew what I was talking about, but I didn't.  I was sure we were on our way to hike Donner Peak, up in the high country, but we weren't.  By driving up I-80 and exiting at Boreal Ridge Rd, we'd park and hike up to Donner Summit.  Easy-peasy.  Wrong.  When we exited and parked, nothing looked familiar.  I guess I should've looked it up on AllTrails before we left.  Oh well.  We were all ready to go, so off we went, on the PCT, with an unknown destination because we didn't know this trail at all.

Sometimes the destination doesn't matter, as a journey into the Sierra's is always nourishment for the soul.  We were happy to be Out and About on this unknown-to-us, but well-trod trail.

The path itself was kinda sketchy in places, as you see above:  Roots 'n rocks.  Beneath the trees, we appreciated the soft leaf/needle compost underfoot.  We alternated sun with shade, and first we went down-down-down and then up-up-up, and then we repeated the pattern!

Look at this extensive granite "slab" littered with giant boulders!  This was next to the trail, not part of it.  Our elevation here was roughly 7,000'.

We passed several small ponds with clear, tannic water.  One had a large population of Bullhead Catfish, which isn't necessarily good as they can overpopulate and "stunt in ponds."  These guys were still small, maybe three-four inches long, but we saw lots.

Paralleling I-80, not close but within earshot, it became a background "white noise."  Eventually the trail turned south and the sound disappeared.  We saw a couple of day hikers early on and then we were alone.  When we finally gained the first high spot, we were sorta surprised to see Donner Lake, but then we realized where the trail would take us.  

Ain't nature's designs grand?

Not many wildflowers were blooming this late in the year.  I spotted a few Pink Spirea, including the flower with bee, above.  In semi-sunny areas, Indian Paintbrush and Checker Bloom still flowered, and Aster and Goldenrod color foretold autumn's imminence.

By gollies, here we are!  Three-and-a-half miles in and we're up top, overlooking Hwy 40 (old Lincoln Hwy, way down below) and the snow sheds and the China Wall, places we know from past hikes.  We knew how to get down to Hwy 40, but didn't need to.  Instead, this was our turn-around point.

Yup, we parked the day packs, sat on a boulder in the shade and ate our lunch.  Behind Jimmy is George R. Stewart Peak at 7,389'.  If I looked off to my right, I'd see the snow sheds and China Wall.  As we were leaving, a large group of young adults (kids, really!) bounded up the boulders from Hwy 40, nodded to the two old fogeys, and continued their caper up to Stewart Peak.  Just a lark, right?

The afternoon was perfect, warm with a fresh breeze, maybe 75/ish.  On our return, we were aware that all the downhills we had would now be uphills, and our ol' bodies protested, but no matter.  As we made our way, we marveled at the stamina of the PCT thru-hikers.  This is a really tough trail.  Being younger helps, I'm sure.  Meanwhile, we were treated to views (across I-80) of our big buddy from three years ago -- legendary Castle Peak.  Click on the blue link to read about it.

I'd listened to the weatherman the night before and he said "no thunderstorms for the Sierra tomorrow," and I believed him.  When we saw the gray clouds forming, I wasn't worried.  Nope, no thunder, no rain.

We love hiking up here.

Nice balancing act.

Like the brilliant red Snow Plant in spring,

these rosy Pine Drops always catch my attention.

Finally, we came back to the granite slab.  Hi Jimmy!  One nice thing about an out-and-back trail is you see stuff on the return that you missed on the way out.  We were so finished with the switchbacks and uphill/downhill, elevation gain/loss, and we were both tired.  We rated this ourselves as "moderately challenging."  Seven miles and our dogs were barking!  We didn't make it to Donner Summit (oops!), so we'll save that for another time, now that we KNOW how to get there!

I don't know if this map is of any use to you guys, but here 'tis anyway.  The Prius was parked where the blank spot is from everybody's finger pointing to it, and we followed the PCT (red line) down to about Lake Angela.  Our only time to hike exclusively on the PCT.  This entire map area is a great locale to get in some aerobic exercise!  Awful pretty, too.

Snow, anyone? Monday, 2/20/23

I can show you some snow!  Quite a few "Atmospheric Rivers" dumped tons of snow on NorCal from last December right up to now, with more coming this week.  We've been reading about all the Sierra snow and wanted to see it for ourselves.  With nothing else on our schedule (hooray) and a sunny day forecast, we hopped in the Prius mid-morning and drove the 60 miles uphill to Truckee ... and lunch there in town.

We exited the freeway at Soda Springs and drove to Truckee on the old Lincoln Highway (Rte 40), amazed to see these sights!  I asked Jimmy to stand in front of this snow pile for show 'n tell.  Wowzers!

I don't know exactly what this is, an opening to a dwelling?  

Rte 40 parallels I-80, but this winding highway is much more interesting.  You see Donner Lake in upper mid-photo.  Fluffy white snow completely covers those nearby polished granite boulders.  Mountains deep with snow.  Looks like a postcard. 😊

Ah, the "China Wall, where Jimmy and I have hiked numerous times.  See the flat, sort of rectangular thing in the center?  That's the Wall, near the Snow Sheds (not visible).  If you enlarge the photo, you'll see people below the Wall and lots of sledding (or skiing) tracks down the slope.  We allowed as how we didn't need to hike up that slope today!  

The Rainbow Bridge

with a red truck crossing it.

Reflections on Donner Lake.

We stopped at Donner Memorial State Park for a few minutes.  Behind Jimmy is the famous Pioneer Monument, built to commemorate the California emigrants traveling west during the mid-1800's.  The VC features exhibits that illuminate the Emigrant Experience, the Donner Party, the Land of the Washoe, Chinese construction of the railroad, and early motoring adventures over Donner Pass.

Basketball court turned ice rink.  Check out that roof!

Oh heck, I forgot to take a picture of lunch.  Because Monday was a federal holiday (Presidents Day), Truckee was crowded with visitors.  Lots of families were Out and About, having been sledding or tubing or skiing with the kids.  Restaurants had waiting lines.  However, we enjoyed our lunch at Moody's Bistro located in the Truckee Hotel (established in 1873, it's seen its share of wild west figures, adventure seekers, foodies, actors, and musicians).

Red-breasted Nuthatch nibbling pine seeds.

We thought a little hike on the fairly level Truckee Legacy Trail would be okay.  It was a bit sketchy getting down to the trail from the parking lot, and then you see the path (above) wasn't clear of ice and snow.

However, it was mostly dry where it wasn't shaded.  We tread lightly on the icy sections and walked maybe a mile before coming upon a treacherously icy incline, and we turned around.  The temp was in the low 50's, sort of neither hot nor cold, but it was nice to feel the sunshine.

A plaque celebrates "Our Truckee River Legacy Trail."

The snow resembles meringue before the broiler.

Here's the river!

We thought these snow-topped structures were crazy, and the patterns of the snow kinda cool, but how can the roofs withstand the weight?  My fav is the pic on the lower right, a Dumpster with a giant marshmallow on top!  Kidding, of course, but good luck emptying that Dumpster!

In August of 2020, we climbed Castle Peak, a grueling eight-mile R/T, but which was also kinda fun, go figure.  We're pretty sure this is Castle Peak, dead center, above, but forget about hiking today!

Heading home from Truckee to Nevada City on I-80, and we've never seen the surrounding mountains so beautiful, chock-a-block full of needed snowpack (and the road nice and clear), and another series of storms on the way.

Speaking of on the way, I suppose we could've just stayed home and waited for flakes to fall here, as the weather folks have predicted, beginning tomorrow (Tuesday), and lasting days on end.  The difference is -- we didn't have to shovel snow in the Sierras!  Thank goodness.  Looks like we have a series of humdingers headed our way.  By the time this ends, we'll be MORE THAN READY to head for South America!

Over the Summit, Fri, 8/7/20

The 7,000+ ft Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada Mtns can get 35-40 ft of snow a year and sometimes 40-60 ft. Snow drifts can be dozens of feet high. And then there are avalanches! When the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869, it traversed these mountains. Snow sheds were built to protect the track (people and freight), first of wood (fire hazard), later of concrete. Still later, this track was abandoned; the trains moved along a track further south.  But the sheds remain.  Jimmy and I have walked inside these sheds a couple of times, but not all the way.  We've even brought friends and relatives to see/walk the sheds.  But, curious citizens as we are, Jimmy and I have wondered just how far the snow sheds run, as in how many miles?  Today we'd find out the answer.  Inquiring minds want to know ....

This is close to where we finished up, overlooking beautiful Donner Lake.  You see motor boats zipping through the blue water.  Donner Summit is to your left out of the photo.

But this is where we began, at the western end.  Rather than one very long snow shed, these are broken into sections.  The one above serves as an overpass for a local road.

Graffiti?  Yes, everywhere.  Some artistic, others just a "Kilroy was here" type.  We've decided that ladders must be hidden somewhere so the doodlers don't have to 'em lug up and down the mountain every time.  They paint high.  Two of the tunnels (snow sheds) were wet down the center as above, but the sides were dry, so our feet remained dry.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

If you're willing to do a bit of boulder-hopping, you can explore further.  Behind Jimmy is one of the sheds, but we were looking for a different trail along the willows, which we found and which led only to the next shed.  Oh well.

Free entertainment along the way, too.

Watching rock climbers always makes me catch my breath.

The trail by the willows was ablaze in summer flowers.

You see people atop the cliff next to red x in above photo?  We've stood there ourselves on past hikes looking down at the China Wall where we were standing today (below).  Makes for a nice, fairly lengthy loop hike.  More folks are hiking up the rocks bottom center.  The road is Historic Hwy 40, leading to Rainbow Bridge.

This might be the longest shed:  Tunnel 6, which ran 1,659 ft through the summit ridge at Donner Pass.  Truly, it seems to go on forever!  Jimmy stands at the China Wall base and the tunnel entrance.

Plenty of natural light in this section.  You see what I mean about a ladder?

Out the other side now, and gazing toward from whence we came.  The straight dark line is the long snow shed.

Butterflies (including attractive Lorquin's Admiral) on Western Hemlock.

The sheds were built into the mountainsides where possible.

Some are cathedral-like in their interior "design" and hushed atmosphere.  All are cool/ish.  Today we encountered throngs of visitors at the beginning.  The snow sheds had been advertised in the Sac Bee newspaper as a swell day trip with/for the kids, and, Holy Moly, they came in droves!  This was our first experience with COVID crowds.  Some wore masks (we wore ours when near anyone); many chose not to wear any.  As we suspected, when the tunnels and darkness wore on, folks got tired and bored with it and turned around, so we were left with relative peace and quiet, like above.  I used a flash on this pic.

Aha!  We got to the end.  No more snow shed, just a wall.  This was it.  Roughly two-and-a-half miles of tunnels one way.  That being said, initially many more miles of sheds were built, but all have been dismantled.  We had to go back the same way, which made it a five-miler.  Now we know.

I took a few photos on the way back (yes, we were walking on railroad rocks the entire time, hard on the feet).  This walk in these tunnels was really interesting, not for the graffiti, but for the history.

This entrance was kinda creepy, but the tunnel sides and roof changed as we went along, when the engineers switched to cement slabs instead of native rock.  Good thing the area isn't earthquake-prone.

Aiming for the tunnel entrance at the end of the gravel path.

Layer upon layer of paint.  In some places, we could smell the paint spray, so our masks came in handy!  First time we've ever smelled fresh paint.

The best one, in our opinions.

Here I've stepped out of a tunnel to look around, and I spied the previous tunnel entrance (red x).  Large openings were spaced every now and again in the tunnels (which made me feel better, I can tell you), probably to evacuate people if needed.  So ... that was our day.  Fun for us.  What'll we do next week?