Castle Peak, Donner Pass CA

I recently went up to Castle Peak, over by Donner Pass, up at Tahoe. (Does that last sentence have enough prepositional phrases for you? :)) It was a beautiful hike with the hiking group again, and this time, it was a more relaxed pace, which was good.

Weather: Stunning--mid-high 70s to low 80s most of the day; we hiked from 9:30 to about 2 or so. No wind or clouds; just a beautiful day.

Hike: about 5 miles each way, with some significant elevation gain in the last few miles. A great trail, however--well signed. A safe single hiker trail--plenty (but not too many) of people around, it seemed. Steep in places with a little bit of tiny bouldering here and there--clamboring really. Avoid the cut offs for the switchbacks to avoid furthering erosion.

Below:We started out at Castle Peak Trailhead, and we wandered up a floury-dusty fire road, on the PCT. The dust came over your boots in places, but the path also crossed two teeny tiny creeks, determinedly chuckling over the trail:





Below:This dusty path, crossing those two tiny streams,gradually ascended and transformed into hard-packed dirt:

Below: The trail then finally metamorphosed into an even more rocky path at this point: Castle Pass junction where you can go straight across, continuing on the PCT (and to the Peter Grubb Hut---which I'm dying to see). Or you can go left and explore another trail. Or go right, as we did, and leave the PCT as we joined the Castle Peak trail up, up, and away up toward the peak:

Below: We could see the three turretted peaks of Castle Peak getting closer as we ascended the Castle Peak Trail:

Below: Looking up the trail as we left the PCT/Castle Pass junction, we could see this view:

Below: We had some pretty steep and rocky trails along the way, but it was well-signed, and the path was evident from top to bottom:

Below: The peak kept getting closer and closer and became the more impressive the closer it became:

Below: More pix of the trail as we wound our way up:

Below: You can get an idea of how steep parts of the trail was:

Below: Someone had made a cairn/shelter of sorts underneath an overhang under the first turret; it would have offered some shelter from wind perhaps, had it been a different type of weather day:

Below: Finally, we see this wonderful view from the top of the middle turret:




Below: And not a bad spot for lunch:

Below: My faithful poles enjoying the rest and the view:

Plans for future hikes in this area:

• combine this hike with a hike to nearby Baisin Peak for around 14 miles or so; I heard the trail from Baisin Peak back to Peter Grubb is a little hard to follow, so perhaps do an out and back to Baisin from Castle?
  
• at Castle Pass trail junction, go to Peter Grubb Hut and beyond to explore the PCT further.
  
• Highly recommended vigorous (but not killer) hike. Pretty high altitude--over 10K, so be prepared for that. Layers as always to accommodate wacky mountain weather.
  

Gear Comment: hiking poles are strongly recommended for stability and help in climbing: I would have had a hard time without mine on this hike.

Boots: This was my first hike in my new Merrill boots; they performed splendidly although I'll need to get one size bigger to protect by toenails on the downhill. I'll be surprised if I don't lose at least one the way my toes were banging up against the toe of the boot. Other than that, the boots were so comfortable and so grippy and so great, I completely forgot I had them on. Not bad for a hike straight out of the box. I took my Salomon in my backpack, but I didn't need them at all. Cool.