Yup. Granite Lake really looks like it does in the picture above. It was amazing.
So--for this week's hike, I went with the group to Mokelumne Wilderness/El Dorado National Forest for the first time this weekend. The terrain and scenery was a mix between the glacial lakes in Tahoe National Forest's pine and Desolation Wilderness's granite terrain; it was, therefore, a stunning place to visit.
In preparing for the hike by looking at maps and trail books, I noticed that "Granite Lake" is a fairly common name for lakes in the region (as is "Hidden Lake," "Lost Lake" and names along those lines). This week's Granite Lake, therefore, is a different lake to last week's Granite Lake. :)
In preparing for the hike also, I had gone to REI and bought a National Geographic trail map for the Mokelumne Wilderness. I like to see the big picture of how trails connect and their proximity to other areas to help me understand the area. Little did I know how essential this map would become during the hike. :)
I met the carpool group in Folsom, and on the drive up to the hike, we took the Sly Park exit off I-5. I had been wondering if the hike was going to be like Sly Park, which is a wonderful educational resource for K-12 and a beautiful lake. The area is very over-loved, however; it tends to get very crowded with folks who seem to want to bring the city to the lake--drinking while boating, playing loud music, and enjoying all the comforts of home including jet skis, crowds, and trash.
We drove quite a bit (about 30 mins or so--35 miles perhaps) past Sly Park, however, to the Plasse's Resort, through which you have to drive to get to the Allen Camp Trailhead, the trail's entrance. You can access the trail also at the top (north end) of Silver Lake too; we just went to the southern end for this hike.
Below: Plaque explaining the significance of Plasse;s Resort and the role it played in early Californian history.
Plasse's Resort is a little camping ground with a 'trading post,' a restaurant, small chalets, camping, and RVs. It had horse corrals too, but while we saw evidence of horse activity (prints, poop), we didn't see any horses at all on the hike.
Below: The trailhead: Drive to the end of the campground, past the "Trading Post" buildings, and you'll find the start of this trailhead at the Allen Camp Trailhead. Park here instead of in the restaurant parking lot; that resort parking lot charges $10 a day. The trailhead parking lot is free.
The start of the hike was a little confusing. We saw what appeared to be a mixed use trail at the end of the parking lot, and the hike map indicated a four wheel/mixed use trail for the first 1.6 miles. However, the only sign indicating an actual trail was a small sign indicating that we were to cross a creek, so we went that way. Immediately, this trail involved a complex team effort to cross a creek and then quite a lot of confusion, wandering, and exploring trying to find the trail.In retrospect, I think we followed a horse trail sign, going by the lack of footprints, but in our defense, the signs were confusing, the snow covered up much of the trail and the signs, and we were quite happy clamboring around forging our own paths.
While we didn't find the actual trail for about three hours of tromping around, we did have a lot of fun exploring, bush-whacking, off trailing, and trail-blazing. We all gelled pretty tightly as a group; we had to stay together, despite our mix of abilities and speeds, and we had to make sure everyone was accounted for often. We also had to share resources--maps, compasses, GPS, and help a mom keep track of her three under-ten kids. Our main goal, unspoken, was to make sure that everyone was safe.
I found this hike to be a very different type of hike than a hike that goes up and down a trail. Because we were off-trail, this one was much more collaborative and kind of an accidental 'team-building' experience, and I enjoyed it very much. Yes, it was mildly frustrating not to be able to find the trail, but we still walked about 8 miles or so. Since my goal for the day had been to spend a great day outside, hiking in beautiful surroundings and with fun people, and since that was exactly how the day went, I had a great time. :)
Caveat: It's important to note that at no point did we seriously think we were in danger of spending the night on the hill. We had a GPS in the group along with my new National Geographic map of the area and a declinated compass, and since we could always find a glimpse of Silver Lake, the lake by the campground, we weren't exactly lost. It is accurate to say that we lost the trail, but we weren't lost.
Always, there were plenty of hills and overlooks we could use to spy landmarks to help triangulate our location, and we could have always returned to the cars just by tromping through the forest down to the lake and returning to the campground that way.
We were determined, however, to find our destination lakes: Hidden Lake and our ultimate goal, Granite Lake, and so we continued searching.
The banks were mainly in the shaded forest and created some difficulties here and there in terms of slippery surfaces and sudden holes. On the banks, we had to be careful not to tread over a hidden stream; the banks could suddenly give way beneath your weight, and you could find yourself hip-deep in snow with an injured leg.
Snow for the most part was packed, however, and as long as you avoided the thinnest part of the bank and walked safely, you were fine. And the snow added some definite spring-time beauty to the views along with some great contrast on the granite peaks surrounding us on this hike.
Below: Periodically, we'd come out of the forest into a wonderful meadow filled with some kind of plant related to corn and about to burst into bloom in a few weeks. This meadow, for example, I think will be filled with flowers in week or so.
Below: And we often found ourselves standing on granite overlooks, stunned at the view of Pyramid Peak in front of us, Thunder Mountain behind us, and numerous unnamed peaks around us. {This picture does not do it justice in anyway.}
Below: This dark volcanic rock, completely different from the surrounding granite on this overlook, had apparently been hurled from the volanic peak in the background of the picture above. That volcanic explosion must have been significant because we found this rock several miles from that peak.
Below: Despite our ease with being "lost," we were all quite relieved to see this sign at last. We couldn't believe that, according to the trail sign, we'd only walked perhaps a mile or so.
We must have been far off track inour wanderings because we'd been walking steadily across country for about three hours, and the GPS noted that, at this point, we had walked 6 miles. :) We elected to continue onto Granite Lake, knowing that Hidden Lake was now too far gone in the day to try to find, so on we went, intrepid explorers we were. :)
Below: the way back to the trailhead took us past this unnamed smaller yet beautiful granite lake.
Below: the view from the trail to Silver Lake--about a mile or so from the car.
Stats:
- Allen Camp Trail: 1.6 miles
- Granite Lake Trail: 3.2 miles (Hidden Lake at 0.25 mile on this trail apparently)
- Minkalo Trail: 1.2 miles
Additionally, be sure to take a map and compass (:) , and know how to use them. There are plenty of resources online, REI offers map and compass classes, and libraries often have books focusing on this one topic.
You'll also need plenty of mosquito repellant; I have at least 12 bites on each arm, and those are just the ones I can see. :)
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