After three fairly long hiking days we were treated to our first moderate day, a nine mile hike from Kingsbury Grade to Star Lake. The hike started off under the Stagecoach Lift at Heavenly and then winds it way around and traverses a mountainside overlooking Carson Valley. Along the way there are some gorgeous views looking out across the Great Basin. The route crosses Monument Pass where it enters back into the Tahoe Basin. Along the way there are some beautiful old junipers (photo below) and eventually some nice lake views. After refreshing at our pit stop at the rental house at Kingsbury Grade we were all feeling pretty good. Carl had dropped about 10 pounds of his pack weight. Holly was starting to get used to the altitude.
Star Lake turned out to be a beautiful lake. In fact, it is probably one of the nicest lakes along the entire TRT. However, it was also very popular and kind of noisy. We had the unfortunate experience of camping next to some sort of "hoods in the woods" type of group. They were quite noisy for much of the evening but eventually quieted down before going to sleep. Colleen and I took the opportunity to go for an evening hike up Freel Peak, which at 10,886 feet is the highest peak in the Tahoe Basin. Needless to say the views are quite spectacular and include expansive views of Lake Tahoe, Carson Valley, and the sierra peaks to the south. Carl had his first opportunity to set up his tent-fly shelter which we began to refer to as "the homeless shelter" because of its ad hoc appearance. Nonetheless, the homeless shelter turned out to be a great weight savings, so I think that Carl felt that it was a better option than lugging a heavy tent around the entire lake.
No comments:
Post a Comment