Ed Hopkins trip in September

Ed Hopkins of Baltimore provided me a link to photos of a five day trip in September. The photos have captions that tell much of the story of his trip. He camped two nights at Little Needle Lake, which I’ve not been to yet, and explored that northern area. Thanks, Ed, for sharing.

Powderhorn 2009-09-23

Fireweed fall color

I finally got back into the Granite Chief this week for three days, going in at Powderhorn Trailhead which is just west of Barker Pass. Fall colors are coming, but the aspen trees which are often the brightest are just starting, and the vine maple seems subdued this year, as likely to be pale white or pale yellow as bright yellow. I don’t think there have been any freezes since August, and though the calendar says fall, the days were still summer, quite warm. And the mornings refreshingly cool. I did quite a bit of exploring, checking out Little Powderhorn and Laddie’s Cove, the lower end of the Five Lakes Creek gorge, and the mesa between Powderhorn and Little Powderhorn canyons.

map in Topo! Explorer

I’ve finally transferred the information in a National Geographic Topo! file to Topo! Explorer online. I was waiting for National Geographic to update the Topo! Explorer desktop software to solve a number of usability and accuracy problems, but this has not happened in many months, and I suspect they have abandoned software development. Nevertheless, the interactive online version may be of some use to you, so I’ve shared it through Topo! Explorer online, at http://www.topo.com/trips/2364-granitechief. The .tpo file for the traditional Topo! desktop software is still available.

trail maintenance

Dan Lutz, Assistant Recreation Officer for Trails and Wilderness for the Truckee Ranger District of Tahoe National Forest, sent this trail maintenance information on August 4:

Glad to hear you were out in the wilderness and noticed the hard work the crews have put in there so far. We have had a couple crews go in there – one was a fire crew we try to go in there together annually. They help us out logging out the trails as they work on some training exercises. We get alot of work completed with this 10-person crew for 4 days. They were in Big Springs area and working north-south and then also the Shanks Cove trail. Additionally, we had a volunteer group spiked at Diamond Crossing and they worked on the Hellhole trail for about 5-6 days. Lots of maintenance needed there. Then we had our regular trails crew on the northern portion of the PCT from Squaw to Five Lakes.

Off-trail explorations 2009-07-16

Washington Lily

On a four day backpack from Barker Pass, I did quite a bit of exploring off trail and on old trails. The snow has really disappeared since I was last in the wilderness in June, with just patches on or close to the trail now. And of course there are a lot more flowers now, except on the ridgelines where the flowers were already great.

I explored Grouse Creek from the PCT down to the Five Lakes Trail. In the upper part I stayed as close to the creek as possible, but in the lower canyon it becomes too difficult to do so, and the bear trail led me out onto the ridge to the northwest, with great views back up Grouse Creek and up and down Five Lakes Creek. Washington lilies were poking up through the manzanita thickets on the ridge, and down along the ridge a number of dry rocky plants were blooming.

PCT survey backpack

Snow on the trail at wilderness boundary

On two short backpack trips from June 11 to 16, I surveyed the PCT from Barker Pass to Tinkers Knob. About half the trail was snow covered at the time, so I can’t say too much about tread conditions, but I did record the downed trees, of which there are a moderate number, some from last year (or several years ago in one case), and some from this year. Since over a month has passed since these trips, I won’t post the details about snow and trail conditions because they have changed.

There is a sign at the junction of the PCT and what I call the Western States Trail that says Tevis Trail and points at an angle for the trail departing to the west. I don’t remember seeing this sign before, thought it is well weathered, so perhaps it was on the ground and only recently placed back on a post. I still think this trail should be called Western States Trail since it seems to be the most common route of that trail over the years. The course for both the horse and running races has changed many times over the years.

Since the road to Barker Pass was still closed by snow, I walked up the 4WD road and back down the paved road. Once was enough, for both.

Picayune Valley

I finally got to Picayune Valley, which rounds out my effort to see all the trails of Granite Chief. I came in from Alpine Meadows trailhead, which is the fastest way into the wilderness, went through Whiskey Creek Camp, and camped at the saddle above Picayune Valley.

Powderhorn to Shanks Cove 2008-08-31

columnar lava in Powderhorn Valley

I had an enjoyable four day backpack from Powderhorn Trailhead, through Powderhorn Valley, to Shanks Cove and Grayhorse Valley to Whiskey Creek Camp and return. I was planning on getting into Picayune Valley, where I’ve not been yet, but lost a day off the trip and couldn’t fit it in. Next time!

Website for Granite Chief Wilderness

After some experience with this WordPress blog, I’ve realized that some kinds of information would be better and more easily presented on a regular website, so I’ve created one at http://granitechief.raincloudpub.com/. Check the links in the right hand column under Companion Website. For now, the Trail Conditions and Water pages will be available in both places. Resources have been moved to the website.

Granite Chief Trail 2008-08-24

For the first time, I hiked up the Granite Chief Trail which links Squaw Valley with the Pacific Crest Trail just north of the wilderness. I went on to the top of Granite Chief at 9006 feet, with a clear view in all directions.