3rd post completion hike, Carson Pass to Round Top lake saddle

February 10, 2024 

Today I again met with the BAS group for a snowshoe day hike. Nine of us arrived at Carson Pass to a brisk temperature of 17°F.

We put on our snow shoes and headed up the trail. Our plan is to have lunch at Winnemucca lake and evaluate if we would like to go further towards round top lake.

Unfortunately, fairly early on one of our team members was not feeling well. She turned around, accompanied by another hiker.

As the remaining team approach Winnemucca lake, we cross a wide open section of trail. The wind was blowing hard and very cold. We continued on.

As we got to the end of the open section, we encountered some trees beautifully covered in snow on their needles.

When we come over the crest of the hill, the lake is visible. We are now in an area with some trees, and knew that we would be able to find a bit of a windbreak as we got closer to the lake. Two more team members decided to head back to the cars as the wind and cold continued.

We found a good spot for lunch and ate it fairly quickly. The wind actually began to slow and we felt a little bit warmer. The five of us remaining chose to push on in another mile to the top of the saddle which overlooks round top lake. 

Round top peak sits directly behind Winnemucca lake. 

As we continued up the hill towards round top lake saddle, we came across some really cool, looking snow drifts 

We made good time and reached the saddle. The five of us huddled in for a group shot with the frozen over Lake, almost indistinguishable behind us. 

From the saddle, we can look back at Roundtop from another angle

We turned around and began heading back the way we came. Winnemucca lake is clearly visible from our location up top of the saddle.

I haven’t yet lost all of my conditioning from the PCT. I made very good time and stopped to wait for the rest of the team.

The other four arrived and we continued down the trail. We could look back over the trees and see the saddle we had been at not too long ago.

We arrived back to the Carson Pass parking lot. Thankful for warmer temperatures and less wind on the return portion of the trip. I made a few short videos along the route, and I combined them all into one.

2nd post completion hike, Hidden Falls Park

February 8, 2024

 

Today I met up with the Bayside adventure sports Hiking Group for a beautiful hike through Hidden Falls Park just outside Auburn California.

The trail winds down a gentle drop  to a river Flowing through the valley.

Our first big treat was the hidden Falls. There’s a viewing platform adjacent to it where all seven of us got a nice group photo.

After leaving the Falls, we continued across a bridge to a second set of falls, they’re actually more of a water cascade as there’s no drop. This water Cascade also had a viewing platform above the bridge that offered great views

We continued hiking along the river eventually coming to another attractively built foot bridge crossing a small tributary.

After crossing another large vehicle size bridge, we stopped for lunch before continuing on.

We encountered many different species of fungi along the trail. It was growing on trees, the ground, old stumps, and even the underside of a large root ball from a fallen tree.

We continued alongside the river now going upstream making a full loop. As we got close to the end of the hike we were able to look across the valley and see the hidden falls close to the side of the river we had started on.

We finally arrived back at the parking lot having been blessed by great weather and very comfortable temperatures. The scenery was a beautiful, And the trail was very well maintained.