DISTANCE: 25.1km / 15.6 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 1,245m / 4,085’
TIME TAKEN: 9 hours
ELDORADO NATIONAL FOREST
HUMBOLDT TOIYABE NATIONAL FOREST
ALPINE COUNTY, CA
ELDORADO COUNTY, CA
SOUNDTRACK: Shrine Of The Serpent: King In Red
SUMMITS:
• Red Lake Peak: 3067m / 10,063’
• Crater Lake Peak: 2972m / 9,750’
• Stevens Peak: 3066m / 10,059’
• Peak 9,442’ / 2878m
• Peak 9,211’ / 2808m
• Peak 8665’ / 2641m
PHOTO ALBUM
MAP
…continued.
I had been out trying to hit the summits and trails in the Sierras for five days, and on the sixth day, I finally got the early start I’d hoped for every time. Up at 5:30, barely anything to clean up at camp, up the road to the Meiss / Pacific Crest Trailhead at Carson Pass, a quick brekky out the back of the van, and I was off at 6:30AM. There’s an unofficial trail that goes up to Red Lake Peak, from the parking lot, which I didn’t find at first, because I walked the wrong way out of the parking lot. I circled back a little, over the rocks and found the trail, which I was able to follow all the rest of the way to the top, through the alpine brush and volcanic outcroppings. The sun had now just come up, and Red Lake, below, was shining like a mirror. To the south, majestic morning light illuminated the massif from Elephants Back to Round Top to The Sisters, and on to Caples Lake. For an unofficial trail, this one was very strong, and I was making good progress. It wasn’t long before i gained enough elevation to see my first view of Lake Tahoe.
When I got up to the top, my first stop was the southern “prow” that looked out over Carson Pass. But this was not the summit. To the north was was an ominous series of of igneous extrusive columns. According to GPS, the south one was the high point, so I climbed it, fun class 3, this volcanic rock ain’t so bad as long as it’s not falling apart! In fact, it can be really good, with the chunky formations in the conglomerate rock forming handholds. From the top of the “summit,” the next formation looked taller, so I climbed that one too, just to be sure. I had a good view of my adventures from a few days back: Raymond Peak and Silver Peak in the distance beyond. I had felt very tired when I first started out, and I thought maybe I would do RLP only, but by now I was feeling invigorated, and decided to continue along the ridge, following my original master plan. Though it is not on any map, there is a solid trail from RLP all the way to the base of Peak 9211, and beyond. The trail would come on really strong sometimes, and then suddenly disappear. Then, as I continued cross country, I would meet the trail again, as it came in from another direction, and I would be like “where the fuck have you been?”
I crossed Crater Lake Peak, and hopefully it’s summit, it’s a pretty flat mound, and from there I took a look down at the whimsically named lake from which the “peak” takes it’s name. Moving on from there, I was on top of Stevens Peak by 9:20AM. More distinctive than Crater Lake Peak, it had class 2 sharp rock piles on top, and a great view of the organ pipe volcanic cliffs / columns that fell below Peak 9442’. Back on the main ridge, after Stevens Peak, I shed some of the extra layers of clothing, because it was warming up, approaching 10AM. Continuing north, I must have crossed Peak 9442’, because I was sticking to the ridgeline, but I barely noticed it. By 10:40AM, I broke off my relationship with the fickle use trail, and headed up to Peak 9211, going north-west now to do my big loop. The trail seemed to continue it’s own way, to the north-east, probably to Waterhouse Peak.
There was a standard rocky outcrop to crown Peak 9211, but a surprise when an adorable fawn erupted from the bushes and bounded away, followed moments later by a second one. then I glanced downhill saw a Marmot! This must be the wildlife section of the hike. Down the hill I went, headed for cross country uncharted territory. West off of Peak 9211’ was brushy, so I headed for the pines, and followed them down to a bubbly little creek. Up the other side of the ravine, I was aiming for Peak 8665, but my aim was off, and I went too much due west, I should have cut north-west to the saddle, I could have saved myself some elevation gain and loss. During this time, I crossed a mysterious old trail, but didn't follow it. Before I got to my summit destination, I reached the top of the rocky cliffs that rise above Round Lake. Following the cliff edge north, there was an excellent view down at the lake. The top of Peak 8665 had a cairn with a stick poking out like a flagpole, the only marker of any kind that I saw on any of the peaks that day. North-northwest down the ridge now, through light forest. I reached the Meiss / Tahoe Rim Trail in a half hour, the first official trail I’d been on all day, followed immediately by the first other hikers I’d seen all day. Around the next bend, to my surprise, I came upon a gentleman playing flamenco guitar. He was good! I felt like I was in Disneyland now, entertainment provided.
Just after 12:30PM, I was at the shore of Round Lake. There were a few scattered camps of people around. I decided to circle the lake around the west side, so I could take in the view of the towering cliffs above. There is a pretty strong use trail around (most of) the west side, but I made it more difficult for myself by intentionally avoiding all the camps of people. I stopped briefly to dunk my feet and take a break at one isolated spot I found. The use trail dissipated by the time I reached the southwest corner of the lake, and there was some pretty bad swamp / bushes / alpine jungle. I had to backtrack a little, and try a few different options before I got through, but I did it without too much real bushwhacking. Shortly after that, I rejoined the main trail near the southeast corner of the lake. Now, with no more peaks to climb, and no more lakes to circumambulate, I picked up the pace. Through the woods, then across pastoral Meiss Meadow to hit the PCT in less than an hour. I had a good view to the east of Carson Ridge, the four peaks I had climbed across in the morning. there were a few hikers around, and an especially big group crossing a creek near the trail junction. They paused to let me pass by. Back in Oakland I don’t look like a very threatening person, but on the trails, i must look some kind of savage barbarian bandit, because the yuppies, Girl Scouts, and retirees give me a lot of space. More easy undulating terrain, one more hour on the PCT, and I was back at the van at 3:42PM. I drank my last beer, and drove back to my parents’ house down in Jackson.
FURTHER READING
• Tahoe Trail Guide: A different approach to RLP
• Outdoor Project: A little history on RLP
• Bob Burd: Bob on Red Lake Peak
• Red Lake Peak on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• Crater Lake Peak on PEAKBAGGER
• Stevens Peak on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER
• Peak 9,442 on PEAKBAGGER
• Peak 9,211 on PEAKBAGGER
• Peak 8665 on PEAKBAGGER
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