Freel Peak

DATE: Saturday, October 10, 2020
DISTANCE: 22km / 13.66 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 1327m / 4354’
TIME TAKEN: 7:06
ELDORADO NATIONAL FOREST
EL DORADO COUNTY, CA
STOLEN WASHOE LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Deodato feat. Camille: Are You For Real?

SUMMITS:
•Trimmer Peak: 3022m / 9915
• Freel Peak: 3316m / 10,881’

PHOTO ALBUM
MAP







...continued: Previous Day's Hike: Tahoe Mountain

Freel Peak is the highest point in the Lake Tahoe Basin rim, clocking in at nearly 11,000 feet above sea level. This alone should be enough reason enough to pay it a visit. But there's more! The height and prominence of this peak provides the most complete and sweeping view of the spectacular Lake Tahoe area that you will see anywhere! And while the top of the peak is pretty much just a pile of talus, the approach hike is a treat in it's self, bringing you through locations of scenic granite majesty. This can be done as a class one hike all the way to the top if you stay on the trail. 

I was up with my alarm at 7am, Alex had slept on the open ground as he is wont to do, and he was also waking up. We were in pretty good shape, because it had been too cold outside the night before to stay up late and drink too much beer! It was our second annual October trip to stay at Fallen Leaf Lake and do some mountain climbing (last year: Mount Tallac). Our original plan today had been to approach Freel from the south, via Willow Creek Road. I’d read that some people needed 4WD to get up that grade; my van is 2WD, but high clearance at least, so I though it was worth a shot. We got to the turnoff, and then only a few hundred feet up the dirt road before I found my wheels spinning uselessly in the dust. Now, we could have just parked at the bottom of the road and walked up, this might have been more economical for time in the big picture, but instead, we decided to drive around, back to Meyers, and use the other trailhead at the end of Fountain Place Road, which probably burned an hour.

It was almost quarter past nine by the time our boots hit the dirt at Fountain Place. There are two ways to go up to Freel from there, the proper Armstrong Connector Trail to Armstrong Pass, or a gated private dirt road that leads through an inholding in the woods. The private road was more direct, supposedly steeper, and word on the street was that no one had been hassled for trespassing. We decided to take the proper trail on the way up, and maybe use the private road on the way back. The Armstrong Connector Trail was dusty and well worn by foot and mountain bike, a forest freeway. It wasn’t very direct (towards Freel Peak), but it was a nice walk, with the open granite shoulder of the mountain soon coming into view, followed by our arrival at Armstrong Pass one hour and twenty four minutes after we started out. Three different trails converge at Armstrong Pass, and we took a short break to much on a breakfast of trail mix, while two other parties came and went. From here, we now had a view to the South, and could see Hawkins Peak, among many others. From the pass, we turned north on the Tahoe Rim Trail towards Star Lake. The path starting gaining elevation in earnest now, creeping up the rocky western side of the Freel Massif. Tallac and the Crystal Range came into view. I had heard Freel Peak was a basically a pile of sand at the top (not wrong), but I had no idea about the granite wonderland that was to be passed through on the approach. We came through right below the massive rock known as “Fountain Face," Peak 9841 and it’s jagged eastern ridge appeared soon after.

It was just past noon when we got to the turnoff trail for Freel Peak (I’ll call it Freel Pass), but having admired the jumbled Granite of Trimmer Peak from down in village on last month’s visit, I was keen to give it a go. I asked Alex if he wanted to do Trimmer before or after Freel, and the results came in for Trimmer. So off we went, out to the west. We followed the rocky ridge, right over point 9885, down through a sandy saddle, and then up to the granite stronghold of Trimmer Peak. This was our first unabated view of south Lake Tahoe, which never disappoints. We could also see that a lot of clouds were blowing through, though luckily they weren’t bringing rain or snow. It took us about an hour to get to the summit of Trimmer, longer than I was expecting, but it provided much beloved extracurricular granite scrambling, and we found the summit register as well.

I thought I saw a quicker way to get back to Freel Pass, and I led us back, this time cutting to the south of Point 9885. This proved to be a terrible idea, with much sidehilling on loose scree, steep plunging cliffs, and a struggle to not lose and regain elevation. It was very tedious, and it burned more precious October daylight than necessary, taking another full hour to get back on track for our Freel ascent. Now 2:30PM, it was getting cloudier and colder, but we pushed on, and made it to the final 1,200 feet to the top in less than an hour. It was very brisk and windy, but Alex had thoughtfully brought a flask filled with Scotch whiskey, so that helped. The previous party had already gone down, so we didn’t have to share it either! Now at almost 11,000 feet, at the highest point on the Tahoe Rim, we had a 360 degree view of the surroundings, snowless mountains, the lake, now slate grey beneath the clouds, the drier expanse of Nevada to the east. We spent about 20 minutes up there, and decided to forgo any more bonus peaks (Jobs, etc.) due to the waning daylight (almost 4PM now), and the cold winds. I had hoped to also include Jobs Peak and Job’s Sister in the day’s hike, but apparently I had traded them for Trimmer.

Now that it was time to go back down, the more direct trail through Trout Creek Canyon seemed worth a shot. Down we went, the trail plunging down a steep sandy hill, which was fun to descend, and would have been a pain to come up. So we accidentally made the right choice in trails. There was one final view of the fabulous cliffs of Peak 9841, and then we were down into the aspens on the canyon floor. The trail almost disappeared, at times, in the thicket, but this was easily forgiven with the beautiful fall colors surrounding. Soon, we came to an old fenceline, saw "No Trespassing" signs, and we were in the old Fountain Place property inholding. The trail became a dirt road, and like an omen, we saw a shotgun shell lying in our path. The omen turned out to be meaningless, though. We saw a few a dilapidated structures in the distance, one car parked, but no people. And then, just like that, we were through the gate, back at the trailhead parking lot, no trouble! Just over seven hours out. We went back to Fallen Leaf Campground to stay another night.

To be continued: Sunday, October 11, Echo Peak!

FURTHER READING
• Ted’s Outdoor World: A very similar route to ours (minus Trimmer)
• The Outbound: Another description
• Trimmer Peak on PEAKBAGGER
• Freel Peak on SUMMITPOST and PEAKBAGGER