DISTANCE: 14.63km / 9.09 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 1202m / 3944'
TIME TAKEN: 6:36
PALISADES AT TAHOE RESORT
TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST
GRANITE CHIEF WILDERNESS
PLACER COUNTY, CA
NISENAN AND WASHOE STOLEN LAND
SOUNDTRACK: Three Inches Of Blood: Chief And The Blade
SUMMITS:
• Granite Chief: 2745m / 9006'
• Needle Peak: 2734m / 8971'
PHOTO ALBUM
MAP
Since I didn't roll into Tahoe the night before until about 1:30AM, and didn't close my eyes until about two, the mandatory minimum amount of sleep for basic human functionality, for me anyway, five hours, required me to sleep until 7AM, which was not the ideal early start that I'd hoped for. Luckily, I was tired enough to pass right out on the bench seat of the van. Awaking at 7AM, I got right out of the Eagle Point Campground, and drove up to my first Tahoe hiking expedition of the week. I was pretty unfamiliar with the area, so I accidentally drove into Alpine Meadows first, instead of my intended destination, Squaw Valley, which by the time you read this will have been renamed "Palisades Tahoe." The driving around cost me some time. After that, I drove the proper way, into Squaw Valley. Parking was not allowed at the trailhead, so I had to park in the giant lot by the "village," which is like an open air mall, so that's my first Sierra Nevada hike ever that's begun in a mall parking lot. By then it was about 8:20AM, and it was already hot. I realized I had forgotten to bring sunglasses, so then I had to go into the mall, and buy some expensively priced cheap sunglasses!
So now, it was almost 9AM by the time I started hiking. The first stretch of the Shirley Canyon Trail is a well maintained track through the woods and increasingly steep boulder landscape, up to Shirley Lake. There were multiple parties ascending, and I passed them all in due time. There were dry waterfalls on dry Shirley Creek, and with the elevation gain, views opened up of the multitudes of surrounding peaks. And out of the trees, and onto the granite, the heat amplified. Seems like most of the other hikers were going up to the lake, I took a glance at it, and then continued. My plan had been to continue south from the lake on the Solitude Trail for a hot minute, then cut cross country, directly up towards Granite Chief, possibly following the course of Squaw Creek. But I was not paying attention, and I continued on Solitude Trail for too long. I realized my error when I took my first break of the day, and determined to have a cross country section, off trail, (for some reason, it was really a slow down waste of time that probably cost me Lyon Peak), I cut back into the bush. I love how my navigational errors become the fuel for extra adventure! Up ahead, the Squaw Creek drainage looked too brushy to ascend, so I stuck to the left of the canyon. The front country nature of this hike really hit home now, as I found voluminous amounts of garbage littered about. Everything from bottle caps, to beer cans, to shoes and orphaned single ski poles. No where near the trail or even the ski lifts. Is this stuff left out here by cross country skiers in winter?
I came up a trail that wasn't on any maps, that took me to the maintenance road for the Shirley Lake Express ski lift. I then veered back into my precious "wilderness," back into the bush, determined to make a hard time of it, apparently. And now it actually got interesting, keeping left (south) in the canyon, I came to some steep hiking, pine tree shade, and even a bit of light class 3 as I climbed a chute up to the dirt road at the top. Now that I had forced a backcountry experience in the front country, I could move on. At the top of the Squaw Creek watershed, it was 11:30AM, but I was very close to Granite Chief, and I followed the trail up, never losing sight of the omnipresent ski lifts. I got to the top of Granite Chief at noon exactly, and signed the register. The day was a little hazy, but not smoky. I took in the views from all directions, and I could see the smoke from Dixie Fire in the north. I spent less than ten minutes on Granite Chief, and headed off to the next peak, Needle.
There was a faint use trail for some parts along the ridge, but mostly it was rocky, and more tedious than I was expecting. I have no Idea why I was expecting something easier. Going along the ridge, I had a bird's eye view of Needle Lake below, and other points north. By a quarter to one, I had reached the cliff band below Needle Peak: Suddenly, red volcanic rock. I veered to the north side of the ridge to get around the cliffs, and I found a chute on the north side of it with a brief class three scramble to the top, where there was an old summit register in a rusty tin can. By now, it was 1pm. I had already bought a ticket for, and was planning to use the aerial tram from High Camp, to descend to the parking lot, which would save me three miles on the back end. The last actual tram went down at 4:30PM. I was pretty sure I could make it to the day's third peak, Lyon, and back to High Camp in time for the last tram. But I decided I didn't really want to be out all day, it was hot and dry, and I was out of shape for hiking, and feeling it. My friends would start arriving at Eagle Point Campground around 4PM, and I wanted to hang out. So I abandoned Lyon Peak, a decision which irks me to this day, because it makes so much logical sense to do it line with Granite Chief and Needle, and now I have to go back and do it by it's self some day. Dumb. Should have gotten an earlier start. Should have brought sunglasses. Should have stuck to the trails: D.U.M.B.
So now, trying to get back efficiently, decided to, rather than pick my way back along the ridge, I would plunge down the hillside and hit the Tevis Cup Trail, taking that back to civilization. It was some elevation loss and regain, but I'm sure it was still ultimately faster. I reached the Tevis Cup Trail by 2PM, a dusty, well established track through the pines. By 3PM, I was at High Camp, the place where the aerial tram descends. I noticed that there was a bar there, and my ears perked up, but then I saw a tram was about to leave, so I was like "fuck it, I'm just gonna catch this one and go down, and get the fuck outta here." The view from the tram was nice, when it pulled away, I got the flutter of anticipation in my chest, like getting on a roller coaster. I hadn't ridden a ride in a long time. I was able to identify a lot of peaks of the Squaw Valley area from up there, and get a good lay of the land. Ultimately, for the tram, I paid $39 to travel 1.3 miles, the most I have ever paid to travel such a short distance, although peak hours Lyft rides in San Francisco have come dangerously close.
FURTHER READING
Granite Chief on PEAKBAGGER / SUMMITPOST
Needle Peak on PEAKBAGGER / SUMMITPOST
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