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| destination from the valley |
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| from the top: Basin ridge trail |
Two groups - both went similar amount of miles but one went high up in the Sierra and one stayed near 20.
Our group of 9 decided to go to Frog Lake Overlook. Access to the the Sierra being limited due to construction and snow, we parked on the north side of 80 at the Boreal Exit. We headed across the meadow, figuring on getting to the proper trail on Jim's "shortcut". The stream in the meadow stopped us cold...no way to cross. Re figuring our plan, we decided to head up either Andesite Peak or at least to the pass above the meadow. Trudging over huge snowbanks was exhausting work as we wended our way up the road/trail - too snowed in to see the Andesite trail, we headed up to the pass. The ridge was relatively clear of snow so we decided to head up Castle Peak, not the top. But the hiking was easier on terra firma and pretty soon we were headed up the steep part. Two of us decided to stay back with two others who had stopped pretty far up the ridge, one of whom was a driver...the view was already fantastic and the driver needed to get back home at a decent time. Five of us went on to the peak. The weather up there was delightful - not that heavy wind we sometimes experience. We ate lunch while enjoying the view from Lassen to mountains beyond Heavenly, the Coast range to Nevada. Dave named the peaks in his usual knowledgeable fashion.
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| remaining photos by Maureen, including |
Heading down was the really hard part, knees complaining as we slipped and slid in the loose gravel, mostly upright but not always. The flowers were abundant: Mule's Ears, Lupine, Phlox, Stick seed, Penstemon, various lower tufted plants - buck wheat family and Pussy Paws. There were a few Mariposa Lillies as well. Corn Lillies were trying to grow where the snow was melting lower down but it looked like they needed to flower low due to the delayed season.
The snowpack in the woods seemed just as bad as earlier only this time we were doing more boot skiing heading off of them. Miraculously we were back at the cars at 3:30, apparently only an hour after the other group.
Our group of 9 decided to go to Frog Lake Overlook. Access to the the Sierra being limited due to construction and snow, we parked on the north side of 80 at the Boreal Exit. We headed across the meadow, figuring on getting to the proper trail on Jim's "shortcut". The stream in the meadow stopped us cold...no way to cross. Re figuring our plan, we decided to head up either Andesite Peak or at least to the pass above the meadow. Trudging over huge snowbanks was exhausting work as we wended our way up the road/trail - too snowed in to see the Andesite trail, we headed up to the pass. The ridge was relatively clear of snow so we decided to head up Castle Peak, not the top. But the hiking was easier on terra firma and pretty soon we were headed up the steep part. Two of us decided to stay back with two others who had stopped pretty far up the ridge, one of whom was a driver...the view was already fantastic and the driver needed to get back home at a decent time. Five of us went on to the peak. The weather up there was delightful - not that heavy wind we sometimes experience. We ate lunch while enjoying the view from Lassen to mountains beyond Heavenly, the Coast range to Nevada. Dave named the peaks in his usual knowledgeable fashion.
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