Seven of us, wanting a semi-high country hike, decided to hike at Lake Valley Reservoir where route 20 meets 80. The road in was icy from the snow so many weeks ago so we were glad we had either a four-wheel or all-wheel vehicle. Right away we were hiking through large patches of snow which grew deeper on the more protected slopes near the cabin. The going was sometimes tiring from the post-holing effect of our hiking boots. Reaching the overlook by 11 AM, we decided to ascent the dome behind it. Not wanting to go into deeper snow and brush we first climbed part way up the lower dome that seemed to merge into the larger one. This proved difficult due to the snow's slipper effect on the rocks. Using all fours, we crawled up the larger dome, trying to avoid icy areas. Once on top, we ate our lunch in a cold wind blowing off the lakes below.
Figuring our descent was going to be tricky, we went off the back of the dome curving to the left. That left us stranded on a cliff looking down at the road we wanted to take back. So we turned around and ascended again, tromping through pokey brush, rocks, and snow to get to a spot we had been to before. From there, we descended mostly through brush and into the forest of fallen trees. Then we headed back down the snowy trail to the icy lake. We had only hiked about 5.5 miles with a bit over a 1K elevation gain but we felt like we had had quite a workout.
So, 9 o'clockers, maybe you made the right decision to turn around and hike the Pioneer trail. Our hike was tricky and difficult in parts as we twisted and turned to get proper handholds, to not get poked by brush, and not slide off of the rocks. But we did have fun...especially the slidey part.
