Despite all that I find January, February and March the best times to go hiking and camping. Primarily for those very reasons stated above: nobody in their right mind wants to do either. And as my family and friends will tell you, I lost my mind a long time ago. Most camping areas are open without the need to reserve months in advance. More than once I have gone online and made reservations for the weekend the Monday or Tuesday before. The trails are nearly empty and the wildlife is out and easier to spot and view than any other time during the year.
For this particular weekend in January the troop decided they wanted to attempt a snow camp trip to North Tahoe Regional Park in Tahoe Vista (http://northtahoeparks.com/north-tahoe-regional-park). Typically this is a great place to go snow camping: lots of snow, lots of snowshoe trails, a nice hill for sledding right in the parking lot, lots of drifts to dig snow caves and snow shelters, and a heated bathroom to retreat to if the night gets a little too chilly. I have snow camped there many times and even completed my Okpik cold weather training there (http://www.scouting.org/Training/Adult/Supplemental/ColdWeatherCamping.aspx). But due to the warm winter this year the campground was mostly ice and mud. I don't mind camping in ice and mud when I don't have a choice, but to go intentionally is a little crazier and nuttier than even I will submit to.
So my younger son Gavin and I accepted an invitation from Crew 136 to stay at a condo they had access to in Nevada at the top of Daggett Summit off Highway 207. With the accommodations settled the two of us planned on meeting another two hikers at the Mt. Rose trailhead in the northeastern corner of Tahoe Saturday morning for a day hike of the Mt. Rose Wilderness.
The timing was perfect. The skies were a sharp blue and the temperature was a nice 60 degrees. Mt. Rose itself was completely bare of snow and the trailhead parking lot at 9,000 had only a few scraps of melting ice. It was looking up to be the ultimate weather for a hike...
The trailhead. Of course the bathrooms were closed for the winter...
The sign for the Tahoe Rim Trail and the Mt. Rose Wilderness. The trail goes up the short rise, then turns to the right and comes to a junction. One route is for hikers only, the other is for bikes and horses.
The Tahoe Rim Trail. My favorite long-distance trail in the Tahoe area.
The junction. Five miles to to the top of Mt. Rose.
The first real snow we saw on the trail. The trail continues straight then curves around the pine just left of the center of the photo.
A slight incline but the trail soon leveled out. I had not learned yet to hate steps...
A view of northern Lake Tahoe. Incline Village is straight center below the rise. On the far side of the lake is Tahoe City and Desolation Wilderness.
Quick break. The weather was warmer than we expected so we started stripping off the outer layers.
Just a cool sandstone rock formation.
The trail starts to curve in to follow the ridgeline of Tamarack Peak.
The first snow field that we came across. It was mostly ice that cracked under our boots.
The further in we hiked the deeper the snow fields...the trail is marked by the footprints of those that had gone before us.
So far the longest patch of snow we had encountered.
A nice patch of snow that was almost untouched. The footprints indicate where the trail lies.
Along the ridgeline of Tamarack Peak. We started hitting deeper and deeper patches of snow. Luckily for us the trail was still popular during the winter months and previous hikers kept the trail well marked with the passage of their boots.
Most of the trail was hard packed snow due to the previous hikers, though there were sections that were a little more soft and slippery.
At some points the trail became very difficult to navigate. One misstep and we would tumble downward.
A view back towards the parking lot, just around the side of the mountain to the right.
It was still early morning so the snow hadn't felt the full force of the suns rays yet, but we could feel and see the patches of melting snow beneath our boots.
This field was so pristine all of us fought the urge to drop our packs and try body sledding down the hill...
Me and my younger son Gavin.
On the northern side of Tamarack Peak.
Our first glimpse of Mt. Rose.
Dry ground. The last stretch of actual trail before we lost it entirely. It disappeared under three feet of snow with tracks going every which way. We orientated ourselves as best as we could and headed out cross country...
Heading down a steep drift before reaching a shallow path.
Following the beaten path to the sound of running water.
We emerged not to far from the actual trail, which is straight ahead on the other side of the trees. We crossed the stream and made our way to the marked junction.
Coming out of the treeline we saw the telephone pole, made a right turn and came out near the actual trail. Mt. Rose is to the left.
Gavin crossing the creek.
A close-up of the creek. This is a year-round creek, and the only source for water during the summer months.
Follow the leader. The marked junction is straight ahead and just to the right of center. The trail to Mt. Rose is to the right just within the treeline. I marked this area for future backpacking trips. This would be a great place to bring in some scouts, set up a camp, then do a day hike to the summit without having to worry about making the last three miles out to the trailhead in the dark.
We reach the marked junction and are back on the trail.
The tricky part. Most of this area was either melted ice or ice so thin that any weight would crack and send you into a foot of water. For the most part we carefully slid along without raising our boots.
Skating on ice...Mt. Rose is in the background.
Heading up the trail to the summit.
Heading up into the saddle. Most of this was melted snow and the trail was either ice, melting ice or mud. We had to step carefully. When we reached the saddle, no more than a mile from the top, Gavin started feeling nauseous and complained of a headache. Since we were coming up on 10,000 feet we immediately suspected AMS, or Acute Mountain Sickness -- otherwise known as altitude sickness. We stopped, gave him some to time to sit and drink some water, then we headed back down. Though the summit was just within our grasp, it was not worth risking his life.
Heading back down the trail to the meadow below.
After hitting the marked junction we were able to stay on the correct trail and came across another beautiful sight: another sign and a waterfall frozen in time...
The sign.
And the waterfall...
An expanded view.
The way out. We came across a few more possible trail directions later on, but using our sense of direction, and common sense, we had no more problems staying on the trail and making our way back to the trailhead.
Out of the snow and almost back to the parking lot. It was late in the day and the sun was starting to go down. Gavin and I were already looking forward to the hot tub back at the condo...
Back at the trailhead. Gavin had already stripped down out of his soaked shoes and pants. He was ready to hit the hot tub the minute we pulled in.
Celebrating after a successful hike. We may not have made it to the summit but we enjoyed a fun adventure, gotten a little lost, and made it back alive with no injuries. I can't think of a better ending to a hiking trip.
Gavin and I said good bye to our hiking partners who went on to join the troop and drove back to our condo on the south side of the lake. We enjoyed a long dip in the hot tub, then Gavin went on to make a spectacular spaghetti dinner for us and our hosts, Crew 136. The Crew had enjoyed the day doing some skiing and helping the troop set up cold weather shelters. We topped off the evening with some hot chocolate and watched the movie The World's End, (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213663/), which was a much better story than the beginning suggested.
Mt. Rose Wilderness: http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gDfxMDT8MwRydLA1cj72BTJw8jAwjQL8h2VAQAzHJMsQ!!/?ss=110519&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&navid=110160000000000&pnavid=110000000000000&recid=11768&actid=51&ttype=recarea&pname=Lake%2520Tahoe%2520Basin%2520Mgt%2520Unit%2520-%2520Mt.%2520Rose%2520Wilderness
http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/wildView?WID=396
Crew 136: http://www.crew136.com/
The best website to research AMS, or altitude sickness: http://www.altitude.org/altitude_sickness.php
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