Mount Judah in the Sierra Nevada

On last Wednesday, July 24, my brothers and my sister-in-law and I got up early - before 6 - to hit the trail and hike up Mount Judah.  This turned out to be a beautiful hike in the Sierra Nevada, and I can now add California to my states hiked in list.  I am up to 17 states now.

We saw lots of scenery, many beautiful wildflowers, and some wildlife, the most interesting of which was a mother marmot and her three babies.  I also saw a mystery animal that I was able to get a photograph of, and I will post about it later.

The hike climbed steadily as we crossed Donner Peak and then Mount Judah, and then descended steadily back to the trail head.  We gained and lost about 1,800 feet, according to my GPS and DeLorme mapping software.  Here is the elevation profile:

Here are a couple of topo maps to locate the hike.  The first shows the approximate location west of Donner Lake, the scene of Monday's short nature hike.

And this one shows more details of our route.  The loop portion of the hike was hiked clockwise.

It was my first time ever hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail.  I'd love to do more of this trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon, and Washington.

As we climbed up the trail, great views became evident very quickly.

It is hard to see, but on the very top of this large boulder is a mother marmot, and one of her babies is about halfway down the right hand side.

We climbed a rocky area to score great views, and ...

then I placed the camera on a rock for a group photo.

We did a side trip up the rocks to Donner Peak, where we could see Donner Lake far below.

There were great panoramic views from the climb up to Donner Peak - and many other areas as well.  Like any photos, click on the panorama to enlarge it.

This panorama was from the ridge line on the hike up to Mount Judah, our high point at about 8,243 feet.

On the way down, there was plenty of evidence of the area volcanic origins.

Here is one more panorama as we descended.

The trail passed through some open forests on the way down.

I thought this cliff was amazing.  I think it was probably formed in volcanoes.

We didn't pass by any truly gigantic trees, but there were a few areas of large ones, like these firs.

I'll end my account of the hike with some of the flowers we saw.  I can't identify most of them, but this is Indian paintbrush.

I think this is a type of daisy.

I liked this because there are three types of flowers in the photo.

This is mule's ear.

I am not sure what this is, but it is pretty.

I really enjoyed my six mile hike in the Sierra Nevada, and hope to come back and do more some day.

Donner Lake Nature Trail

Monday July 22

I was out near Lake Tahoe for last week for a family reunion, and to celebrate my reamining sister's birthday.  While there, I managed a couple of hikes.  This one was a short - about 2 or so miles - nature hike along Donner Lake.

You've heard of the Donner Party, yes?  In 1846, they got lost while trying to make their way to the Promised Land of California.  Exhausted, they waited for five days for humans and oxen to rest, and the delay proved fatal.  A huge, early snowstorm moved in and trapped them in the Donner Pass area.  About half of them died of starvation and exposure, and more would have died except for the fact that the survivors ate some of the dead.  It must have been awful.

The area is anything but awful today, and easy to traverse.  The Donners would be amazed to watch motorists zoom by going 70 mph a few miles away.  It is quite a lovely area, and I will post a few photos of my hike, which was walked with my brothers, my sister-in-law, and one of my nieces.  Later, I will post an account of a mystery guest, an animal that I have not seen before (although I once saw a close cousin, in Yellowstone National Park.)

The cobalt-blue waters of Donner Lake must have been of no comfort to the Donner Party, nearly 170 years ago.

Here is our hiking party....

There were large pine trees in the area, and they produced some large pine cones.  I think that this is from a Jeffries Pine.

This part of the lake was more of stream, and was popular with small (human propelled) boats and paddle boards.

Near one end of the nature trail is the Emigrant Museum (which is very good, and also covered some of fascinating railroad construction history of the area) and this statue dedicated to pioneer spirit.  The little girl, huddled and shivering at her father's feet, was sad, though.

Two days later, several of us would get up early and go for a more strenuous hike, climbing Donner Peak - shown here - and Mount Judah.  More about that later.