August 15 - Sky Height

Moving towards the sun before it rises, over the Central Valley, up



the Canyons of the North,



Middle,



and



North-Fork-of-the-Middle Fork American River, past Deadwood and



Balloon Ridges,



to



French Meadows Reservoir, near the upper



Middle Fork American Canyon,



and



beyond to



Talbot Camp (jumping with more activity than seen heretofore in these parts) for the final full dayhike of the summer, to



Picayune Pass (the same destination as last week's jaunt via other direction from the Five Lakes Trailhead).



This time the



way begins as a classic



"old woods road" through what remains of



French Meadows -- this upper open drainage not drowned by a damming water barrier.



East, then



south, into the



greater Picayune Valley (oxymoron, indeed), crossing the energetic creek that is the upper Middle Fork American, followed by



three



granitic



uplands (views opening to the goal south [the pass is at left, three pictures up] and the canyon north, with



Marion Ridge west and



Granite Chief and associated prominences east),



alternating with



two



flower wildernesses (note the clarity of the trail and the stately



aspen).



Waterfalls,



montane chaparral,



a rock shelter, and at last the



upper valley (perhaps its compactness meriting the nomenclature) -- up, up to vistas of



Heavens Gate (the notch above center), Marion Peak (to the left),



Ridge snow, and



Cliffs.



The



Pass is as spectacular as last week, and safer,



with virtually clear skies (just a little cumuli Nevadawise), and a



360 panorama from the terminal



aerie.



The



mossy return back into the



Valley seems a bit easier than previous ones (the gradient has been simply lower to higher, rather than an altitudinal roller coaster), and driving back is a farewell to Mosquito Ridge Road, the scene of so many journeys in the past few years. Home for two more Animal Farm videos



(XVII. Platypusses and



XVIII. Kangaroos) and a check-in with Harriet. Tomorrow is the first day of the fall semester.

August 8 - On the Wind

Arise way early, past hot air balloons aloft above Dixon,



up,



over, and



down the Sierra crest to



the upper Truckee Canyon and



Alpine Meadows to hike from the



Five Lakes Trailhead (a little below 6600 feet) to just above the



Picayune Divide (7600) -- a bit of a roller coaster, with about a 2000 foot differential, when all is experienced and walked.



The way leads up past



striking exposures of



rhyolite and



granite,



mounting a fairly naked



promontory of Squaw Ridge,



up Five Lakes



Canyon to the



forest-border of the



Granite Chief



Wilderness, which is also the the continental divide (drainage east interior to Pyramid Lake, and west down the Rubicon tributaries to the American, Sacramento, and Pacific).



Beyond the woodsy



connection to the Crest Trail,



snow lingering in the highlands surmounting



flowery



meadows,



is



the



junction to



Whiskey Creek



Camp. After a chat with Jeff, who's done the Loop and camped here in the rain last night (semi-ominous news, as the clouds are clearly building today as well),



it's up the quixotic



Pikayune



(with a "c" in all the maps and guidebooks and dictionaries),



to



Shank's Cove



Shoulder,



views opening from



Granite Chief, Squaw Peak, Five Lakes Pass, and Ward Ridge, to



farther south.



Slopes of



ambiguous, path-obscuring



Mule Ears



lead



to



the



Picayune



Divide,



the south prospect draining to Hell Hole Reservoir, and the north beyond Mildred's snows to French Meadows.



By now, the nimbo-cumuli seem so close that it's time to put away the camera, etc., for the downslope, yet there's still an interval to chat with the intrepid Mike Sweeney, heading upslope upon descent, who's doing the optimal: hiking from point of origin over and down to Talbot Camp, thanks to a significant-other shuttle. We exchange info and then it's a beeline east in the crescendo of thunder to the car, arriving just before anything more than a spritz starts (God takes care of fools, once again). Signs of promise in the sky,



the cliffs of Bullshead,



Big and



Little Chief and



at last the



sun returns west of Donner Summit, homeward, with two more Animal Farm videos upon return:



XXV. Dogs and



XXVI. Wolves (a few of the former on the popular beginning of the trail today, but none of the latter).