please remember you can click on a photo to see a larger version & highlighted text are links to further information
Additional note - 9441 is a numbered peak (elevation) on the 7.5 USGS topo map. It is not a named peak.
9441 &
Making the Lady Happy
It was early
Thursday morning. I was going to work and the Lady was getting her daypack
ready.
"I want
to see if I can get Diane up 9441 today! That would be fun." The Lady
excitedly told me.
"Does
Diane know about your plan?" I asked.
"I'll
ask her when she gets here and see what she'd like to do."
Diane, a
good friend and teacher at the Lady's school, joins the Lady on hikes during
her summer break. The Lady always reminds me, "We are older than her
parents. She could be our daughter."
Diane is a
solid and direct person. "No way! No mountain for me today. I'm not
mentally prepared. I was thinking hiking to and laying out at an alpine
lake."
The Lady was
happy to make Diane's scenic, relaxing alpine lake dream come true but I know,
once an idea gets planted.................................
We were
staying home this weekend so Friday afternoon I casually mentioned, "How
'bout you and I pop up to the top of 9441 tomorrow?"
I know how
to make the Lady happy.
Desolation Wilderness is in our backyard. We've been wandering
around its inviting terrain for over 40 years. We've skied much of it including
many peak descents. I remember one summer when we spent nine Saturday nights in
a roll in our tent on backpack trips. We have a deep personal connection to
this land.
We left home
early. The air was still. Smoke from fires all around us had settled in. We
hoped we would climb above and out of it.
Starting out
at Wrights Lake, it looked like it would be a miserable and sad day.
California
is on fire.
We parked
out at the overflow parking - this is a very popular area - and walked the
trails along the shore to reach the trailhead. The Desolation Wilderness Volunteers had an information booth set up. A voice called out, "Monte and
Julie! It's Monte and Julie!" It was Carolyn. Now retired, Carolyn was one
of the 15 principals that Julie worked under during her career.
Although we
started at the Twin Lakes trailhead, after about a quarter mile we stepped off
the trail.
Our first
objective was a wonderful spot locally known as the Enchanted Pools. The route
is across broad open Sierra Nevada granite. The hint on how to find the pools
is connect the large junipers.
Next is more
cross country travel to intersect with the trail to Tyler Lake. Tyler Lake trail is a
steep and strenuous climb but the views are worth it, when views are possible.
We always
make it a point to stop and pay our respects to Tyler.
I had heard
that William Tyler was a veteran of the Spanish American War and died in a
snowstorm in the early 1900's. It turns out this information was off. We were surprised to find a plastic tube at the
site containing well researched information that Bill died in October 1882 and
his body was discovered in August 1883. His Civil War Veterans headstone was
brought in and placed on his grave in 1908. Cool stuff to learn. I love
research especially with source material.
Twenty years
ago the small enameled sign that pointed down the spur trail to Tyler's grave
was removed. The person responsible said it was taken down and hidden in the
area. We were asked to look for it and made two trips to do so. We thoroughly
searched and found nothing. We continued to look whenever we passed by but the
sign is gone.
Bud Wilson's
grandson was the last Wilson to run cattle in these mountains. He moved his
operations out of state and the lower ranch lands are now suburban sprawl. The
family still has a small compound at the historic up country ranch at Wilson
Meadow.
Many of the
old cattleman's ashes are scattered up on the crest of the Crystal Range,
hallowed ground. A place called the Cowboy's Graveyard.
Next up was
the climb to Tyler Lake, more a route as the trail is unmaintained.
We took a
break and filled our water bottles as we had a climb ahead of us.
We reached
the high bench below the crest of the Crystal Range. For years this was our
favorite spot to set up a backpack camp as the climb up eliminated the chance
of having neighbors. The two tarns held brook trout up to a foot long. This was
where I worked on my alpine lake fly fishing skills.
It is rough
terrain between the tarns and the summit of 9441.
I took more
of a direct route. The Lady traversed east and then came up the north spine of
9441.
The views
were obscured by smoke. The wind was around 40 miles per hour.
Island Lake
is in the deep basin to the southwest.
It was hard
to stand on the summit and impossible to do a timer shot of the two of us.
The last
time we were together to the summit of 9441 was 20 July 2008, ten years ago.
The Lady has
brought friends with her to the summit two or three times since.
We stayed
low out of the winds and I celebrated my new mountain boots.
Since my
last pair was blue, this time I went more traditional in color. These are the
best mountain boots I've worn. The last pair served me well for four years.
It was time
to move. Our route was down to Island Lake, down a chute we've skied many
times. In the summer the Lady calls it "The Garden Chute" for its
profusion of wildflowers.
The number
of bumble bees in the primrose was impressive.
The smoke
was thinning, allowing a nice view back at 9441.
After the
long drop, we arrived at Island Lake.
We found a
series of buoys stretched across the lake. This is part of a project by the
California Department of Fish & Wildlife biologists.
Many native
frogs and toads have been severely impacted by man's planting of trout into
high alpine watersheds that never held fish. The Sierra Nevada Yellow Legged Frog has reached endangered status. It's young overwinter as tadpoles and
therefore are especially vulnerable to predation by introduced non native fish.
The
Department is working hard to strike a balance with improving habitat for native
species but retaining opportunities, where appropriate, to have trout in high
lakes. I have studied and I am very pleased with their plan for Desolation
Wilderness.
Twin Lakes
are the lowest lakes in this cirque. We took a break before our last push - now
on trail - the drop down to Wrights Lake.
The skies
above had finally cleared nicely, probably a result of the wind. Smoke still
was heavy in the lower lands to the west.
We looked
back at the spectacular granite of Desolation Wilderness.
Late in the
afternoon we were back in the meadows around Wrights Lake.
This is one
of our favorite day hikes in our backyard. A good hard day with incredible
rewards. The Lady was happy. So was I.
