”
I have a couple of chores to do at my Tahoe place. Want to come
along?
”
”
Give me five minutes,
”
I said. There wasn’t much more conversation than that, and we
were on the road.
“I have a couple of chores to do at my Tahoe place. Want to come along?”
“Give me five minutes,” I said. There wasn’t much more conversation than that, and we were on the road.
As you might expect, the chores were light – not much more than a smokescreen for recreation in the pines. With most of a beautiful day still open to us, we set out on a short hike that just pokes into the Granite Chief Wilderness near Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.
The trailhead to Five Lakes is about two miles out on Alpine Meadows Road, which comes off Highway 89 between Truckee and Tahoe City. There is no parking lot at the trailhead, only a wide spot in the road, but a U.S. Forest Service sign and a conspicuous collection of cars left by dayhikers make finding the trailhead and easy task.
Five Lakes is only two miles away, but at 7,500 feet, it is 900 feet above the trailhead. The job of gaining that altitude begins right away switching back and forth up an exposed south-facing slope. The trail gradient is engineered to ease the climb, but on a warm day, this climb would be drudgery. We were lucky to have clear, cool weather.
As we popped above the forest cover and into the open, we could see that the slope we were climbing circled around to enclose the valley and Alpine Meadows ski area. In fact, as the trail neared the crest of the ridge, it passed under a chairlift at one end of the ski mountain.
But the ski lift did not detract from the views across the valley or the sights at our feet. Late in the season, on a sun-drenched slope, I was surprised to see a flower show one would expect early in the season. Pennyroyal and buckwheat were everywhere looking springtime-perky. But the real show lay ahead.
After a mile and a half, the trail topped the ridge, and we made a long level traverse along the crest. Soon after we entered a pleasant shaded forest of red fir, the first of the Five Lakes appeared through the trees. A little farther along, we passed close by a larger subalpine lake, the only other lake we would see. Just then, a returning hiker told us that the flower show 15 minutes ahead was spectacular.
She was right. The forest shade and a network of converging streams came together to create a stunning garden. At a tiny creek crossing, we saw delphinium, monkshoods, tiger lilies, Lewis monkeyflower and a thicket of corn lilies that could have hidden ruins of an ancient civilization. A little farther along, we joined the Pacific Crest Trail and the display became even more gaudy. Now the delphiniums were 6-feet tall, and the fields of purple horsemint were impenetrable. I pushed through a jungle of blossoms down to the creek, so I could walk up its path looking for gardens. There was a lovely scene fit for a photo calendar at every turn – all on Sept. 1!
When I returned home, I flipped through one of my Sierra wildflower books placing a bookmark by just some of the flowers we saw that day. By the time I was done, the book was trailing enough tassels that it could easily be mistaken for a pompom.
If you are in the Tahoe Basin, this walk is a lovely way to spend a half day. Get an early start to beat the heat. Don’t expect much solitude, but the views widen across lovely scenery as you climb. And if you come at the right time of the year, the mountain wildflowers will dazzle you.
