Testing Limits

Beware! There are mountaineers out there, and they are all around you. They are hard to spot, because they look just like you and me. Cleverly disguised as teachers, accountants, students and such, they are hidden from view. You may not recognize them, but believe me, they are out there.

On a recent Saturday morning in mid-July, 68 of your friends and neighbors stood at the foot of 10,381-foot Round Top Mountain in the Sierra, and set out on a mountaineering challenge they had prepared for over the past seven months. It began with a four-mile loop at Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve on New Year’s morning. Throughout the winter and spring, we tromped five more trails, some as close as Henry Coe State Park; others farther afield like Mount Diablo State Park. At each stop, we strengthened legs, lungs, and group esprit for the summer’s coming challenge.

Round Top was the fourth summer challenge. Five years ago, I wrote a November column inviting readers to make a bold commitment; something exciting and a bit scary. ‘Come with me to the top of Clouds Rest in Yosemite next July; a thirteen mile round trip walk to a 9,926-foot peak that looks 1,100 feet down on Half Dome.’ The first of six “prep” hikes would be New Year’s morning, an annual tradition I had invited readers to for several years. With the challenge as an incentive, the 20 or so that had come in years past exploded to well over 100.

Nearly 70 people came to Clouds Rest and similar numbers have come in subsequent years as we have tackled Mt. Tallac (9,738′) and Mount Hoffman (10,856′). It would be easy to dismiss these people as lycra-clad fitness fanatics. It just isn’t so. Round Top challengers ranged from age eight to 76, and they came in every size and shape.

The day before the challenge, we gather for a short hike to stretch our legs and acclimate to the altitude. Round Top is near Carson Pass (8,652 feet) where Highway 88 crosses the Sierra crest not too far south of Lake Tahoe. We set out from the trailhead at the very top of the pass where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the road. After a short walk through a forest of lodgepole and western white pines, we emerged into a beautiful landscape characteristic of the high altitude terrain we would travel throughout our wanderings. Timberline at Carson Pass is much lower than it is farther south in the Sierra. At a relatively modest elevation, we had popped into wide open alpine country. In between sporadic wind-sculpted whitebark pines—the only conifers still hanging on—nothing grew above thigh high.

The view was limitless in every direction, but the wide open landscape played second fiddle to the wildflower display. Lupine, several penstemon, iris, spreading phlox, mule’s ears, several paintbrushes, wallflowers, delphiniums, and on and on. It was all too gaudy to be God’s refined tastes—I suspect that Disney had a hand in it.

We lunched beside Winnemucca Lake nestled beneath Round Top. Every inch of terrain was laid bare between the toes of our boots and the summit looming impressively overhead. Many sat quietly, just looking up.

The Woods Lake trailhead was humming with greetings and lively chatter by 8:30 Saturday morning. Prior challenges had been out-and-back hikes, but our route this year would be a loop. When I did a reconnaissance of the route several weeks earlier, the first leg to Round Top Lake was covered with snow. While I never lost my way, I did lose the trail several times. I cautioned people that if the trail was hidden, follow the creek, which would lead you to Round Top Lake.

Just below Round Top Lake, we popped above the trees and back into the open terrain we enjoyed yesterday. Here, we left the gently graded trail and turned up, steeply up. No more trees, but surprisingly colorful ground hugging alpine plants matted the inhospitable rocky slope. Rather than hiking, we were now trudging, each step a triumph of will.

I tell people that half way up these climbs, they will want to grab a rope, organize a posse and give me some old west justice. But when they get to the top, all will be forgiven. Dead tired, chest pounding, every step up a seemingly endless mountain slope like Round Top is a test of will. But when the “up” vanishes and all the world is beneath your feet, it is hard to describe the feeling and for many—the transformation—that comes over you.

The wind was brisk and the view was infinite at the top. Round Top Lake and Winnemucca Lake just below appeared as if through an airplane window. To the north, Lake Tahoe and Desolation Wilderness. To the south, the restless Sierra grew higher and higher down toward Yosemite and beyond. In better visibility, we would have seen Mount Diablo out west.

The weather, the country, the flowers and the views teamed up to give us a memorable day. As ever, I thank all of you who come, but more than that, I tip my cap to you. For many of you, it is just a hard day on the trail, but for others, I know Round Top tested your limits. Yet, you took the challenge. 

Greg Kepferle, Jean Blomquist, Diane Scariot, Brenda Panagrossi, John Jenkins, Steve McDonald, Hydie McDonald, Paul Marshall, Gale Marshall, Craig Parsons, Ian Parsons, Kim Stewart, Dan Brown, Eliot Kaplan, Pam Jones, Brian Jones, Betty Doherty, Caroltta Lopez, Paul Campos, Margaret Campos, Beth Ludwig, John Kilty, Katie Khera, Liz Ramirez, Dan Durham Dan Doerksen, Ayde Colin, Kris Hernandez, Vicki Wanken, Vicki Bergener, Beth Martinez, Ellen Swarthout, Katrina Swarthout, Michele LaJeunesse, Nicole LaJeunesse, Anya Kerstens, Monique Kerstens, Stan Faulwetter, Claudia Cameron, Duane Holt, Rachel Holt, Don Edgar, Molly Edgar, Kevin Copes, Stan Alger, Colleen Alger, April Alger, Aaron Alger, Dan Moyles, Anne Tjaden, Darryl Tjaden, Mary Williams, Kathy Funke, Dave Funke, Tom Nagy, Sandra Coutinho, Mitsu Kumagi, Ain Indermitte, Kristjan Indermitte, Gabriel Mendoza, Jesus J. Rodriguez, Darcy Rodriguez, Jeff Ross, Lorraine Ross, Carolyn Barbarbaglia, SteveToste, Dave Bonsall, Marty Bonsall