I headed out to Eldorado/Tahoe NFs for three days of peakbagging, with the
primary goal to reach a trio of P1ks in the Northern Sierra, west of Lake Tahoe,
along with a couple of minor range highpoints.
All of the first day's peak were relatively short (and thus, no embarassing
elevation profile JPGs). I didn't leave San Jose until well after 6a, leaving me
to battle some Bay Area traffic and not arriving in the hills until 10a.
Slate Mountain
This is the highpoint of the Slate Mtns, a poorly-named range which is really
just a 6mi-long ridge in the Sierra foothills northeast of Placerville. Mosquito
Rd climbs up out of Placerville through
of town before dropping
to the South Fork of the American River and then climbing again up to the Slate
Mtns. The road turns to dirt along the way and becomes incredibly dusty in late
summer, a thick fog of dust particles following behind the vehicle and seeping
into all its pores. An unsigned road forks off Mosquito Rd, running northwest
along the crest of the Slate Mtns. A
goes the short, remaining distance to the summit of Slate Mtn at the southeast
end of the ridge where a lookout used to be located. With parking non-existent,
I left the Jeep at the gate and took my chances. A three minute walk gets one
to where a telecom tower is found just below the ,
grassy summit. The concrete pillars of the fire
lookout that once stood here are all that remain of the older structure.
Sand Mountain
Back on Mosquito Rd, I continued north and northeast, intending to join paved
Wentworth Springs Rd to Volcanoville. I found the road closed in the vicinity
of Sand Mtn with no signs that the road is going to be opened any time soon,
if ever. Nearby Sand Mtn Rd, whose fork I had just passed is a newer
alternative and paved, too. It's also convenient for accessing Sand Mtn, so I
decided on a whim to pay it a visit. The whole area around here is heavily
logged, so the roads don't always match the maps. I found logging roads that
would take me to about 4,200ft WSW of the summit, leaving me with about 600ft
of over roughly 1/3mi. It was steep but not very
brushy, taking about 15min to reach . The summit is found
a pine
needle-covered rock outcrop buried in the forest with nary a view and not all
that exciting. I noted
running across the summit and followed
this initially on my way down, but as it began to deviate from the side of the
mountain I needed to return to, I abandoned it for more cross-country and a
in about ten minutes' time.
Jakeys Hill
This is the highpoint of the Hornblende Mtns, another obscure sub-range of the
Sierra found west of Volcanoville. Its boundaries are roughly the American River
to the north and Canyon Creek to the south, but the eastern boundary is
ill-defined, making the range seem poorly conceived. The summit lies on private
property within a patchwork of forest lands, making access a bit tricky. Where
the pavement ends in the of Volcanoville (
of it's former
self), it becomes rough dirt road servicing a number of homesteads found at the
base of Jakeys Hill. The road approaching the summit from the east and south is
gated, leaving only the road going around the north side open to the public.
There's little parking (and fewer places to turn around) on this narrow, dusty
road and I felt like I was exposing it to abuse leaving it where I did. There
is an old logging clearing on the north side of the mountain, making that side
accessible on what otherwise would be a brushy, poison oak-laden cross-country
effort. I still had to dance around poison oak at the start nearest the roadway,
but once about 100ft from the road the poison oak disappears for the most part
and the terrain opens up. There are some that can be used to
climb higher with less effort, eventually the summit ridge.
The lookout was located at the south end of but it has been
removed, leaving only the concrete footings. The north closed contour is larger
and than the southern one, but
forest prevents one from using a level to determine this. It seemed a bit
spooky up there even though there was no sign of recent usage. Thoughts of the
Jeep being vandalized down below had me wasting little time to reverse direction
and head back down. were filled with the seeds and thistles
of the dry, mature grass and weeds and I would spend some time getting these
removed before I took off. Views are weak and the summit can't be said to have
any redeeming qualities.
Hartless Mountain
I next turned east and began driving into the higher regions of the Sierra on my
way to Mildred Ridge. I never got there because the road forking off in its
direction north to French Meadow Reservoir was blocked to the public for
unknown reason and duration. So I put that one off for later and turned my
attention to McKinstry Peak, a P1K to the northeast found between Hell Hole
Reservoir and Loon Lake (which is also a manmade reservoir). Hartless Peak is a
minor summit found off paved Wentworth Springs Rd, an easy bonus less than a
third of a mile from the road. I parked in a large clearing on the south side of
the road where a dirt road leading to the summit is .
There are no signs
indicating No Trespassing, but the land appears to be owned by private logging
interests that have heavily logged the area, judging by satellite photos. I
tagged the top (where a collection of is piled up) and
returned the way I'd come.
Robbs Peak
This P1K has a lookout and rentable cabin atop it. Access is via the dirt Robbs
Peak Rd off paved Ice House Rd, a few miles south of the latter's junction with
Wentworth Springs Rd. I drove up this decent road to where it is
less than half a mile from the summit. encountered earlier said
there was no turnaround at the gate but I had little trouble doing so and even
out
of the way just below the gate. I walked the road up to the top, finding
chairs and other evidence of someone staying in , but not
currently there. was unoccupied and shuttered. I walked
around to take a few pics ( from ), then
headed back. I believe I crossed paths
with the renters on my drive back down the dirt road.
Bunker Hill
I returned to Wentworth Springs Rd and followed it north to Gerle Meadow where
I found a decent dirt road climbing up to a saddle between Bunker Hill and
McKinstry Peak. Bunker Hill seemed an easy bonus with a road leading to the
summit where a lookout is located. I found the road
about half a mile
below the summit and had to hoof it from there. In trying to avoid following the
long switchbacks of the road, I went cross-country for portions of it with mixed
success - not really sure if it saved much time due to moderate brush.
was locked and shuttered, but
were open and .
McKinstry Peak
After returning from Bunker Hill, I continued driving up to the
of McKinstry Peak, featuring the best views of the day. It
lies 3,000ft above the
Rubicon River to the northeast, overlooking the Sierra Crest from Granite
Chief and Squaw Valley to , stretching
to the yet higher
summits of Desolation Wilderness. High-clearance vehicle needed to drive this
one to its conclusion.
Red Mountain
It was after 5p by the time I drove back down the dirt road to the pavement at
Wentworth Springs Rd and had intended to call it a day. I headed east to the
pavement's end, then continued on the rough, rocky road that continues to
Wentworth Spring in a couple of miles. I had hoped to drive this road further
east towards the next day's first summit at Guide Peak, but the road seemed to
grow worse, not better. It occurred to me that this was the western end of the
infamous Rubicon Trail, a stock Jeep killer if there ever was one. Rather than
take chances at getting myself into deeper trouble, I decided to turn around
and approach Guide Peak from Loon Lake to the south. In another moment of
impulsiveness, I noted that Red Mtn was just across Gerle Creek from where I
turned around and decided to pay it a visit since it was less than half a mile
away. I found to cross over the creek and then some minor
bushwhacking to get me onto the leading
to Red Mtn's
summit. Talus and low brush covered the slopes and it was with some effort that
it took me half an hour to find my way to the top. Without a tree in sight,
were in , but the
I stood on was surrounded
by waist-high manzanita that offered no room to sit down - not a very good place
to watch a sunset from. I noted that another interesting point named Johnnys
Hill lay about a mile to the west. I decided to make this the first peak of the
following day instead of Guide Peak. To this end, I returned back to the Jeep
via the same route, then drove a few miles to some primitive campsites on the
west side of Johnnys Hill. The place was incredibly dusty (lots of OHV use in
this area), but suitably flat and would do for spending the night in the Jeep.
Not surprisingly, I had the place to myself and heard not a stirring outside
during the night...
Continued...