Jean and I parked at the edge of Martis Peak Road, just north
of Brockway Summit on Highway 267. There was just one other car
there, which surprised me since the book I was using for reference
said it would be crowded.
We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was absolutely crystal-clear.
Not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was mild and there wasn't
much of a wind.
After strapping on our snowshoes we headed east up the fire trail
-- a forest service road. It was covered with snow, but much of
the way the snow as thin -- only an inch or two deep. The snow
was thicker on the sides of the trail, but the trail itself was
flattened out by snow cats.
The trail
Trees line the sides of the trail almost the entire way up. There
are a few small meadows, but nothing really to speak of. There
are some intersections, but it's fairly easy to look at snowshoe
and ski prints to follow the main trail. After 1.3 miles, there's
a left turn (going straight would bring you to a gate).
We stopped at the intersection for a bite to eat. We spread my
poncho out on the snow, and we sank partway into the soft snow
as we ate. A pair of snowshoers passed us while we were there,
but they turned around shortly thereafter. Those were the only
two basic snowshoers we'd see the entire day. On the whole, we
would see 2 snowshoers, 2 backpackers carrying snowshoes, 4 cross-country
skiers, 2 snow cat drivers, and 4 dogs.
The trail now curves around to the right and continues northeast,
steadily upward. There's a mildly steep section of trail near
the start of the trail, but after that it's very mild. After some
time we finally reached the left turn for the final push toward
the summit.
We shortly came to a gate. Going past the gate, the views began
to open up. And then we reached the lookout itself. The lookout
was recently restored and serves as a great little shelter. Windows
let in and trap welcome heat. There's a table and bench for sitting
on. There's also an outhouse nearby.
Martis Peak Lookout
But the main attraction is the view. Hidden from view the entire
hike was this fantastic view of the Martis Valley, Lake Tahoe,
and range upon range of snow-capped peaks. It's well worth the
hike.
Martis Valley
Lake Tahoe from Martis Peak Lookout
After soaking in the view, we started descending the way we came.
Martis Peak itself lies just 86 vertical feet and about 1/10th
of a mile away from the lookout, but it didn't look very interesting.
Trees appeared to obscure some of the view, and I doubted the
views would be any better than from the lookout. Besides, no one
else had gone to the peak (no tracks), and it was getting late.
It was nearly 3pm by the time we started our descent.
Nap time in the lookout!
Two snow cats spoiled our peaceful descent. Other than that, we
made it back uneventfully, in great time -- we descended in just
over 1 1/2 hours, arriving back at the car with light still filtering
through the trees.
Snow crystals glistening in the afternoon sun
It was a nice hike with a beautiful view at the top. The backpackers
we passed planted the idea that it would be a great backpacking
trip. It would be great to see sunrise and sunset from the lookout.
The only downsides to the hike were the lack of more snow and
the trees obscuring the views almost the entire way.
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