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Mokelumne Wilderness Mokelumne Wilderness
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Nancy and I hiked in the Mokelumne Wilderness.
We parked in the day use area of Woods Lake Campground, off Highway
88. From there, we crossed the footbridge to start the trail up
toward Winnemucca Lake. Wildflowers on way to Winnemucca Lake
The trail up to the lake includes some of the most beautiful wildflower
scenery I've seen. Hills on the left are covered with wildflowers
-- lupine and Indian paintbrush among them. In front of us loomed
Round Top, patches of snow still clinging to its slopes. I stopped
several times along the trail just to soak in the environment.
I felt like I was somewhere in the Swiss Alps, not near Lake Tahoe. Nancy treading softly through the wildflowers Round Top
As we hiked, we encountered many other hikers on the trail. Some
people were fishing in the nearby stream. It's an easy mile and
a half to Winnemucca Lake. This beautiful alpine lake sits like
a jewel in the mountains. The water is so clear I could imagine
myself swimming in it (and I've never gone swimming anywhere other
than a swimming pool). A trail to the left goes two miles out
toward Carson Pass. The lake sits at the base of Round Top. A
series of peaks to the left of Round Top reminded me of the Mt.
Whitney massif.
Panorama of Winnemucca Lake
We sat on rocks by the lake and soaked in the serenity before
continuing to the right, up toward Round Top Lake. Along the way
we encountered snow patches with splotches of red algae. We also
noticed parallel streaks in the snow, possibly caused by falling
rocks. As we neared the top of the pass, the wind started to pick
up. When we reached the top, we could see Round Top Lake below
us, sitting underneath Round Top and The Sisters. Winnemucca Lake from the pass
Round Top Lake is much smaller than Winnemucca Lake. But the water
is just as clear. Above, we could see curves in the snow where
skiers and snowboarders had come down. In fact, we could see a
skier up on the slope of one of the Sisters. Enough snow to ski/snowboard
on, but not much in the way of fresh powder. Skier above Round Top Lake
After a brief discussion, we decided to continue to the left,
up to the top of Round Top, over 1000 feet above us. The faint
trail rises sharply up a gully toward a saddle between Round Top
and The Sisters. It's steep and sandy, but relatively short. After
gaining the saddle, it's a scramble up the rocky summit. The rock
here is very different from most Sierra Nevada peaks. Instead
of being carved by glacial action, Round Top is instead the result
of volcanic activity. The summit rocks are covered with yellow
and orange. Resting on the steep trail up Notice all the minerals in the summit rock
After a steep climb up the rocks, we were at the summit of Round
Top, elevation 10,381 feet. To the north we could clearly see
Pyramid Peak and the rest of the Desolation Wilderness. Caples
Lake lay between Pyramid Peak and us. From the northern edge of
the summit we could see Winnemucca Lake far below us, almost straight
down. To the south were row upon row of snow-covered peaks. On top of Round Top! Caples Lake in the background
There were no marmots, and no summit register to be found. There
is a small metal USGS stamp at the top. View from the top. Round Top Lake (foreground) and Caples Lake.
After a relatively brief stay on top, we started the fun task
of descending. As we carefully made our way down, a couple of
hikers passed us on their way up. While the trails on the rest
of our hike were relatively crowded, the hike to the summit was
fairly isolated. Nancy starting the descent Another view of the descent
Nancy, amazingly enough, was doing the hike in her Tevas (and
bare feet). Not recommended. =) At least she did use one of my
trekking poles on the steepest sections of dirt.
Once we returned to Round Top Lake, we continued down, back toward
Woods Lake. The trail meanders among melting snow. At one point
a creek rushes underneath the overhanging melting snow. The trail
eventually turns into a dirt road, and descends to a gate. From
there, it's an uneventful walk through the Woods Lake Campground
on paved roads back to our cars.
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