Lakes, mountains, and meadows, oh my. The Mokelumne Wilderness south of Carson Pass has it all, plus streams and rivers. I took this photo of Round Top Mountain from along the Pacific Crest Trail.
I’ve backpacked south from Carson Pass several times over the years, usually leading backpack treks following the old Tahoe Yosemite Trail. Those were the days before the present PCT route was built. I was excited to explore the new trail.
I arrived at the trailhead a few weeks earlier than I had planned. When I came out at Chester after hiking through Lassen National Park, smoke from the massive Carr Fire near Redding was so thick that it was difficult to see a couple of hundred yards into the trees. Having empathy for my 75-year-old lungs, I decided to skip south in hopes of finding clean air to breathe.
Smoke from the Carr Fire on the PCT near Chester, CA
The pass was named after the mountain man, explorer, military leader and rancher, Kit Carson. During California’s gold rush era, it had served as one of the main entrance points to California. The trail worked its way down the mountain eventually delivering its gold seeking 49ers to the small town of Diamond Springs where I was raised. The town was established when some miners from Missouri found a 20 pound nugget of gold lying on the ground and decided to stay. Which I get. As a youth wandering far and wide through the woods surrounding Diamond, I’d always dreamed of finding my own large nugget. It wasn’t to be. But I did develop a love for the outdoors, which is worth a lot more.
Peggy dropped me off at the trailhead and waved goodbye. She had seen me off several times by now, and was more confidant that she would see me at the other end. But my lovely friend was always a bit nervous…
Peggy waves goodbye with sincere hopes that she will greet me at Sonora Pass when and where I predicted I would come out.Being a sucker for roots and wood sculptures, this was the first photo I took along the trail. I hit the wrong button and my camera took several more photos, rendering each one differently. Normally, I like to stick with realistic portrayals, but I was amused with the results…In yellow…And in strange, impressionistic colors, like a Van Gough haystack.I took a short detour up to Frog Pond. In the past, I had always hiked by it and wanted to see what it looked like. I thought it might connect to the PCT. It didn’t, but I enjoy detours. They added lots of miles to my journey. There weren’t any obvious croakers.The correct trail provided this view of Elephant Back, one of the primary landmarks of Mokelumne Wilderness. Another view of Elephant Back from the PCT.I had always hiked around the front of Elephant Back. The ‘new’ PCT took me behind it. The trail starts off making its way through Queen Anne’s Lace, a member of the parsley/wild carrot family.A close up of the flower with a bee providing perspective.Hiking on, I was reminded that I was well into summer. A granite rock provided the backdrop for this colorful grass.The brown grass here, which Californians insist on calling golden, provided a foreground for this photo of two snags.These pods on a lupine bush were also reminders of the fact that summer was winding down. They also show that lupine is a member of the pea family.There was still plenty of water along the trail, however, which was a fact that I appreciated given how often water was scarce along the PCT.And there were lots of flowers where I found water! This is rock fringe.And what I know as ranger’s buttons, another member of the carrot/parsley family.You can smell this one as you pass by. It is western pennyroyal, a member of the mint family. I always break off a leaf (it has lots) and urge people I am hiking with to sniff it and take a bite. It can also be used in making mint tea. Larkspur is always a challenge to photograph, but I wanted to emphasize the ‘spurs’ here, from which it gets its name.This daisy is known as fleabane. Pioneers believed that the bundled flowers would chase fleas out of their homes.And here we have greenish corn lily flowers.I found this half dead tree dramatic.Another grass, rock, and tree photo. The haze in the distance suggests that my hopes for escaping smoke were about to be thwarted. Smoke from the Carr Fire had followed me south!I almost tripped over this wood sculpture. Can you spot the sad owl-like face?My next PCT post will take us up this flower covered ridge and far beyond.I will also introduce you to a 65-year-old trekker who has hiked the PCT, the Appalachian Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail, giving him the right to wear a Triple Crown patch.
NEXT POST: For my next post, however, I will take you back to Puerto Vallarta again and some really neat art!
Wandering through Time and Place 