Hike Sierra Buttes? Nah, Let's Drive!
Sep. 26th, 2021 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerSaturday, 25 Sep 2021. 12:15pm.
On our trip to Sierra Buttes today we drove most of the way. ...No, I don't mean just the fact that we drove about 50 miles from Truckee to the base of Sierra Buttes this morning. We actually drove most of the way up the buttes, too. Since our first visit here almost 25 years ago, when we hoofed it up a climb of almost 3,000', we've learned where paved roads and 4x4 trails are that can take us virtually all the way to the top.
Here's a photo from a stop at the shoulder of Sierra Buttes. It's approximately elev. 7,900'. From here it's still quite a climb to the summit at 8,591'. The view out over the distance shows how much climbing we've already saved.
That small lake in the foreground is Young America Lake. Though it's a steep drop below our feet from this viewpoint it's actually very high up on the mountain. You can't even see it from points below. In fact you can't even see it from a few hundred meters to either side; other ridges block it. It's like a secret lake you get only at this spot.
A certain number of 4x4ers know how to get to this point. Today we saw 6 other rigs here. Hikers and bicyclists huffing and puffing up the foot trail stared at the coterie of vehicles parked here like alien life forms. But this isn't the end of the road. There's still more climbing we can let our SUV do for us.
I know from hiking all the way to the top a few times that technically we could drive to the point where the trail ends and ladders begin. I also know that it's narrow up there and there's room for, like, one car. So we stopped here about 1/4 mile down the trail where there's still room for another vehicle to pass us. I've never seen another 4x4 up this far, though. Dirt bikes, yes; four-wheelers, no.
This isn't just a good place to park the car, it's also a worthy place to get out and look around. After all, the specialness of Sierra Buttes isn't just being at the top; it's everything about getting there, too.
As the trail rises to our right, off to the left is a great view on its own. This is one of the lower spires of the Sierra Buttes. We hadn't really thought about climbing it, but a pair of hikers standing at the top today show that exactly that is possible. (BTW, we later saw them struggling to get down without slipping; that dampened our desire to go up there.)
Pivoting back around from the lower butte on the right shows again how high up we are. Down below in the distance are Lower Sardine Lake and Upper Sardine Lake. The first time we hiked up here, around 25 years ago, we started from near the lower lake. You can see some of trail climbing the first ridge above the lakes. That's how much huffing and puffing we've saved with this 4x4 drive!
In beauty I walk.... Even the parts I drive.
But we're not all the way there yet. Stay tuned!
Next entry: Stairway to Heaven
On our trip to Sierra Buttes today we drove most of the way. ...No, I don't mean just the fact that we drove about 50 miles from Truckee to the base of Sierra Buttes this morning. We actually drove most of the way up the buttes, too. Since our first visit here almost 25 years ago, when we hoofed it up a climb of almost 3,000', we've learned where paved roads and 4x4 trails are that can take us virtually all the way to the top.
Here's a photo from a stop at the shoulder of Sierra Buttes. It's approximately elev. 7,900'. From here it's still quite a climb to the summit at 8,591'. The view out over the distance shows how much climbing we've already saved.
That small lake in the foreground is Young America Lake. Though it's a steep drop below our feet from this viewpoint it's actually very high up on the mountain. You can't even see it from points below. In fact you can't even see it from a few hundred meters to either side; other ridges block it. It's like a secret lake you get only at this spot.
A certain number of 4x4ers know how to get to this point. Today we saw 6 other rigs here. Hikers and bicyclists huffing and puffing up the foot trail stared at the coterie of vehicles parked here like alien life forms. But this isn't the end of the road. There's still more climbing we can let our SUV do for us.
I know from hiking all the way to the top a few times that technically we could drive to the point where the trail ends and ladders begin. I also know that it's narrow up there and there's room for, like, one car. So we stopped here about 1/4 mile down the trail where there's still room for another vehicle to pass us. I've never seen another 4x4 up this far, though. Dirt bikes, yes; four-wheelers, no.
This isn't just a good place to park the car, it's also a worthy place to get out and look around. After all, the specialness of Sierra Buttes isn't just being at the top; it's everything about getting there, too.
As the trail rises to our right, off to the left is a great view on its own. This is one of the lower spires of the Sierra Buttes. We hadn't really thought about climbing it, but a pair of hikers standing at the top today show that exactly that is possible. (BTW, we later saw them struggling to get down without slipping; that dampened our desire to go up there.)
Pivoting back around from the lower butte on the right shows again how high up we are. Down below in the distance are Lower Sardine Lake and Upper Sardine Lake. The first time we hiked up here, around 25 years ago, we started from near the lower lake. You can see some of trail climbing the first ridge above the lakes. That's how much huffing and puffing we've saved with this 4x4 drive!
In beauty I walk.... Even the parts I drive.
But we're not all the way there yet. Stay tuned!
Next entry: Stairway to Heaven
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Date: 2021-09-27 01:33 pm (UTC)