Golden Lakes

7/22/08
After a mind-bending descent into the Central Valley for resupply -  the air quality in Redding was rated purple ("very unhealthy") by the EPA - I drove back up through Lassen VNP, then south for a long evening drive through the Feather River Canyon. This was very cool looking even as it was thick with smoke, an area worth exploring that I would have to miss due to the fires. I passed a number of Forest Service campgrounds along the way, completely empty except for the host, yet still charging $15. I’m thinking giving the inhospitable conditions they should be lowering the price and maybe drumming up some business, so on principle I kept driving into the night. Eventually I reached Plumas-Eureka State Park and was lucky to get a space at around 10:00PM. I headed out early the next morning to Chapman Creek CG which was charging $20 a night, presumably for the location. At least the air was a lot clearer. This is near Yuba Pass and the Lakes Basin Recreation Area of Tahoe National Forest. I'm in the Sierra Nevada!

I set off that afternoon for a stroll to Frazier Falls, where the flow was feeble. It is presumably a springtime show. My first take on the countryside was decidedly -eh. Of course it's midday, and I find most landscapes “eh” at midday. A nice breeze picked up though, and the ranger said the forecast was for high winds and possibly lightning, this just as they were getting a grip on the fires from last month.

The next day I hiked to the top of Mount Elwell (7818'). Along the way a couple of “young people” whisked by me on the trail. They carried small, light daypacks while I was in full northwest regalia, prepared for hypothermic conditions and looking like Noonak from the north by comparison. The young woman asked which way I came up, and I said I came up from the bottom, the only way I thought there was. She explained there were any number of ways around these hills and subtly enlightened me to the fact that this is roaming country, the way you go up and the way you come back can yield a better hike with a little creativity. She was far from preachy (though was indeed peachy). I met up with them again on top and they recommended a good route back, past lakes, waterfalls, and loads of flowers, all of which I’d have missed if I had simply gone down the way I came up. A perfectly delightful jaunt.

After my hike I went for a swim in Gold Lake. I rarely go in lakes in the North Cascades, but if I hiked around here I sure would. It isn’t a dramatic area but it is very nice, with endless hiking and loads of lakes. It seemed like the sort of place one could spend a very relaxed yet invigorating couple of days or weeks. I camped that night in dispersed camping along the Frazier Falls road and headed out early the next morning to the decidedly less relaxed Lake Tahoe.