18-20 July 2003
Mount Tallac towers over Lake Tahoe, reaching its summit at 9,735 feet. It's an amazing hike, with breath-taking views at every turn. We began at the Mount Tallac Trailhead, 4.5 miles from the summit. It was a comfortable summer day, with temperatures in the 70s and a slight breeze.
The trail starts up gradually, climbing 900 feet over the first 1.5 miles. We hiked through groves of pines, and then along a small ridge with a beautiful overlook of Fallen Leaf Lake. We continued past smaller alpine lakes with names like Floating Island and Cathedral, all of them reflecting the beautiful vistas on their surfaces of glass.
The trail steepened, climbing 2600 feet over the final 3 miles. We crossed a high, rocky plain, bordered on three sides by the mountain walls of the summit ridge, and dominated by a solitary pine, old and battered by the harsh winters. A series of switchbacks took us up to the summit ridge, where we were greeted with some of the most stunning views of the hike.
That moment when you can first look over the mountain, and see the other side, is for me, the most thrilling point of climbing a mountain. The summit itself is more physically satisfying, and has its own awe-inspiring views. But it's the first wide-open view of the horizon that had been hidden by the mountain that is the real magic, that awakens that deep longing that is most akin to joy.
On this hike, that moment revealed a high meadow, full of widlflowers, that ran away to the west, before the distant peaks of the Desolation Wilderness.
After an inspiring rest at the meadow, with the snack break and photo-ops that accompanied it, we followed the steepening trail up the final ascent of Mount Tallac. We headed past patches of snow, some of the several feet deep. A few pines grew shortly and stoutly on the leeward side of the mountain, but they quickly gave way to a boulder field that lead the last quarter-mile to the top.
And what a top it was. The summit was crowded with day-hikers, even though our trail had not been -- we found out later that many people choose a different route, that is longer but with less elevation change. To the east, Lake Tahoe ran away in front of us, the town easily visible along its shore. The many lakes of the area dotted the landscape blue, and neighboring peaks gave the view definition and contour.
After relaxing at the summit for close to thirty minutes, we headed back down the trail to the car. We got back to South Lake Tahoe just in time for dinner, and stopped at the Brewery for some very tasty pizza and very good beer. I'd definitely recommend it if you're in the area.
