Pelican Cafe Essays and Blogs - Castle Peak California


	9/6/2010

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Castle Peak California

By Paul Lyons

6/8/2007 12:31:31 PM | Number of Comments: 0 | Add Comments +

Editor's Note: Paul has promised excellent photos for this essay but turned up with few. He often says that he goes skiing up by Castle Peak but I conjecture that he actually just drives into Truckee and hangs out at in all the local bars. On good days, maybe he heads over the border and plays Black Jack.

The Sierra Mountains run up and down the east side of California. The whole eastern part of the state seems to be one National Forest after another. All of these forests are tremendous with large trees, amazing rock formations, high mountain lakes and waterfalls in the spring. Of course the most famous is Yosemite but nature knows nothing of the man-made boundaries. A hundred miles to the north, just past Desolation Wilderness is Tahoe National Forest, one of my favorites.

Interstate 80 runs right through Tahoe National Forest. It climbs to more than seven thousand feet and makes it over the pass at Donner Summit named after the poor folk who one winter got stuck in the snow at the lake not to far away and had to eat their horses then their shoes and finally Aunt Betsy, though she must have smelled awful and there surely was not too much meat on her bones. At Donner Summit, looking north one sees an impressive rock formation. This is Castle Peak named for the fact that it resembles a castle. Each winter when we go skiing up in this area I know I am fully alive just seeing this mountain. It is true that throughout time we have had varying feeling about mountains. At one time they were thought to be places that harbored the devil and evil spirits. At other times they were a place that one goes to regain ones health, both physically and mentally. I like this second approach better.

Castle Peak is a great place to venture in both the winter and the summer. It is a great day trip on skis though best done with a guide the first time around. To the West is Basin Peak a big round looking thing. By the little lake in the valley at the foot of these two mountains is Peter Grubb Hut, which is used by backcountry skiers and snowshoers. It is a pretty sparse in terms of amenities but is well maintain by Sierra Club volunteers. Lately Peter Grubb Hut has become a bit over crowed; it is not too far a trek from the road so it is getting more and more traffic. Every year a few poor folk venture up to Peter Grubb Hut in the winter and get lost. The weather can change quickly and once the clouds and snow come in, it is easy to lose your way. In the summer, Castle Peak experiences a bit of traffic as it is along the Pacific Crest Trail. Many high mountain lakes are nearby. Mountain flowers are everywhere. The afternoon winds will blow through the trees and passes and wash the city right out of your brain.

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