A Lazy Grouse Ridge Weekend

If you've been searching for the best source of information and stimulating discussion related to Spring/Summer/Fall backpacking, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada...look no further!
Post Reply
User avatar
Vaca Russ
Topix Expert
Posts: 809
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:12 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: The Nut Tree

A Lazy Grouse Ridge Weekend

Post by Vaca Russ »

“Sport” and “Vaca Mav” both had to work. I wanted to get outside and test some new gear, but I didn’t feel like driving or hiking a great distance. I was looking for an easy “in and out” weekend. Grouse Ridge is a good nearby choose. The only problem is the weekend crowds but even those can be managed. So I harnessed up my two "Trail Princesses" and hit the road.

We recently were entertained with BA and his friends’ report regarding the aquatic biodiversity management plan for this area. The plan revealed that lake # 12808 has been identified as a native species reserve. Sometime in the future any remaining trout will be removed from this lake for native species restoration. I wanted to try and help by removing some of the trout myself. :)

The trail was well signed by a young man’s Eagle Scout project in 2011.
1 Sign.JPG
Soon my destination was in sight.
2 Black Buttes.JPG
The good thing about this time of year is the great proliferation of flowers along the trail.
3 Flowers.JPG
The bad thing is the populated vampire habitat.
4 Bog.JPG
I mostly had trouble with these bloodsuckers while hiking along the trail. They enjoy hanging out in the cool shaded forested areas. I brought along some Deet but they never got so bad I had to pull out this poison. I did however suffer a couple of bites over the weekend.

We finally made it to the lake. OH BOY!! The first group I encountered had 15 people! The second group had 8 people. I didn’t bother to count all of the others. I should mention that many of these people were young children. If you have young kids and are looking for a good place to take them backpacking you really should check out the Grouse Ridge area.

Fortunately they all stayed at the established campsites right at the lake. We hiked west cross country a little over an eighth of a mile and found a nice spot with plenty of privacy.
5 Tent.JPG
We set up camp, ate lunch and took a nap. Later we wanted to climb the local crag. We headed up this chute.
6 Chute.JPG
The summit block was a little technical but had great hand and footholds.
7 Summit Block.JPG
Hey look! There was even a register!
8 Register.JPG
The sun was starting to head down so we climbed down to see if we could catch some of the local residence of the lake.
9 Lake.JPG
I saw several fish jumping. They looked like nice sized brookies. I was unable to catch any fish and I was not alone. There was some significant fishing pressure on the lake that afternoon. I don’t think anybody was able to fool the fish.

We went back to camp and tested some of our new equipment and went to bed. You do sometimes meet some interesting characters on the trail. I stopped to take a picture of this recent automobile accident and I ran into the “Deliverance” Brothers. :D
10 Deliverance.JPG
Thanks for reading my post.

-Russ
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"...Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master?"

Kahil Gibran.
User avatar
austex
Topix Expert
Posts: 552
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 11:51 am
Experience: N/A
Location: Austin, Texas

Re: A Lazy Grouse Ridge Weekend

Post by austex »

Da-da-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding.... You know the rest! :eek:
Thanks for the visual Russ!
User avatar
Mradford
Topix Regular
Posts: 325
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:03 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Ladera Ranch
Contact:

Re: A Lazy Grouse Ridge Weekend

Post by Mradford »

Ha, that is awesome. Thanks for the post.
User avatar
rams
Topix Acquainted
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 10:11 am
Experience: N/A

Re: A Lazy Grouse Ridge Weekend

Post by rams »

beautiful pics
User avatar
balzaccom
Topix Addict
Posts: 2967
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:22 pm
Experience: N/A

Re: A Lazy Grouse Ridge Weekend

Post by balzaccom »

You hit it right. The flowers on Sand Ridge can be absolutely spectacular!
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-R ... 0984884963
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], creekfeet, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Scroach and 365 guests