High Sierra Topix

A hike I had enjoyed some years ago went up to Mt Tallac and then to Lake Gilmore for an overnighter. I remember passing floating Island lk and Cathedral Lake early on in the hike. There is a fork off the main trail that took me to the cliffs over Fallen Leaf Lake at which point I turned around, regaining the original trail and heading to Tallac.
My question is, just looking at a topo of the area, the trail overlooking Fallen Leaf shows it heading all the way down to the lake. But I remember a shear drop off after a few hundred feet. Anyone hike this trail out of Fallen leak?
Thanks for any info

Hi Ridgeline

Im thinking the trail you are asking about is what some call the Stanford Trail...it starts on the West shore of Fallen leaf Lake by Stanford Camp. I do not think it is a maintained trail & I have heard it is very bushy with over grown manzanita and is quite steep..my map is showing it merging with the main trail just before Cathedral Lake. There is another trail that you might like even better...called the Middle Tallac trail...you get that at Lily Lake at Glen Alpine trailhead..most people do not know this trail is there..it is a unmaintained trail. It is one of my favorite trails & is the one I hike when I do Tallac or Dicks Peak...it would drop you off at Gilmore Lake..or if you wanted to do Tallac you head xcroutry North and just merge with the main Tallac trail above the bowl. This is a beautiful hike when the flowers are out.
Don't know if this helps any..but thought I would respond

Thanks, sounds like the Trail I ran into, but thought it ended at some cliffs. You mentioned flowers, unbelievable, in that meadow just before summiting Tallac. I also remember while sleeping near Gilmore the trout started jumbing just as the sun set, it sounded like the water was boiling. Ok, enough reminiscing, I need to get back up to do some Tahoe hiking.

ridgeline wrote:Thanks, sounds like the Trail I ran into, but thought it ended at some cliffs. You mentioned flowers, unbelievable, in that meadow just before summiting Tallac. I also remember while sleeping near Gilmore the trout started jumbing just as the sun set, it sounded like the water was boiling. Ok, enough reminiscing, I need to get back up to do some Tahoe hiking.

My family and I (brother, mom, and dad) dayhiked the trail from Stanford Camp (on the shore of Fallen Leaf Lake near Glen Alpine) to Mt. Tallac in the mid to late seventies and found it well maintained. It is shown as an official maintained trail on the (current) USFS topo map of Desolation Wilderness which puts it in a somewhat more refined category than the lsuperb but unmarked (on any map) "Gilmore Direct" trail from Glen Alpine trailhead to Gilmore Lake. Regarding Gilmore, yes those rising trout can be noisy.