TR: Martha and Davis Lakes 7/26-8/3/2017

[Dwwd]

Florence Lake trail head to Martha and Davis Lakes via Goddard Canyon 7/26 to 8/3/2017
Ice melt, bio-life, and bugs in lakes at 11,000 ft

This is my first TR so I ask for your indulgence if the format/information falls short of the expectations of this auspicious group. Also, this web interface, html coding, was a long time ago in my past. I have been a student of wilderness camping for more than 45 years and my passion is to share the experience and learning with friends, families, and kids. A custom fly rod with a feather for exploring and divining the location of large trout is my excuse to get out and visit every creek, lake, and waterfall in the area. The adventure is the never-ending search for ever larger trout while the photo memories of rainbows, sunsets, wildlife and contemplation while sitting on a waterfall, add to the joy of the experience. Currently, my camping partner is 80 years young so we limit the destinations to keep the total trip length down to what we can manage in a weeks’ time.

Specifically, I wanted to follow up with subsequent observations on snow levels and lake ice conditions from the excellent TR by Robert Seeburger. The reference link to his TR is
http://highsierratopix.com/community/vi ... =1&t=16335 Combining his observations and the information below may help everyone in future trip planning to correlate snow levels and specifically estimate ice out timelines on High Sierra mountain lakes.

We departed from the Florence Lake trail head on 7/26/2017 and targeted Martha and Davis Lake as destinations (up and back) via Goddard Canyon over the course of one week. As noted elsewhere Southern California Edison has permission to drain the Florence Lake reservoir this year for dam maintenance. The ferry boat captain expected sometime around August 15 the ferry service across the reservoir would end when the water level became too low. In which case, there is a trail around the reservoir that could be used. The sign indicated it is 4.5-miles.

Also, as expected, any place there was a significant amount of greenery and ground moisture from melting snow or runoff, the misquotes were fierce at level 4. In the higher, drier(rocky), colder elevations the misquote level was a manageable 2.

On the lightly used path past the Hell For Sure trail junction, we expected a wet wade across Martha lake outlet would be required. This was not difficult in the meadow below Martha Lake. Which is where we also observed wild elements from the local boy’s and girl’s club.

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When we finally reached Martha Lake it was a total surprise that it was still >90% frozen, given it was almost August. Based on more information below, it could be at least three more weeks before Martha is ice free.

Here is a comparison of Rob’s photo and our visit from near the Martha Lake outlet.

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A high up view shows Martha Lake is still about 90% frozen and it is almost August. The outlet is off the right hand side of the photo

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We stayed overnight near the outlet of Martha. In the late evening after sunset we did see a few rings from trout rising in the small opening at the outlet. However, it seemed like the activity level of the trout was in slow motion. The next morning there was a thin skin of new ice, demonstrating that even near August 1, high mountain lakes can be still cold enough to freeze. Martha Lake seemed to collect and trap more snow than surrounding areas at the same elevation. Plus, the local topography with peaks east, south, and west reduced the solar illumination to restrict melting rates. Clearly Martha Lake will be mostly frozen well into August. Whereas a smaller lake slightly northeast and 200ft higher was 50% melted as we passed by it on the way to Davis Lake.

Our next destination was cross country to Davis Lake. The high flow rate of the outlet creek from Davis Lake made wet wading nearly impossible. But we did find multiple snow bridges (greater than 5 ft thick) in the narrow canyon to facilitate crossing as needed. What is most interesting is to compare similar ice out photos for Davis Lake at different calendar dates versus Martha Lake. If we zoom in on Robert’s high view of upper and lower Davis Lake it is clear they are mostly frozen. Whereas at the time of my visit the upper and lower (not shown) Davis Lake were 90% ice free. Curiously, there was one bay on lower Davis that looked like the ice extend to the bottom of the lake, more than six feet below the surface. Again, demonstrating the strong effects of local topological conditions.

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So comparing Martha and Davis Lake it seems to take about three weeks from first hints of thawing around the shore line to ice out for lakes around 11,000ft. Davis Lake has much more variety of exposure to southern and western solar illumination. So, Davis Lake seems to melt out sooner than Martha lake. So, the timing of ice out can be estimated by correlating with the Ca Department of water snow weight sensors[1] or the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center snow information[2] referenced below. This historical snow depth data can be added to the Google Earth early spring lake images across the years and field observations of actual ice out timing such as shown above.

Also recall in Robert’s TR there was some discussion about the type of insects found in the stomach contents of the trout he caught at some unnamed lake for dinner. Through careful observation at both Martha and Davis it was possible to see Caddis Fly larva in their cases moving around in the shallow water, on moss covered rocks. The cases were about 25mm long. A quick search on Google for Caddis Fly larva images, sans case, shows larva which look exceeding like the images that Robert posted. Especially if one considers instars of different generations. There was no sign of scuds.

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So, when sitting on a waterfall with a view towards forever, waving a fly rod at the local trout, one can experience, observe, and learn many things about the wilderness. When you are listening to a coyote howl at the moon, watching a bald eagle fly over at sunset, or the dance of the diminutive hummingbird like, Hawk Moth sipping nectar from mountain wildflowers, there is no better place to be for sharing the experience with friends and family.

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Ref 1: Ca Department of Water Resources, Cooperative Snow Surveys.
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/index2.html
Ref 2: Individual Sierra Nevada Snow Depth Observations and melting models
From National Weather Service. National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center.
http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/reports. ... e&filter=0

[Jimr]

Dwwd, an excellent TR and contrasting analysis. That's a beautiful buck you captured. Also, the hawk moth in flight was an excellent capture. In the many years I've been hiking the Sierra, I've never notice the number of Hawk Moths that I've noticed this year. I wonder if Columbine rely specifically on the Hawk Moth for pollination. The Hawk may feed on many types of flowers, but I'm not sure if there are any other insects with a probiscus long enough to get into the spur of the Columbine.

[cgundersen]

Dwwd,
Besides echoing Jim's comments, I'm curious whether I read that correctly: 80 years young? If so, could you start another thread to share the secrets of Sierra longevity? Is it bathing in ice cold streams? Trout-based diet? Or, just general stubbornness? Cameron

[jeremiahkim]

Wonderful write up and thanks for taking the effort for the comparison photos. Your camping partner is an inspiration!

[maverick]

Cameron wrote:
I'm curious whether I read that correctly: 80 years young? If so, could you start another thread to share the secrets of Sierra longevity?

OP wrote;

Currently, my camping partner is 80 years young so we limit the destinations to keep the total trip length down to what we can manage in a weeks’ time.

Will have to ask his the OP's partner Cameron.