TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

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balzaccom
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TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by balzaccom »

We were committed to getting up into the mountains this weekend, and so we did. But we were car camping, not backpacking, at Union Valley Reservoir, along Ice House Road off Highway 50. (Of course Tom Stienstra in the SF Chronicle singled this lake out the very day we arrived...so expect that it will get a lot more traffic now. Sigh.)

The large, spacious campsites at Wench Creek made us feel very much at home, and the hiking in this area has a lot to offer, particularly when the rest of the Sierra is still under a lot of snow. We managed to go on three or four nice hikes, none of which got above 7,000, and all of which had us tromping through a bit of snow.
And water. Water, water everywhere, as that snow turned back into a liquid and filled every possible low-lying stretch of trail.

If you don't like wet feet, stay out of the mountains this time of year!

But that same water made the rivers and cascades truly memorable.

And there were scenes of great beauty...We got back to camp every night feeling tired but quite please with ourselves.

We've posted the whole lot of photos on Picasa: Thundering cascades, snowy mountains, and scenes around the campfire...

Here one to give you an idea:

Image
https://picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/ ... ampout2011#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(Warning!---this was part of a large group camping trip, so there are photos of very cute children as well. And a few less cute grownups. When was the last time you took a group of people camping?)
Last edited by balzaccom on Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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maverick
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Re: TR fodr last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by maverick »

Thanks Balzaccom for the TR, and pictures, especially of the falls.
A member was asking for info about the Ice House Road area a few weeks back
hopefully this TR will help them out.
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by balzaccom »

Thanks Maverick!

They keep Ice House Road plowed all winter long, because they need access to the reservoirs...so it's also a good snow-shoeing destination.

But right now, you better bring your water babies!
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Carne_DelMuerto
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by Carne_DelMuerto »

Thanks for the TR. Buddy of mine mentioned this area as a good place to take the family camping.

How were the skeeters?
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by East Side Hiker »

How were the crowds?
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balzaccom
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by balzaccom »

Not bad. Saturday night the campground was full, but we never saw more than about ten people on the trail. FOr us that's a lot of people...but compared with JMT or some parts of Yosemite, it's pretty isolated~!
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by pork50 »

Very nice TR- and Pics!
-Pork50
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by windknot »

Thanks for the report! Good to know that the snow's still lingering below the 7,000 foot mark up there.
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by Cross Country »

Those are really cool pics. I've seen several currents into lakes in the backcountry, but none as strong as yours appeared to be.
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Re: TR last weekend---Union Valley Reservoir and beyon

Post by mokelumnekid »

Really nice- reminds us that these early season trips are a gear opportunity to spend time in places that wouldn't call so strongly later in the year. Looks like a fun time!
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