With no real plans in place, I decided to make a trip into my nearby NF just to check out conditions and breathe some fresh air. I figured I better throw in an overnight pack so I can stay out if I come across something I like.
I entered the Eldorado NF heading north on Ice House Road from highway US 50. As I made my way up the road I stopped along the way at a couple of creeks and other drainages to check out how the melt is going. As I passed the turnoff for Ice House Reservoir it dawned on me that I haven't been to Bassi Falls in a couple of years and now would be a perfect time to go with all of the snow and now warm weather. A couple miles farther north I passed the bridge over Big Silver Creek, at about 5,000 ft., and reached the unimproved road to access the falls. The closure of all unpaved roads was still in effect on the NF, so the gate was closed. This meant that instead of a 2 mile bumpy drive and a .5 mile hike to the base of the falls, it was going to be a nice 2.5 mile snow hike in with less people to be expected – perfect!
Now for some pictures.
The route
The "road"
I'm melting!
Bassi Falls
At the top of the falls looking out
Roaring
Bassi Fork above the falls
I got it!
I'm still rather convinced that you can achieve more than you've ever dreamed of if you just lower your standards.
Welcome aboard, and thanks for the TR and picture's. Nice to see the thaw in effect.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer
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
