Lakes Basin (Plumas County, California)

A trip with Deanna's Advanced Hiking Meetup group is always a great time and today was no exception. I had signed up for the trip a few weeks back, but after rolling my ankle pretty badly a few days ago, I was a bit reluctant. I ran on it a couple of miles yesterday and it seemed to do okay, and so, I decided to go ahead with the hike. Meeting the large group at the Red Rock exit a few miles north of Reno, we caravan-ed up to Graeagle. With the top down on my jeep, it was a bit cool, but manageable.

We arrived at the Jamison Mine Trailhead at about 9:30 am, and the group, now twenty strong, headed out for a day of hiking in the Lakes Basin area. I have hiked in the general area before and heard about the large number of beautiful alpine lakes in the area, but this was my first experience with the immediate area.

The trail climbs steadily out of the gravel parking lot and heads into the heavily wooded forest. Everyone in this group always keeps a good pace, which I appreciate. After about a mile, we stop to see a small waterfall just off of the trail. Though it is July, the water was still flowing pretty ferociously over this fall. We quickly hit the trail again and continue the gradual incline, finally arriving at the first of our many lakes to visit, Grass Lake. This one is fairly large, but a bit mossy. The dogs that are with us don't seem to mind though as they dive in for a swim.

Moving on pretty quickly, we head on towards the next lake, Wades Lake, which sits in a small granite bowl. As we approach the water, we encounter a couple of campers. We ask about their stay and they tell us they have been here three days. I can certainly see why. The lake is amazingly beautiful and the campsites available on this, the north side, of the lake are outstanding. I might have to return here someday and take advantage of it myself. We pause for a few minutes to wait for the entire group to catch up and have a snack, while we wait. 

Soon enough though, we're back on the trail and making our to the third lake, Jamison Lake. Deanna had mentioned that she was planning on the group stopping at this one for lunch and to swim if anyone was so inclined. The lunch was a good idea as we all lounged on a large rock outcropping, but the cold breeze flowing over this lake discouraged most from jumping. Not everyone though, one brave soul from our group braved the cold water and frigid air. He said it wasn't too bad, but failed to convince anyone else to join him.

After a short respite, we were once again on the move. So far, my ankle seems to be doing pretty well. It's still a bit sore, but I feel like I need to start putting pressure on it again. We descend into the bowl of our last lake, Rock Lake. This one also has a few campers enjoying the shoreline. We play around on some of the large rock outcroppings and skip a few rocks off of the clear blue water. I suddenly need to find a tree to water and make my way around to the other side of the lake, only to stumble on another small lake just behind. This one is really picturesque in that it has a large granite boulder rising from the center and grasses growing out of the water in a serene crescent shape around the rock - really cool.

Finally, we regroup and start to make our way back to the parking lot. Though everyone here is a pretty strong hiker, we end up splintering into smaller groups, of which I'm in the front one. I end up finding a wonderful loose rock and feel a nasty twinge when I put weight on my sore ankle on top of the rock, but it is short lived. Arriving back at the parking lot, I check my GPS app and find that we've covered just over 8 miles. It was a good recovery hike for my ankle.

As with most hikes with this group though, arriving back at the trail head is not the end of the day. We stop for a few beers at the Brewing Lair in Blairsdon, which is on our way back to Reno. A total surprise to me though, folks have prepared a rather well-stocked picnic for us to enjoy out on the decks of the brewery. Good food, good games, good beer, and good people - it always makes for a fantastic day.