4th of July Lake from Blue Lakes (Alpine County, California)

Weather has been crazy this entire year. In fact, the Reno/Tahoe area received its first snowfall (in the mountains) of the winter on the very last day of summer. I had already made arrangements to hike with Deanna's Meetup to hike up to 4th of July Lake from the Blue Lakes area on Carson Pass. While we would be above 8000' for much of the hike, we couldn't let a little snow stop us (especially in September).

We met at Sierra Summit as we often do and carpooled the ninety minute drive to Upper Blue Lakes Campground. Upon turning on to Blue Lakes Road, we started seeing the snow that had fallen over the last couple of days. There wasn't a lot, but it was a bit more than a dusting. There was probably 1-2 inches on the ground. The pine trees that adorned the surrounding hills were themselves adorned with pure white snow that almost looked fake like the stuff that people often spray on their Christmas Trees in their homes.

The trail starts out trudging through the snowfall, but this early in the morning, the ground was still frozen and it didn't amount to much difficulty. Luckily, others had already trekked in on the snow, which made finding the trail a trivial matter. As usual the group tends to splinter into smaller sub-groups. All of us are pretty strong hikers, but everyone has their own pace. 

Whether from the current snow or from other sources who knows, but the trail crosses a couple of small creeks as make our way into the valley below the lake. The first two are nothing more than a trickle, but the final one, which is probably responsible for carving the valley, is a bit more substantial. It requires carefully making our way down a steep incline and then rock-hopping across a creek that is no more than 6 inches deep, but stretches about 10 feet wide. Everyone makes the crossing with minimal incident.

From the creek crossing the trail sneaks up the mountainside with little to no cover from the cold wind. I've certainly hiked in colder weather, but not in September. The trail leads another mile or so as it slowly makes it's way to the bowl that holds 4th of July Lake.

Arriving at the lake, we pause for a short lunch break. Snow covers the shores and surrounding areas and the mid-30 degree temperatures make it a bit chilly once we stop moving. We encounter a couple of campers who had been on the lake shore for a day or two - nice folks, who must have endured some really cold nights the last couple of days. 

After our snack, we begin to make our way back to the trailhead. I don't remember there being quite so much unrelenting uphill, but apparently there was. As it approaches noon and the sun moves directly overhead, the snow has begun to melt and makes for a bit of mud - nothing serious, but more than we hiked in on. 

Finally reaching the cars again, we break out the cooler and the thirteen of us park in the sun and enjoy some beer, cider, and various snacks. In total, we hiked about 8.6 miles through some gorgeous country, especially with the light snow covering. It's always a great time hiking with these folks and I look forward to our next adventure.