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  1. #1
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    Quick overnight near Lake Spaulding : Photos

    I had a lot of chores around the house to do so I ended up going out late yesterday just to get in a bit of hiking and a night under the stars. So I headed out to the area where I went a few weeks ago to see if I could do a better job of staying on trail and actually find Eagle Lake.

    Lake Spaulding is starting to fill up with all the early snow melt.


    I hiked and hiked. The trail is a tough one, very rocky and quite overgrown. Several times I got out my GPS, map and compass to figure out where the heck the trail was suppose to be. There were long sections where you only knew where the trail was by following rock cairns people had set up. I added a few more in some tricky stretches. Because of the difficulty of just staying on the trail I didn't take any pictures until I finally arrived at Eagle Lake. It's a pretty typical Sierra lake for that area.


    I set up camp and was darn glad I built a Fronkey style bug net with a big Uni-Tape opening on one end because the mosquitoes were out in force. That uni-tape is like Velcro but it won't stick to the netting. Also, it allows me to set up my hammock, pad and sleeping bag and then simply pull the net over the whole thing and then seal the end. I still have the shock corded opening in the bottom to enter and exit.


    I was in the hammock and sleeping just as the distant peaks were falling into shadow. When it started getting light the next morning I thought "I'll just sleep in until the peaks on the other side of the valley are in sunlight. Then it changed to "I'll just sleep in until the tree tops are in sunlight. That changed to "I'll just sleep in until there's sunlight on the ground. When the sun was shining in my face I decided I better get out of bed.

    WAY back in the woods you have to make 2 crossing of Granite Creek. The first one is a moderate to difficult log/rock crossing which kept me on my toes because I was out there alone and really didn't want to get hurt. But the 2nd crossing surprised me because the forest service built a bridge. Well that's convenient!


    The hike out this morning really beat me up. I've gone from 20 to 30 miles per week of conditioning runs down to 5 miles a week. I've got to get back in gear and start building up my stamina again. I'm not quite "just off the couch" out of shape, but I can tell I'm not where I was 2 months ago when I could do my local 7 mile trail run in 2:45. This trip was 6 miles each way with a full pack on rough, rocky trails and it kicked my butt.

    However, on the way back I did get to see sights like this waterfall.


    I'm tired, sore and happy which means it was a darn good overnight trip. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I can do chores in the morning, get out the door by 1pm, be on the trail by 2pm, hike half a dozen miles and be done before sundown. I can then hike out the next morning, grab a lunch on the drive back and still be home by 2. It's not a bad way to spend a weekend.
    Last edited by GregB; 04-28-2013 at 18:03.

  2. #2
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    Nice Greg. Thanks for sharing. Maybe I missed it, what was the over night temps and at what elevation were you?

    S

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sidewinder View Post
    Nice Greg. Thanks for sharing. Maybe I missed it, what was the over night temps and at what elevation were you?

    S
    It was surprisingly warm last night. I doubt it got below the low 60s. During the day it was probably in the 70's yesterday and a bit warmer today. Within the first half mile this morning I stripped off my long sleeve polypro shirt and went with a short sleeve shirt. I also decided to brave the mosquitoes and unzip the legs of my convertible pants. I could deal with bugs on my legs but I ended up hiking with a bug net over my head just to reduce the constant waving away the gnats from my face. A low snow year with early warm temps means lots of marshes and lots of bugs.

    The elevation was in the 5000 to 6000 foot range. There were a few hills but there weren't any big tough hills. Just a couple of short climbs here and there.

  4. #4
    Senior Member breyman's Avatar
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    Great pics! I'm SO excited we're working our way back toward summer! These kinds of trip reports are awesome.
    Brian
    Denver, CO
    Father. Husband. Scoutmaster.

  5. #5
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    Nice job Greg! So I assume Thunder is still recovering or I'm sure he would be right there.
    I would love to hike and hang in that area. So glad to see that the snow is a melting..gary

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by garyg763 View Post
    Nice job Greg! So I assume Thunder is still recovering or I'm sure he would be right there.
    I would love to hike and hang in that area. So glad to see that the snow is a melting..gary
    Oh yeah, he's only suppose to be walking to the mail box and back for the next 5 or 6 weeks. Then we can start doing short half mile hikes and build up to 2 or 3 miles over a month or so after that. I think he'll be ready to do an overnight trip by September.

  7. #7
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    Great pics there - that looks like a nice place. Love the waterfall shot.

    Were you following trails and they got faint or were you bushwhacking?

  8. #8
    Member hikingboots's Avatar
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    Beautiful, I enjoyed the report and pictures!

  9. #9
    Member CannonBeach's Avatar
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    Beautiful! What a spectacular area.

  10. #10
    Senior Member steveflinn's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing this. That area is a very special one! I've spent a lot of time up that way by virtue of having owned land and lived nearby.

    Just to clarify for interested non-locals, you mentioned Eagle Lakes, which is a group of tiny lakes a half day's march from Spaulding. Eagle Lake is 100 miles north, in Lassen County, way up above Susanville, and is the second largest natural lake in California. BOTH are gorgeous backwoodsy areas. A geo-scientist's heaven, too.

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