Palomar Mountain

Yesterday, Gail and I celebrated our first "anniversary" by going on an adventure to Palomar Mountain.  The drive should have taken about one and a half hours, but it looked like there was a scenic route going up the mountain.  This route quickly turned into a 10 mile dirt road, that was narrow, steep, and strewn with rocks and pot holes.

Thunderstorms have been frequent in the mountains this month due to humidity and heat.

The slow going was perfect for birdwatching, etc.  We only saw one other vehicle.  I had an epiphany of sorts, and came up with the name "Dusty" for our trusty Honda CRV.

At the top of the mountain is the Palomar Observatory, finished in 1947.  It still is a workhorse telescope today, when the skies are clear.  It was the world's largest light telescope for a number of years, and can see galaxies over 11 billion light years away.  The concrete containment dome is 135 feet high, and rotates smoothly.

George Hale was the impetus for making this telescope twice as large as his pevious one, also the world's largest.

Inside the containment dome, you can watch the scientists behind glass, puttering around.  That round object at the bottom of the picture is the 200 inch reflecting mirror - "The Big Eye" as it was called by the thousands of folks who lined the train route to see the Pyrex mirror blank pass by at 25 mph on its journey from Corning Glass Works in New York, to Caltech in Pasadena.  When the mirror blank was cast, it took 10 months to cool.  At Caltech, another four years was spent grinding the concave, removing more than five tons of glass! 

To give you an idea of the size of the equipment, look for the woman scientist standing behind the ladder.  The scene looks like a cross between Star Wars and St. Peter's Basilica!

There is a separate building with kiosks explaining some of the wonders of the universe, and recent discoveries.

We later hiked and found a place to have our picnik - just in time to watch the sun starting to set.  The mountain was very active with acorn woodpeckers, western bluebirds, band tailed pigeons, goldfinches, juncos, red tail hawks, and our most exciting bird ID - a pair of Swainson's hawks.  Check the nifty picnik pack that Gail found at the Escondido Goodwill!

Parts of the mountain have burned in the past few years, but regrowth is well on its way.

Going over the trail map as the sun imparts its glow.

Southern California haze makes for pretty sunsets!

The sunset setting on the camera and digital zoom adds drama!

As we drove out of the state park, we spotted a Southern Pacific rattlesnake on the road, soaking up the heat.  We stopped and shooed him off the road for his safety.  And so ended another fine day of discovery, celebration, and adventure.

Desolation Wilderness

Last Monday, July 30th, Nick and I did a backpacking trip in the Desolation Wilderness, just west of Lake Tahoe.  It was great to resume our annual trek after missing the last three years - neither of us could believe it had been so long.  We picked up right where we left off, though.

We took the water taxi the length of Echo Lakes in order to shave off 3 miles of walking by lake cabins.

This is the view from the trail looking back at Echo Lakes.  Our average elevation was around 8,000 feet for the trip.

After hiking mostly uphill for about 4 miles, our destination for the night came into sight - Lake Aloha.  Normally, there would have been much more snow, but this was a dry year.

Nick was given the "Aloha welcome" by a humongous beetle.

The Sierras have plenty of drinking water, but you must filter or treat it to prevent giardia, a parasite that can infect one's intestines.

We went swimming in the icy water - refreshing, as they say!

Nick still loves to grab the camera and roam for artistic shots.  The plentiful driftwood fueled our imaginations.

Here we are trying out our campsite.  We skipped using the tent all 3 nights.

The sun setting over the lake.  At the same time, a full moon was coming up in the east.  It lit up the light colored granite so well, you could see color.  We had no trouble walking around without lights.

In the morning, we were checked by Ranger Murray and his band of youthful interns.  We had our permit, were far enough from the lake, used bear cannisters, didn't make a fire, and didn't make a new campsite - "we done good!".  This was the first time we have been asked for a permit, but not the last, as all the rangers were trying to impress the trainees.  We knew the magic words, though, "Murray checked us!"

We were surprised by the number and variety of wildflowers.  Spring comes late in the high country.

On the way to our next destination, we passed several lakes.  This is Heather Lake.  There are about 90  lakes in the Desolation Wilderness, which only covers about 100 square miles.

As we neared our destination, Half Moon Lake, we passed this lily pond.  If you look closely, you can see 3 mallard ducks swimming off.

We had Half Moon Lake to ourselves, except for a few midday hikers.  It was a couple miles off the main trail.

Sitting at "our beach".

Nick is the first to test the water.  It appears that he has erupted from the water like a dolphin!

I think I scored a 3.57 on this one,  as I was not completely vertical on entry  :(

 We took a leisurely nature hike around Half Moon Lake, below.  We found some other small but beautiful lakes within yards of  "our" lake, a waterfall, and signs of good fishing (see below).

Here, I have a fish on - it was all I could do to reel it in!

Another pretty one.

Like spring all over again!

We were looking at a possible beaver lodge and then saw this animal in a dead tree.  I immediately thought beaver until we saw his bushy tail.

It turned out we  were in a community of marmots which are closely related to groundhogs.  They appeared curious, comical, and rather slow moving.  I have read that at some trailheads in the Sierras, they will go under your car and chew the wiring and hoses, etc., and it is suggested you put chicken wire around the bottom of your car.

Once again, we had another moonlit night that had me wishing for my "good" camera.

"Camp Williams"







The next morning, we hiked to our third night destination, Clyde Lake.  We passed by towering granite walls, hundreds of feet high.

Here we are on top of Mosquito Pass, elevation about 8,400 feet, with the headwaters of the Rubicon River behind us. 

Coming down the other side of the pass we got a glimpse of the beautiful little Clyde Lake.



Nick checks the cold clear water.

Two righteous dudes basking after a refreshing plunge in the snow melt.

Happy hour meant a game or two of Yahtzee.  Not losing dice down cracks, etc., presented a challenge. 

High above us were these immense blocks of stone that had a man-made appearance.

Our sleeping site overlooking the lake.  We were the only ones at Clyde Lake for our entire stay - amazing, considering the popularity of Desolation Wilderness.

The next morning the lake was so still, the reflections were mirror images of the mountains above.

Nature's Rorschach!

We said goodbye to our own personal marmot who lived within feet of our campsite.

Nick and I hiked out later in the day.  We both felt like we were getting into our backpacking groove, and our conditioning was better each day.  We will both savor the adventure we had together until the next trip - hopefully much sooner than this last one!