Only a small group of us made the annual trip to Caples this year. Lee and Chuck went up on Friday. Phred, Elaine, Ulla and Karen arrived mid-day on Sunday and Syliva and Ron cam up on Monday. The McCaffree's stayed in cabin #3; Ulla and Karen were in the lodge; the others stayed at Kirkwood.
We had been warned that trails might be impassable due to the lingering snow, that creeks would be high, flowers late, etc. etc. Some of this was true, but it didn't detract from our experiences.
As usual Ulla and Karen, Phred and Elaine took warm up hikes on the old Hwy 88 route. This always seems like a good way to judge what flowers we are going to see during the week as well as get used to hiking and breathing at 8000'.
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Over a great supper of plentiful hors d'oeuvres (Elaine), home made gazpacho (Ulla) and fresh cobbler (Lee) all washed down with prosecco and wine (Karen) we discussed options for hiking on Monday. With only 6 of us and two high clearance cars we decided on hiking from Schneider's Camp up to the ridge. The wind was strong and a bit nippy up at 9200', but in sheltered areas it was delightful. There were enough flowers to satisfy us and no one seemed anxious to turn this into a longer hike. Primary flowers were Wyethia mollis and Balsamarhiza sagitata. Phred, Elaine and Karen did make a short 2nd hike, going in from the parking area just below the pass to see if we could find the Steers heads which Lee and Chuck had seen on Saturday (success). By the time we got back to Caples, Ron and Sylvia had arrived, so there were 8 of us around the big table in the resort dining room enjoying Lee's "company casserole".
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Soon after we returned from Caples last year, Shirley gave Karen an article from the Tahoe Weekly paper about the Machado Postpile formation. She suggested we "might" be interested. Karen found an on-line version of the article as well as several other links which she forwarded to others last August. Lee and Chuck remembered, and were ready to give it a try. This hike is "off trail" for most of the way; the route, reasonably well marked by ducks, is not always obvious; it is considered a cross-country hike. Chuck is experienced in this sort of thing and acted as our leader. For the first time ever Karen used a GPS tracking app (Gaia); that was really helpful on the return when the ducks didn't seem to be as obvious. We didn't make it all the way to the Postpile, but we did get a glimpse of a corner of the formation. Chuck, scouting ahead, said he wouldn't recommend the creek crossing and we were happy to have managed as much as we did. Flower of the day was Triteleia ixioides. We treated ourselves to ice cream and soda at the Kit Carson store afterwards. And no one had to cook as it was our planned dinner out at the Kirkwood Inn.
Tahoe Weekly article on the postpile (be sure to watch the video - link right after the intro)
I went hunting and found other links.
Our hike
From eight back to four on Wednesday as the McDougall's and Jackson's both returned home. We felt that no Caples week is complete with out a visit to Winnemucca, so that was what we did. A car was left at the pass parking area and we rode down to Woods Lake. Since the campground is not open, there was plenty of parking. We walked up from the bridge crossing the outlet creek and met at Winnemucca for water/snacks. As you will see from the pictures there really was snow on the trail and most of our familiar flowers were not yet blooming (many not yet showing leaves!). The main snowy sections lay between Winnemucca and Frog with several longish crossings. Again, not too many flowers, just great views! Word at the Carson Pass Information Station was that iris were blooming at the far side of Frog. After lunch Lee and Karen took off to verify that claim. The iris (flower of the day) were indeed blooming and other flowers, too.
Lee and Chuck headed home Thursday morning. Before they left we made reservations for next July (12-16). Ulla and Karen debated about hiking and instead opted for a quiet day at the lake reading, journaling and relaxing. Late in the afternoon we wandered over to the currently closed campground and made a circuit. Plenty of good things to see.
Friday morning it was time to head back to "civilization".
Pictures from the trip up and back:
Pictures from around Caples Lake Resort:
One more thing...I made a list of what we did not see that we usually do find (I probably missed some things that really were in bloom and forgot others that weren't)
Mimulus lewisii (the big, pale pink one)
Lilium parvum (the orange one)
Agastache
Artemisia norvegica (the green one with flowers that never look "open")
Primula suffrutescens (usual spots still snow covered)
Epilobium obcordatum (Rock fringe - usual sites also snowy or just clear of snow)
Mentzelia laevicaulis (Blazing star - no sign even of leaves)
tall delphiniums (saw some leaves)
Bistort
Cassiope mertensiana (White heather - again, snow still in usual spots)
purple owl's clover
Shasta clover
Chaenactis
Dusky Horkelia
mallows
additionally there were fewer than the usual number of:
blooming lupines (most were still only in bud)
paint brush was just starting
very few Elephant's head
very few Columbine
no blooming Fireweed, but plenty of plants
Scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata...most of the Ipomopsis we saw were I. tenuituba)
