Here are the pictures from Caples Week 2026.
It
was little chilly
(that's putting it mildly) especially in the
evenings and early morning, but great hiking
weather. We had a
wonderful time with friends and flowers.
Arrivals
were quite staggered. Chuck, Lee and Robin
went up on Friday the 26th. Karen and
Donita, Linda J, Susan and Becki arrived
around 4 on the 28th; Linda V arrived at
dinner time. Jennifer and Wayne and Sally
arrived on the 29th, and Leslie joined us for the Wednesday and Thursday hikes. The moon was full on the
29th and those in the lodge had great
views of it rising over Round Top.
There was
lots to see on our first hike even
though the onions were finished and
there were few blossoms on the mule's
ears and balsam root. We spotted lots of
peony plants, but none with fresh
blooms. The calochortus were more
plentiful than we have ever seen.
Distance approximately 3.25 miles for
most.
It doesn’t matter how
many times we walk this trail there is
always lots to see and appreciate. Chuck
and Lee had walked this route before the
rest of us arrived, so stayed at Caples.
Jennifer, Wayne and Sally chose easy
walks around the lake and campground as
it was their first day at altitude, so
that left seven of us. Susan
and Linda V walked on to the pass (Becki
picked them up there) rather than making
it an out and back and Robin returned in
Karen's car with Linda J and Donita. Then there was a short
visit to Kirkwood to see the Snow Plant
and the red penstemon that Lee had
discovered. Under 2 miles.
The climb up to the
ridge is always slow for many of us
but there was lots to engage our
attention. Lee and Chuck turned around
before the up-hill zig-zags. We had
lunch at the rocks on the ridge – it
was really windy! Some did additional
exploration before returning. Again,
mileage is approximate and altitude
has to be considered (the ridge is
9100'); about 2.5 miles to the lunch
spot and back with more for the group
which wandered on the ridge.
This was our night
to eat out at the resort restaurant
so we all had time to shower and
relax.
One group started from the pass
parking lot and walked to Frog,
around the lake, then continued to
Lake Winnemucca. The others
started at Woods Lake and walked
up the trail to Winnemucca.
Everyone went down to Woods and
the folks who started at the pass
got shuttled back up. That's the
simplified version!
It was a day full of flowers and
marvelous clouds. Mileage was all
over the place from 2 to almost 5 miles.
So that's the story.
Enjoy the pictures!!
