[Journal Entry for December 21, 2014; Glen Alpine Creek and Cathedral Peak, Desolation Wilderness, near South Lake Tahoe, California] The day is brighter than yesterday, with sun shining through upper atmosphere haze. I park at a lot way behind Fallen Leaf Lake, off Glen Alpine Road (Tr1216) a little past the bridge over Glen Alpine Creek. The Forest Service maintains a kiosk here, but its supply of wilderness permits is out, so I leave a slip of paper with my name and itinerary, in lieu of filling one out.

I took a woods road that followed the creek through open pine forests. Conditions were very soggy, and in places the road was inundated with several inches of water. I paused to view Glen Alpine Falls, a medium size waterfall and, a little later, a substantial beaver pond created by a long arcuate beaver dam that raised the level of the water a couple of feet. A few ducks paddled in the pond. The pond provided an opening in the woods across which I could view the neighboring peaks. They were rounded, bare of trees and snow-covered. One has a sheer cliff-face hundreds of feet high. Overall, conditions felt springy, not like the start of winter. I striped down to my long undershirt, for the sun was warming me up.

I soon come to the Glen Alpine Spring historic site, where a resort once stood. Most of it is ruins now, but a small stone shed still stands next to the wooden pavilion that covers the spring. The sign on the pavilion says “Soda Spring”, so I suppose the water is mineralized (though I didn’t sample it). I poke around the site’s higher elevations – the lower were flooded – finding mostly picturesque, snow-covered granite ledges with only sparse, gnarled trees. The views of the flank of Cathedral Peak are especially good here.

I joined the 17E06 Trail and took it up the flank of Cathedral Peak. It winds through granite knobs, roughly following the valley of a little creak that is a tributary of Glen Alpine. I donned my snowshoes here, for the snow, which was very thin along the Glen Alpine, had thickened to a foot or more. Much of the trail has been reinforced with stonework and is easy to climb, except of course where it was flooded by runoff. The rock ledges and knobs are very beautiful, especially those that are decorated with gnarled juniper and pine trees, or with bushes. The rock is tan granite, with many xenoliths of a darker rock. Glacial striae abound. The views across the valley to the snow-covered peaks on the other side are also very good.

The trail crosses the stream and winds up a wooded section of the valley. The trees are mostly Ponderosa Pine, and in places are truly huge – trunks up to four feet in diameter and more than a hundred feet tall.

The trail leaves the woods and becomes steeper as it climbs up the valley. I found this area particularly fun, for the snow was deep but still easily navigable and the scenery was fantastic. I climbed until I reached a little terrace, just short of the Pacific Crest Trail intersection. Here I bushwhacked up onto a rock ledge that looked back down the valley. I relaxed under a juniper tree, ate my lunch, and admired the view. It was now mid-afternoon, so I decided that I had better make this my endpoint.

The hike down was more difficult than the ascent, for the melting had accelerated and the snow was rather soggy. I took one bad tumble when my snowshoe unexpectedly fouled on something - fortunately without significant injury. I walked along the shore of the beaver pond for a few minutes, hoping to sight a moose or some other large animal, but saw only ducks. The sun was now near setting and was lighting up the cliff face on the other side of the valley splendidly.

A few minutes later I was back at my car. I had an anchovy and green pepper pie at Lake Tahoe Pizza to recharge.

About six hours.