North: entering desolation

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Camp Notes: Lake Genevieve

Location: Stepped off 40 paces from the Lake, camped.

Sunset: 7:08 pm or so

Temp at 9 pm: 53°

No weather, no mosquitoes, so no tent.

Big winds in afternoon, calmed by evening.

"or so" note: I record the Sunrise/Sunset times and corresponding compass points, the time of the transit of the Sun and its elevation, and the Moon Phases as the header of my journal.

This allows me to use the Sun, Moon, and Stars as a compass and a clock.

The times above reflect astronomical facts for the start day of the trip. Every day the Sunset and Sunrise times change, so the accuracy of my observations diminish. The rate of change is up to a minute a day for both Sunrise and Sunset, though the change in the compass point of sunrise and set is minimal.

For trips lasting over a week I either record another set of sunrise and set times for the mid-point of the trip, or I include a correction factor.

Astronomical Information

Trail Junction: General Creek

Short Cross-Country Route

The General Creek trail junction is a shortcut to the Pacific Crest Trail that would only make sense for Northbound Hikers. The trail post for the General Creek Trail sits at the North side of Genevieve Lake.

The 30 min map shows a trail, but the 7.5 min map does not. I observed a backpacker doing a day hike cutting up the General Creek trail, but he got past me before I could catch him. (I was taking a crap.) I wanted to ask him about the General Creek route to the PCT.

A short while later I had a snack with the very same dude on Phipps Pass.

After hiking by me at Lake Genevieve he followed the General Creek Trail to the PCT, then hiked South to the TYT trail junction to hike the TYT back to his Crag Lake campsite. In the meantime I had hiked from Lake Genevieve to Phipps Pass Southbound along the TYT.

Excellent Short Backpacking Trip

His day hiking trip consisted of backpacking up to Crag Lake from Meeks Bay, dropping his pack, then day hiking the General Creek loop to the Pacific Crest Trail, then hooking left at the trail junction above Middle Velma Lake to follow the Desolation Trail back to Crag Lake. Nice work.

His trip was an example of how you can make a short backpacking trip exciting. He only carried his heavy pack a very short distance to a fine campsite on Craig Lake, avoiding the pain of long distance backpacking. Leaving his pack in camp allowed him to explore the cross country routes in the area while only carrying day hiking weights.

He reported the General Trail as rough cross country, but easily do-able.

comments

I do exactly the same thing. But I do it by carrying an extra day's food between my resupply points. Then I can throw down the pack, pull out the day pack, and take a lightweight day of scrambling.

Here's the old-school day pack I bring on my Lake Tahoe to Mount Whitney trips for day hiking.

I stuff this pack at the bottom of my external frame pack, where it only comes out for "day-off" scrambles and explorations, which you will see described down up and down the trail guide.

It fits water, food, and an extra layer comfortably. I once used this pack for a one-night, two day 46 mile round trip to bring supplies to a trail crew. I carried a layer and a sleeping bag, and their liquor order.

They provided a great party, dinner and breakfast. You've never partied until you've partied with trail crew at elevation during the end of the season.

Note the leather strap loops on this fine old pack. Note the metal buckles. They don't make them like this anymore. You can really gear up this late-'70s vintage Kelty for "lightening" trips by externally strapping on your sleeping bag, pad, and shell, while packing it with your insulation layer and food enough for a day or two.

I can see how carrying two packs will drive Pacific Crest Trailers crazy. Though heavy during the long hauls between resupply points, without this pack I would not be able to do aggressive scrambles between resupply points.

Thus the difference between Tahoe to Whitney and Pacific Crest Trailers. Though both must push long distances, the lack of a seasonal time constraint allows the High Sierra backpacker the time pack an extra day's food between resupply points to scramble without worrying about being caught in early season snow a couple of months later while crossing Washington.

Few Pacific Crest Trailers can, or will, pack extra food, or take a day off to scramble.

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Discussion: Backpacking to Lake Genevieve from Meeks Bay in the Desolation Wilderness

Night #1: Lake Genevieve

First, the miles!

Meeks Bay trail head to the end of the dirt road/ Desolation trail junction: 1.35 miles

Dirt road/trail junction to Lake Genevieve: 3.36

Total: Meeks Bay to Lake Genevieve: 4.39 miles

This Map: Meeks to Genevieve                                    Next Map: Genevieve to Susie Lake

The Trail to Lake Genevieve: Getting there is half the fun!

My late Summer Backpacking trip out of the Lake Tahoe Basin began at the Meeks Bay trail on Sept. 15, '09, and was typical of how I start many of my of my backpacking trips. Tired, hungry, and late in the afternoon.

I hit the Meeks Bay trail head at four pm in the afternoon. I Craig's Listed a ride with a wonderful young lady, Margot, to a remote on-ramp of highway 80 in the middle of nowhere in the High Sierras: Highway 20 from Nevada City. Great Views!

These things happen when your backpacking trip begins not at the trail head, but when you walk out your front door with your backpack 250 miles from the trail head. Hitch hiking to Meeks out of the middle of nowhere in the High Sierras was not a real problem. Patience is the key. When things do not work out, adjust your trip and your expectations to suit the circumstances, both on the trail, and while getting to the trailhead.

First Day Time & Food management

You may wait awhile, but there are plenty of good folk out here in the Sierras who will always stop for a backpacker. And there are a lot of yuppies with Summer Homes, and foreign tourists who will sneer at you.

I got a ride all the way to the trail head after two hours, from a delightful retired couple out of Southern California. But, as I hit the trail head late, without eating all day, I decided to hitch back to the Tehoma store ("PDQ"), and ate half of one of their huge sandwiches. Hitching back to the trail head was no problem, as the same couple that gave me a ride had stopped for pizza in Tehoma, and I was pleasantly surprised when they picked me up for the second time.

They offered me the leftover pizza they had packed to go, and I was able to sample the Tehoma Pizza: Good stuff. Not great, but pretty good. After all of this I arrived too late at the trailhead to make any real miles on the trail the first day. Lake Genevieve would be it.

But the food was worth the delay. I prefer to hit the trail head with my stomach completely full of food, rather than hungry. Especially on long trips like this one, where I am trying to make the 181 miles to Yosemite with only the food I'm carrying. Carrying no Resupply means you must pay careful attention to you hiking plan!

I may waddle for the first few miles, but when dinner time comes, I can get away with eating just a few hearty snacks. You can see why I try not to eat one of my nifty 600 calorie freeze-dried dinners on the first night. I'm trying to preserve my food supply to make sure I really am carrying enough food for the whole trip. Better too full at the beginning, than too empty at the end! Managing hunger sucks, so I always prefer to manage an ample food supply.

On the hoof: food considerations-calculations

Nonetheless, it was an easy hike up to Lake Genevieve, despite my 75 pound pack loaded with 11+/- days of food. But I was really happy to throw my pack down at Lake Genevieve, despite the fact that there are much better campsites just a little bit up the trail at Crag, Hidden, Shadow, and Stony Ridge Lakes. This worked out aesthetically, as the beauty of this chain of lakes is best observed and photographed in the still early morning air when the surface of the lake is a mirror of the mountains and forests around it.

As it was getting late, the sun was low in the Western sky, and I had spent all day on the road getting to the trail head I was happy with my first day's short hike to Lake Genevieve.

There are campsites everywhere around Genevieve Lake. Instead, I just marched off a hundred feet from the lake at the rather large flat spot around the trail post, leaned my damn heavy pack against a tree, and used it as the backrest for my seat.

My foam pad made an excellent seat pad, complimented by my bear canister foot rest. This was instant comfort. My gear bits transform into my mountain version of a lazy-boy chair.

I did not have much to do. Assorted snacks for dinner meant no stove or cooking equipment was necessary for dinner. There were no bugs or weather threatening, so I didn't need to set up the tent. After chilling out and relaxing watching the sunset on the mountains, then the brightening stars wheel out through the dimming twilight skies until darkness set in, sleep came naturally. I just unrolled my pad, put my bag on it, crawled in and went immediately to sleep under the crystal clear star filled sky.

Topo Hiking Map: Meeks to Genevieve                   Topo hiking Map: Genevieve to Susie Lake

next page South: Lake Genevieve 2

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Segment: Lake Genevieve