Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rescue, CA
    Hammock
    Warbonnet BlackBird
    Tarp
    MacCat Deluxe
    Insulation
    Down top & bottom
    Suspension
    Strap and buckle
    Posts
    934
    Images
    69

    Middle Loch Leven Lake, Tahoe Nat'l Forest May 26-27



    Loch Leven Lakes are a very popular destination, since the trailhead is very easy to get to from Interstate 80.
    So this Meetup organized trip happened on Tuesday/Wednesday - when we figured most of the Memorial Day crowds would be gone. They were.

    We left the trailhead about 9:15, waiting a few minutes past our 9am start for two no-shows. So four geezers headed up the trail.

    Here's the info from the Forest Service about the trail:
    Trail Length:
    1.1 miles to railroad tracks
    2.5 miles to 1st lake Salmon Lake trail
    2.8 miles to 2nd lake
    3 miles to Cherry Point trail
    3.6 miles to Upper Loch Leven

    Here's a link to their description of the trail.

    The trail is mostly up from the road, with large and small rocks making a kind of evil staircase. A very long, very evil staircase.
    Several large trees were down, necessitating creative bushwhacking to get around (one of the worst (and nearest the trailhead) was helpfully chainsawed apart by the time we returned the next day).
    Some of the trail was across granite slab, liberally strewn with rock markers. Some was on dirt.

    On the way back, I somehow managed to repeatedly catch my hiking skirt and poles on Excessively Friendly Vegetation - usually covered with stickers that Did Not Want to let go. I was borrowing my husband's old Black Diamond poles, with the flick locks, as my Gossamer Gear poles are on their way for repair. The EFV was overly fond of the protruding locks. LET GO!!

    We stopped for the day after 2.8 miles as one of our members was repeatedly overheating in the mid 60 degree weather. (Our original destination was the Upper lake).

    The campsite we chose at Middle Loch Leven Lake was perfect - several choices for hanging with a nice view of the lake. I was the only hammocker. One bivy and two one person tents.

    I tried, again, to not take too much food, and I believe I finally managed it. There was the possibility of leaving after lunch, but the group decided to leave in the morning. So I had one sandwich and a bag of fritos left over. Which I ate in the car on the way home. Also one Tanka jerky bar. And one more bite of a KIND bar left. Not too shabby.

    I used a Ziploc bowl with a screw on lid (leaks when inverted, if you want to know) to rehydrate my Mary Jane's Farm Alfredo Pasta meal. Very tasty. Needs 15 minutes in the cozy. Worked nicely for my oatmeal the next morning as well. I made a cozy for the bowl.

    Fire restrictions are not in place yet, so I was able to use Esbit fuel. I used 1/2 a tab for each meal.



    I slept pretty well in my Warbonnet Blackbird. I'm not sure I needed the sock at night when the wind dropped, but it was nice for the afternoon loaf when the gusty wind failed to bring any rain showers. We were close enough to the lake for some condensation on the tarp, but it was still not too bad inside the sock. A DIY Argon sock I made.

    My temperature dangler registered 3.8 deg Celsius for the overnight low under the tarp. About 39 degrees F if you must.
    I had put a new battery in the dangler before I left, resetting it to Fahrenheit and the correct day and time and all that. While trying to remember how to invoke the max/min temp at camp, I managed to reset the whole thing. And turn on a stopwatch function. While trying to dismiss the stopwatch, I then set an alarm. AARGH -electronics! So I pried out the battery and started all over again. I need to bring the directions, I guess.

    I'll repeat my gear list, which is also in this blog post (more pictures!), but I'll annotate this one a little bit.

    Pack
    G4 - DIY - carried well, as usual. I eventually swapped the bottle to the other shoulder strap to balance things out a bit better.
    compacter bag liner
    snack bag - DIY
    bottle holder - on strap
    mesh potty bag
    Ursack and 2 liners

    Sleep
    MacCat Deluxe
    Groundhog stakes, ridgeline, spare line, Dutch clips
    Warbonnet Blackbird hammock
    hammock sock - DIY
    Crowsnest underquilt by Hammock Gear - yeah - old but still rocking! Overkill for the 40 degree, but I love it.
    Shenandoah top quilt by Jacks R Better
    Prolite extra small sleep pad
    Visqueen - scrap of plastic nearly 40 years old. I'm sentimental, what can I say. My girlscout troop used it under our superlight weight (ha ha) Eureka Timberline tents back in the day. It has my dad's handwriting on the corner, "Tent Side".
    Nite Ize lightup zipper pulls - useful for finding hammock after midnight excursions, also for reading the dangler.

    Clothes
    REI Revelcloud jacket
    windshirt - DIY
    rain chaps
    Packa - combo pack cover and rain jacket (no rain, actually)
    Marmot wrist warmers
    Navy surplus wool watch cap
    Smartwool hikers socks
    lycra exercise shorts
    midweight longjohns - Ibex wool
    spare panties

    Clothes (worn in and out)
    wicking short sleeved shirt
    Mountain Hardwear kilt, Lycra shorts
    Inov8 Roclite 295 trail runnners
    Injinji toe socks
    Dirty Girl gaiters
    Tilley w/ DIY bug net on crown
    Pearl Izumi arm coolers
    panties
    Moving Comfort Fiona sports bra
    thin glove liners - REI, finger tips cut off. Sun protection for hands.

    Water
    1st Need filter - don't argue with me. Takes out viruses, tastes better than water from my friend's Hiker filter.
    Outdoor Research folding bucket - didn't use. I'll sub an extra folding bottle instead.
    Camelbak Eddy bottle, 25oz - nice size
    Nalgene soft bottle - for storing filtered water in camp.

    Cooking
    Firelite Ti stove, windscreen, paperclip
    Esbit tabs - brought 2, used only one
    BIC and matches
    Pot from esbit kit
    bowl cozy - DIY
    fire permit
    REI plastic soup spoon
    Ziploc screwtop plastic bowl

    Hygiene
    Neutrogena baby sunscreen stick
    SPF 20 lip balm
    first aid kit
    dropper bottle of soap
    toilet paper
    Wisp tooth brush

    Tools
    map and compass
    pocket knife
    Petzel E light
    potty trowel (snowstake)
    cotton bandana
    Dutchware plastic utility hook
    ID in fabric pouch
    paperback
    Canon point and shoot camera
    Black Diamond trekking poles (my Gossamer Gear poles are in for repair) - in addition to catching the locks on everything, the very padded wrist loops gave me a blister! Bad Loops! No biscuit!!

    Food 1lb 9˝oz total
    2613 calories total
    We decided to walk out after breakfast so one sandwich and one bag of Fritos came out along with an uneaten Tanka bar.
    2 lunch, 1 bkfst, 1 dinner, 2 snacks

    2 Almond butter and jam sandwiches - 450cal
    Umpqua oatmeal in ziploc - 273cal
    Mary Jane meal - 580cal (2 servings)
    2 snack bags of Fritos -160cal each
    2 Kind bars - 200cal each
    2 Tanka bars - 70cal each

    Thanks for reading!
    -Liz -

  2. #2
    Senior Member kayak4water's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Western Washingtron
    Hammock
    11 ft. DIY
    Tarp
    Gimme Doors!
    Insulation
    HG Incub8r 20
    Suspension
    hugger+WS,spike
    Posts
    170
    Images
    14
    Thanks, excellent report! Glad to know of tamer conditions near I-80. I camped at 10,700' near Mather Pass last Friday and Saturday nights. 2" of snow on Friday night followed by a fast melt Saturday. 4" of snow from 7 p.m. Saturday until 2 a.m. Sunday. Ground camping, because my bridge hammock's spreader bars had started tears in my polycro tarp. Snow pushed on the sides and down on the peak until only 1/2-1" separated my sleeping bag from the tarp. I've ordered a Superfly for nights like I had.

    I'm also getting Diamox, so that I don't get High Altitude Pulmonary Edema again! The Park Service flew me out.

  3. #3
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rescue, CA
    Hammock
    Warbonnet BlackBird
    Tarp
    MacCat Deluxe
    Insulation
    Down top & bottom
    Suspension
    Strap and buckle
    Posts
    934
    Images
    69
    Quote Originally Posted by kayak4water View Post
    Thanks, excellent report! Glad to know of tamer conditions near I-80. I camped at 10,700' near Mather Pass ...
    I'm also getting Diamox, so that I don't get High Altitude Pulmonary Edema again! The Park Service flew me out.
    Thanks!
    Wow! I've never even hiked that high. Someday ...
    -Liz -

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Leavenworth WA
    Hammock
    Draumr XL
    Tarp
    WB Edge
    Insulation
    JRB Greylock3
    Suspension
    straps
    Posts
    95
    No skeeters, EAV? I've done that hike a few times and always run into the little beggars! We jumped a flock of turkeys on the way down once, too.

  5. #5
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rescue, CA
    Hammock
    Warbonnet BlackBird
    Tarp
    MacCat Deluxe
    Insulation
    Down top & bottom
    Suspension
    Strap and buckle
    Posts
    934
    Images
    69
    Quote Originally Posted by Alex MacDonald View Post
    No skeeters, EAV? I've done that hike a few times and always run into the little beggars!
    I think it is too dry already. There were 2 that I swatted. No one else reported any.
    -Liz -

  6. #6
    Senior Member Bruciehi5's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Australia, Brisbane, Queensland
    Hammock
    WarBonnet Blackbird 1.1
    Tarp
    WarBonnet Edge
    Insulation
    4 JRB quilts.
    Suspension
    Home made job.
    Posts
    751
    Sounds like you had a great time, even with the evil staircase, and pole eating vegetation. Yes, it's a bit of a fine art getting the food thing right. Sounds like you're getting it down. Thanks for the trip report, E.A.Y!

  7. #7
    Senior Member E.A.Y.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rescue, CA
    Hammock
    Warbonnet BlackBird
    Tarp
    MacCat Deluxe
    Insulation
    Down top & bottom
    Suspension
    Strap and buckle
    Posts
    934
    Images
    69
    Quote Originally Posted by Bruciehi5 View Post
    Sounds like you had a great time, even with the evil staircase, and pole eating vegetation...
    Thanks, Brucie! I've already put together several-many add water meals in anticipation of more ricks and vegetation in my near future!
    -Liz -

  • + New Posts
  • Similar Threads

    1. Penner Lake, July 2013. Tahoe Nat'l Forest
      By E.A.Y. in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 12
      Last Post: 07-23-2013, 17:16
    2. Island Lake, Tahoe National Forest PIC HEAVY
      By E.A.Y. in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 15
      Last Post: 06-15-2013, 16:09
    3. Lake Tahoe
      By Bolds5 in forum West
      Replies: 1
      Last Post: 05-13-2013, 09:25
    4. VIDEO: Glacier Lake near Lake Tahoe.
      By GregB in forum Trip Reports
      Replies: 16
      Last Post: 09-26-2012, 10:02
    5. July 2012: Tahoe Nat'l Forest Grouse Ridge
      By E.A.Y. in forum Hangouts, Campouts, and Trip Planning
      Replies: 38
      Last Post: 07-21-2012, 09:29

    Tags for this Thread

    Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •