a weekend in the mountains
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I spent the last a weekend completely offline in a nice corner of California called Alpine County, the least inhabited county in the state: "as of the 2000 census, it had a population of 1,208." Its total area is 465,030 acres (726.6 sq. mi.) and 96% of land is public. The Central Sierra Nevada is the dominant land feature. Alpine County is a great destination in every season.
On Saturday morning, we arrived at the Carson Pass Information Station of the Eldorado National Forest, and secured a campsite for the night (they are few and are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis). Then we drove to Upper Blue Lake to kayak there. In the afternoon, we hiked to Fourth of July Lake. This is one of our favorite hikes. You start at Carson Pass and visit four lakes: Frog, Winnemucca, Round Top and Fourth of July. It is a well-known trail and is particularly frequented during the wildflower blooming season. We were early this year, but you can see some photos I took in season three years ago in this album, and some late summer photos from the previous year in this album. Being early meant that we hiked over snow (neve) in some parts. The trail goes from about 8,650 ft at Carson Pass to about 9,300 ft at Round Top Lake, then drops to about 8,200 ft at Fourth of July Lake.
We arrived at our campsite (a space to set up our tent in view of the lake) in time for dinner. This being bear country, our food was stored inside a bear can. Our repast consisted of organic soup from a carton (the two-cup packaging with a spout is great for camping), bread and homemade cheese (pane e formaggio fatto in casa), and biscotti for dessert.
The cheese was a Stirred-curd Cheddar to which I added, as I was spooning the curds into the press, toasted caraway seeds (semi di carvi, o cumino tedesco). The cheese aged three months: I love the way my little experiment tastes. I always bring my biscotti when we hike or kayak: I call them the best energy bars ever. I also had some of the blueberry scones I had baked on Friday. They made a great breakfast on Sunday morning. Fresh fruit (frutta fresca) and some bittersweet chocolate completed the food provisions. In terms of drinks, I brought some black tea for myself and coffee for my husband, together with our precious one-cup stovetop coffee pot.
After packing up our belongings, on Sunday morning we hiked back to Carson Pass. The photo shows Fourth of July Lake from the trail on our way back up to Round Top. Some of the beautiful wildflowers that grace the trail have started to bloom, as you can see in the photo. We had lunch (sandwiches with the above-mentioned cheese and roasted red beet hummus) on the shore of Lake Winnemucca. Back to the car, we drove to Sorensen's, the resort in Hope Valley where we spent Sunday night. I have a special attachment to this place. My husband introduced me to it during my first visit to California (December 1993) and I fell in love with it. If you follow the link, you'll see a photo of the cabin where we stayed that first time and of how it looked when we were there. We have visited the resort many times since, at different times of the year.
After a short rest, we drove to Caples Lake for a late afternoon paddle. It was a bit breezy, but absolutely beautiful and quiet, a nice closing scene for the weekend. More information on Alpine County, its interesting history, and its offers to visitors is available on this site.
Hear me pronounce the words on the un weekend in montagna audio file [mp3] or go to the un weekend in montagna audio page for more listening options.
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Per i lettori italiani. Vi presento un angolo di California che si chiama Alpine County. La contea dello stato con il minor numero di abitanti (solo 1208 nell'anno 2000) si trova nella zona centrale della Sierra Nevada, a sud del Lago Tahoe ed è una zona bella da visitare durante tutto l'anno.
Sabato mattina siamo arrivati alla stazione di Carson Pass (parte della Eldorado National Forest) e ci siamo assicurati il permesso di campeggio (i posti sono molto limitati e senza prenotazione). Il sentiero che parte dalla stazione porta a quattro laghetti: Frog, Winnemucca, Round Top e infine Fourth of July (nella foto), sulle cui rive abbiamo montato la nostra tenda. La piazzola non ha alcun servizio: è solo uno spazio riservato.
Il sentiero è famoso perché in estate è pieno di fiori. Quest'anno siamo arrivati un po' in anticipo, ma potete vedere delle foto di tre anni fa su questo album. Su quest'altro album ci sono alcune immagini scattate nella tarda estate, quando le foglie dei pioppi tremuli cambiano colore. Comunque un po' di fiori li abbiamo visti (vedi foto). Essendo in anticipo sulla stagione, abbiamo camminato in parte sulla neve. Il sentiero parte da circa 2600 m (Carson Pass), sale a circa 2850 m (Round Top Lake), poi scende a circa 2500 m (Fourth of July Lake).
Domenica siamo tornati indietro a Carson Pass e con l'auto siamo andati da Sorensen's, in Hope Valley, dove abbiamo passato la notte. Mio marito mi ha portato qui la prima volta che sono venuta in California, un Dicembre di un po' di anni fa. Quella volta abbiamo dormito nella casetta che si chiama Snowshoe Thompson e tutt'intorno c'era la neve, proprio come nella foto che si vede se seguite il link. Ci siamo poi tornati tante volte, in diversi periodi dell'anno, e abbiamo soggiornato in altre casette. Nel tardo pomeriggio siamo andati in kayak su Caples Lake (foto sopra): c'era un po' di vento, ma praticamente avevamo il lago (artificiale) tutto per noi.
Spero che abbiate gradito questo piccolo assaggio di un pezzetto meno conosciuto, ma molto bello della California. Maggiori informazioni su Alpine County le trovate su questo sito e naturalmente potete farmi tutte le domande che volete.
