Fathers Day and Summer Solstice in the High Sierras

Dad and I went hiking in Donner Pass on Father's Day. This year, Father's Day was also the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the traditional start of Summer.

I cooked us breakfast, then we drove up the mountain to our usual parking spot, but we took the less traveled path and climbed through a couple tunnels under Interstate 80 and up the mountain. Thankfully it was shaded and a breezy day so I wasn't scorched by the weather and brilliant sun. I wore my indiana jones hat, raybans, and good sunscreen and long sleeves, which was a good call because the breeze was icy despite the brilliant sun.

After a short climb up a slope we were in this lovely green meadow. Meadows are what happens to a lake after it gets filled in, btw. Don't you wish you lived somewhere this stunning? 

After a bit more hiking around we came out onto a slope carved by glaciers, all exposed granite and brush eking out a living in what passes for soil in a place where it is covered in snow for 5 months a year. Low temps drastically retard the growth of soil bacteria, which break down sand into clays and other soil materials you need to support life. As a geologist I know all about these processes and I still marvel at its beauty. 

In the winter, these trees would be covered in snow or hounded by the wind screaming through Donner Pass. Only the really tough trees resist the elements, and eventually they fall over, or the bark beetle kills them. 

That distant little lake is one we walked around on the way up the mountain. On the map, the lakes look huge but in reality they just aren't. The maps are flat, and don't show you the hills you're climbing, or how the thin air at 7500 feet elevation slows you down, or even causes altitude sickness, which is a kind if headache which can lead to migraine, brain hemorrhage and eventual death. 

Summit Lake is neither big nor deep. Its more like a pond, and around 200 yards long and 100 yards across. We ate lunch there. 

These large green plants are called Corn Lillies. They are deadly poison, but they live in the wet areas of the high Sierras, like this meadow. As long as you don't try to eat them, they are fine. 

This slope of granite was polished by glaciers and contains enormous boulders dropped by the retreating ice. These flowers are blooming because it is still "spring" up there and winter will come soon enough. The high Sierra still gets some frosts, even in the summer. Donner Pass is about 20 miles from Lake Tahoe, if you weren't aware, and about 60 miles from Reno. It is about 90 minutes from Sacramento, depending on traffic, and 60 minutes from where I live. 

We had a nice hike on Summit Lake Trail at Donner Pass. Boots and half a gallon of water and sunscreen and a big floppy brimmed hat are recommended. Bring your camera for this one. There's so much to photograph up there. Even the creeks that suddenly appear in the cracks of the rock are still running despite the drought. The Sierras are a resilient place.