W6/NS-375 Stevens Peak

After coming down the use trail from the summit of Red Lake Peak, I continued along the ridge. There is a use trail that goes around the small bumps on the ridge, and I followed it.

The final climb up to the summit.

The use trail made the going easy. I lost it in the final col, but found it again when I was partway up the talus slope. I took me an hour to hike over from Red Lake Peak. At the top I found a register inside an ammo box on the highest peak. There was a nice looking rock for sitting just below the summit, so I setup there.

Looking North to Lake Tahoe.

Again, I had no trouble getting a pileup. As I was finishing up on HF, a couple reached the summit and stopped to ask what I was doing. I told them, then took down the antenna to do some VHF. I made two contacts on 2 meters. It was very windy on the summit, but plenty warm.

The meadow I descended to.

To get back to my car at Carson Pass, I retraced my steps down to the col. I then followed the use trail until it started climbing up. Here I contoured around the side of the hill to the section of slope that looked less steep. There were a few class 2 slopes I had to cross, but nothing too difficult. I then followed this slope down to the meadow at the bottom.

A waterfall I found near the bottom of the slope.

This descent was very pretty, and the walk through the meadow was even better. Lots of flowers were still blooming, adding color to the shades of green. It was dry enough in the meadow that my feet didn't get wet, and I did not see another person until I rejoined the PCT at the top of the meadow.

The Meadow, looking north-west.

Back on the PCT I hiked over the hill and back to the car at the pass. There was a guy feeding thru hikers, and I talked to him for a few minutes before walking over to the information center. At the center they were able to confirm that the road to Tanglefoot Trailhead was passable in my car, which was the starting point for my destination tomorrow, Mokelumne Peak.

The lake where I left the trail to go up Red Lake Peak.

Trailhead: Meiss Sno-Park, Carson Pass.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: From Red Lake Peak, follow the ridge over to the summit. Alternatively, Take the PCT north to the meadow on the other side of the small pass, then go cross country up to the ridge and summit.
Red Tape: None.