One day after moving to Reno, Jen and I set off on a backpacking weekend (June 3-4, 2017) with the goal of completing the Antelope lake - Taylor Lake trail. Supposed to be a 10 mile jaunt with 1500' of gain or so, we somehow ended up covering about 12 miles the first day and only 8.5 miles on the return trip. The area had burned perhaps in the last 5-10 years, opening views of the Sierra foothill, snow capped peaks and antelope lake. The trail hadn't been traveled recently, evidenced from the over growth, and we had the entire place to ourselves... shared only with the garder snakes, deer, a large black bear and many many happy birds. The trail ended up being perfect for us, as it was snow free and a nice workout with a lot of valleys and ridges traversed (2,000' +).
Antelope Lake - the starting point in the distance
The burn area made for nice views, and the birds loved it
Some old growth stumps we estimated at 300 + yrs old
It was a treat to see two of these guys!
Snow plant - a parasitic flower that blooms in spring.
Left: Jen and I made a bridge across this little stream, the log is heavier than it looks :)
Below: Some old growth trees still lived along Hungry Creek.
A bear had passed through here sometime recently...
we saw old prints too, suggesting it was a common place
for it to swing by.
And then there was the massive scat pile, still pliable... and just up the road from where we camped
View from the tent. Somewhere up there is a lookout tower.
Left: Cheesy noodley tuna dinner in my new pot! Thanks Jen and Cyrus!
Top: ROAD TO BE OBLITERATED - a little intense, no?
We were luck to find this bear cable line up the "road to be obliterated" - as many of the trees were either burned or their branches were too high for bear bagging.
