Mount Rose and Church Peak, NV

Hiked: 7/24/2021
Distance: 11.3 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 10776' (Rose), Church (10601')
Prominence: 3630' (Rose)
Elevation Gain: 2573'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.0
Round trip time: 6 hours
Recommended water: 96 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Rose Mountain Trailhead
Difficulty: Moderate

Leisa and I flew to Sacramento, then drove to Chester for what was supposed to be two days exploring Lassen Volcanic National Park. The Dixie Fire had other ideas. As we drove north, visibility became terrible and the smell of smoke was overwhelming. We went to the Lassen Visitor Center and the ranger warned us that air quality was dangerous and to definitely not hike. We couldn't see more than 100' from the smoke and large chunks of ash started covering our rental car. Lassen was a no go, and in fact, the motel in Chester as under an evacuation warning. The front desk told us they would knock on our door if we needed to evacuate in the middle of the night. We survived the night, but made plans to drive hours away to get away from the fire. We set off the next morning for Rose Mountain (SPS #210), south of Reno and north of Lake Tahoe. Air quality was a little better but the smoke and haze were still bad. Tahoe was being threatened by another big fire, the Tamarack Fire.

When we got to the trailhead, the smoke was still thick and it mixed with scent of pines. We weren't sure we should be out hiking, but the lot was almost full so if we coughed up a lung, we would at least have company. The first two miles of the hike were shaded and lost a little elevation before reaching the Galena Waterfall. Many hikers turned back at the waterfall. We continued into a valley below Rose that was sheltered somewhat from the smoke. We climbed up to a saddle then started the final steep mile to Rose.

Mount Rose through the smoke

Galena Waterfall

There were multiple parties on the trail, but it wasn't crowded. We came out of the tree line at few hundred feet below the summit and made pretty good time to the top. As we neared the summit, I started smelling smoke again and the views were seriously hampered. The benchmark had been stolen and the summit was too popular for a register. We rested about 15 minutes on the summit before starting down.

Leisa on the summit

Hazy views
We had noticed Church Peak on the way up and it was only a half mile away from the trail. I wanted to bag it while we were here and Leisa said she would come along but might wait for me if it looked sketch. There was a big boulder pile blocking the summit and we couldn't tell whether it could be bypassed or if you had to go over it. We got around the first obstacle, and around the worst part of the pile, but at least class 2 was unavoidable. Leisa waited for me as I picked my way up to the ridge. From the ridge, it was an easy walk over rocks to the summit. The summit had no marks or register. When I got down to shouting distance, I told Leisa that if she could make it the 200' to me, she could get the summit. She was a little reluctant, but scrambled her way to the ridge and we went back to the summit together. I think she had mixed feelings about it since we ended up pushing through some trees on the way back. No permanent damage and we got two nice 10K peaks in Nevada.

Leaving the trail for Church Peak

Me on the summit of Church

Leisa scrambling up to the ridge

Leisa on the summit of Church

Alta Peak

Hiked: 7/17/2021
Distance: 14.2 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 11209'
Elevation Gain: 4251'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 3.4
Round trip time: 8 hours
Recommended water: 164 oz.
Parking/Fees: $30/car National Park Fee (good for one week)
Difficulty: Strenuous

Alta Peak is one of the popular high sierra peaks in Sequoia National Forest (SPS #200). Leisa and I picked up a couple of sandwiches from Sierra Subs in Three Rivers the previous day. We spent the night in Buckeye Tree Lodge, right outside the park entrance. We drove to Wolverton Trailhead and started hiking around 6:45 AM. The weather was perfect, mid-50s and sunny most of the day. The first three miles of the hike were shaded by large trees. The trail was in perfect condition and well signed. We climbed up to Panther Gap, then took the Alta Trail. At the gap, views started to open up to the Mineral King peaks. The only ones I recognized were Castle Rocks and Ampitheater Dome. The rest were unknown granite spires. The Alta Trail started out mild with the gain spread out until Alta Meadow. What became clear was the final two miles were going to be difficult. The final two miles gain 2000' to the summit, about the same amount of gain as the first five miles to Alta Meadow.

Signage is off by a half mile

Jurassic forest

We cached some water at the Alta Meadow junction, lightening our packs before the push upward. The trail was noticably steeper. It switchbacked below Tharps Rock, eventually coming back north of it. At this point, we were out of the tree line. Only a few hardy bristlecone pines made a living at this elevation. A few hundred feet higher, there was no vegetation at all. Above the tree line, we were hit with steady 5-15 mph winds. We met a few hikers coming down from the summit and we could see two hikers on the summit 400' above. The final push took extra effort, but we rolled up below the summit block as the two hikers were on their way down.

Alta summit
A ramp in front of the 30' summit block got us close enough for a couple of class two moves to reach the top. The summit was a slab angled down at 30 degrees. On the other side of the slab was a long vertical drop. The register was in an ammo box at the top of the slab. Leisa climbed up ahead of me and we both signed the register. A reference mark was by the register, but the benchmark was on a ledge on the risky side of the summit. I climbed down 4' onto the ledge to snap a photo of the benchmark. I'm not sure everyone finds it. Because of the wind, we climbed down from the summit and located shelter in a nearby boulder pile for lunch. We enjoyed taking in the Sequoia and Mineral King vistas. After more photos, we started down, taking advantage of gravity. We took many breaks on the way up, but only one on the way down. Below Panther Gap, we met a friendly doe who came up the trail within 10' of us. We backed off the trail to give it space, then it stepped to the side to graze. It was clearly comfortable with people. We got back to the car with a round trip time of 8 hours. I had over 48 oz of water left, a rare overestimate of my water needs due to the shade and cool temps. 5 hours up, 3 hours down. Leisa really impressed me with her performance today at high altitude.

Standing on a ledge on the dangerous side of the summit where the benchmark was placed

A lot of big peaks I don't recognize

Couple descending from the summit

Pear Lake

Alta Meadow

General Sherman Tree we visited the previous day. It is alleged to be 2200 years old.

This beautiful king snake was on Mineral King Road.
Tried to shepherd it off the road but it got defensive.

Mauna Kea, HI

State High Point
Hiked: 7/5/2021
Distance: Drive up
Summit Elevation: 13796'
Prominence: 13796'
Elevation Gain: 0'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0
Round trip time: 7 hours
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: $209/person by SuperVacation Hawaii Tours
Difficulty: Easy

Mauna Kea is a massive shield volcano, the Hawaii state high point, and also the 2nd most prominent peak in the United States after Denali. Part of the mountain trivia is the base starts over 16000' below the ocean, so it would be higher than Everest if measured from the base. Leisa and I booked a stargazing tour on Mauna Kea, often listed as one of the must dos on the Big Island. Our tour operator was SuperVacation Hawaii. Our group was about 30 people split between two large 4x4 vans. After picking us up, we rode to the Mauna Kea visitor center at 9200'. We stopped there for 45 minutes to allow people to acclimatize before heading to the summit. We couldn't go inside the visitor center because there was a 5.5 earthquake earlier in the day that knocked out their power. We had packed sandwiches and guzzled water during the wait.

Above the visitor center, the paved road ends and a somewhat rough dirt road begins. The road switchbacks up to about 12500' then it becomes paved again. The story we were told is that the upper road was paved to reduce dust in the air that interferes with the array of astronomical telescopes on the summit. There are no fewer than 10 high powered telescopes on top. Some run by universities, some by NASA. The one owned by CalTech is being dismantled. With so little light polution, it is an ideal location for telescopes. We arrived about 30 minutes before sunset which made for some great photos. It was 85F on the beach and 39F on Mauna Kea. We could feel the thin air, but didn't develop any AMS symptoms. This set Leisa's high point record. I was a little surprised that no one in our group got sick.

The true summit is on a section of the rim about 50' higher than the paved part of the rim. We we warned by the tour operator that it was illegal to visit the sacred true summit and that it carried a hefty fine. There were about 100 people on the summit including the people from our tour, but the summit was vast and not crowded. There was also a sign that requested visitors not touch the summit. To be honest, if we had driven up ourselves and were not part of a group, I would have made the short walk to the true summit. We were only on top for about 45 minutes before we descended to 12300'. We pulled onto a spur road and set up a high powered telescope for stargazing. The operator was knowledgeable about all the constellations and we got close up looks at Venus, the Jewel Box Galaxy, and Alpha Centauri. It was pretty spectacular.

Mauna Kea from our resort, about 45 miles away

Shadow and true summit right

Haleakala above the clouds at 10023' on Maui

A few stars were out
After we got back, I did some research on the summit and found mixed results about it being considered sacred by the locals. Lake Wai'au is a small lake just below the summit, and it is considered sacred. The locals throw umbilical cords into it so their babies gain the strength of the mountain (tip to not drink from it). I could not find anything about a fine for visiting the summit from either the state or national park service. Maybe the fine only applies to tour operators. We were told not to visit by the operator and the peer pressure worked.

Green Sea Turtles

This is a collection of photos and videos of the green sea turtles we encountered near Anaehoʻomalu Beach on the Big Island, HI. We stayed at the Lava Lava Beach Club and there was a semi-remote strip of beach about 500' south where sea turtles could be found every day. Sometimes they were basking on the sand, sometimes swimming near shore. They evoke the same kind of wonder and awe as bears, cougars, bobcats, and bighorn sheep. It's turtles all the way down.

Waipi'o Valley Black Sand Beach

Hiked: 7/3/2021
Distance: 3.4 miles round trip on paved and dirt roads
Summit Elevation: 914' (at trailhead)
Elevation Gain: 998'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.8
Round trip time: 1 hours 50 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Waipi'o Valley Lookout
Difficulty: Easy

Waipi'o Valley is a secluded area on the north shore of the Big Island, HI. The valley shore has a black sand beach and the valley itself is rumored to harbor wild horses. Most tourists take the 100' walkway to the lookout, then move on. A steep paved road drops into the valley where dirt roads take over. Tours are available (fully booked when we checked) or you can drive in with a rented 4x4 (which we did not have). After viewing the lookout, we decided to hike down to the black sand beach.

The paved road has a grade of 25 degrees. It drops almost 1000' in less than a mile, ending at the fork of two dirt roads. The road to the right cuts back sharply under the cliff and was not visible from above. Along this road is a burial memorial that we avoided out of respect. The road ends at a campground next to the black sand beach. There were two vehicles in the area, but we had the beach to ourselves. The decomposed lava rock sand was like charcoal dust, darker than it appears in photos. There were warning signs about the undertow so we just enjoyed ankle deep nearshore water.

Burial memorial