Journeys›Photograph

Clear November Hike Above Donner Summit

·California, United States·#hiking#california#tahoe#sierra nevada#autumn
A large pine tree in the foreground overlooks a calm blue lake surrounded by dense pine forests and mountains.

Up above Donner Summit again, and it still doesn't look like November. The runs at Sugar Bowl are bare brown grass, Lake Mary is wide open, and the only snow anywhere is in thin patches on the crest to the south. We had short sleeves on by mid-morning.

The trail was all dry dirt and dead grass the whole way up. We stopped at the volcanic outcrop near the top — the rock still holding that green lichen even with everything else browned out — and took a break where the ridge opens toward the Pacific Crest. Anderson Peak and that whole line of the Sierra had just enough snow to look like winter from a distance and nothing like it up close.

Donner Lake from above was the best of it. Full, dark blue, and two boats out on it, which felt strange for this late in the year. Nobody's complaining yet, but the ski areas have to be getting nervous.

A rocky hillside with sparse trees and dry grass rises under a clear blue sky, framed by branches.A scenic view of snow-capped mountains, a deep valley, and dense evergreen trees under a blue sky.Snow-capped mountains rise above dense evergreen forests and rocky cliffs under a blue sky.Snow-dusted mountains and pine forests under a clear blue sky with wispy white clouds.Two smiling people take a selfie on a rocky mountain, with snow-capped peaks and a blue sky behind them.A large blue lake surrounded by dense evergreen forests, with distant mountains and a small town under a clear sky.

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