Mt. Tallac (9,735')
29 Aug 1999 - by Mike Rinaldi
Last Sunday While on a family trip to South Lake Tahoe I
became extremely cynical at the little city by the Lake and
decided to head for the woods. Since Tallac is on the
List and I'd never done it... The hike is short 4.6 miles
to the top and 3200'. The country is crowded but beautiful
nonetheless. I started at about 7:30 AM. At that time
there were a handful of cars at the trailhead. I used the
standard TH at the end of the Shelby CG / Mt. Tallac turnoff
to Hwy 89 (west side Lake Tahoe). This is a mere 10 minutes
north on 89 from the "Y" (Hwy50/Hwy89 junction). The morning
of the 29th was clear and bright and the hiking went very
quickly. Not too many people on the trail that early in the
AM. Most, I guess, still recovering from Casino Life.
Floating Island Lake came and went and then Cathedral Lake.
A scout group was camped here and needless to say it was
extremely noisy. I quickly left the area and started to
climb the only moderately streneous section of the climb.
There is a ~500' section that goes to Tallacs West Ridge.
From here about another miles hike, on trail, will take you
to the top. I met a guy with a large german shepard on the
way down. Obviously this was the dog route! The view from
the top was fantastic. All of Lake Tahoe was visible to the
East and Desolation Wilderness to the West. Lake Gilmore
looked particularly beautiful this early in the morning. I
did the usual 360 panorama shots, had some brunch and
started back. I was back down by 12:30pm. I completely
enjoyable hike and summit and a much needed relief from the
metropolis of South Lake Tahoe.
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