Glen Alpine Trailhead Hike

This week I am vacationing in South Lake Tahoe. It has been a long time since my last "real" vacation. I arrived late yesterday afternoon to rain and cold. But this morning, everything changed. It was still cold but the storm was moving through just as quickly as it could.

My view this morning at 7:30am.

I walked down to the pier and enjoyed a cup of coffee. It was peaceful just listening to the lake water come upon the beach. I had forgotten how calming it is being here enjoying the mountain air and also mountain time.

I decided that I would enjoy a brisk hike this morning. I headed out to Fallen Leaf Lake in hopes of getting my hike in before the weather came. As there were some nasty storm clouds rolling my way. Fallen Leaf Lake is about 1 mile South of Lake Tahoe. From Fallen Leaf Lake I headed up to Glen Alpine Trailhead where I hiked to Lower Glen Alpine Falls, Upper Glen Alpine Falls, Mt. Tallac and grassy pond.

Lower Glen Alpine Falls, just imagine this when the snow melts.

At the trail head parking lot, a nice lake

Upper Glen Alpine Falls

Once I reached the trail head it was a short hike to the Upper Glen Alpine Falls. As I was hiking I noticed that a  majority of the cabins were boarded up and ready for the snow fall. Both of these falls are part of the Glen Alpine Creek system, a snow melt and spring-fed stream that flows into Fallen Leaf Lake and eventually into Lake Tahoe via Taylor Creek

The main Glen Alpine Trail leads northwest from here into the Desolation Wilderness and onto Glen Alpine Springs, an historic mineral spring resort, located about a mile west.

Glen Alpine Springs, a small little town in the middle of nowhere and the only access is by foot.

 

As I continued hiking I headed up Mt. Tallac. The Mount Tallac hike goes through a variety of terrain, from forested to open meadows to dramatic summit spikes. The views are spectacular.

Near the top of Mt. Tallac, I turned around because of the weather.

Grass Lake! A natural Beauty

Yes, I did have my permit.

Fallen Leaf Lake

I am at peace after this hike. It was about 3 hours and the distance I am not sure of. I did hike it fast it was my work out for today. I have always enjoyed the beauty of Tahoe, but today it really surpassed what I remembered. Looking forward to what adventures I come across during the rest of the week.