My friend invited me up to Tahoe last week and I couldn't make it, looking at her photos made me want to get one last trip up to the Sierras for some fall color. Turned out I was probably a couple weeks late but I still managed to find some yellow Aspen. While up there I walked all the way around North Lake (pretty easy) and then Lake Sabrina (not as easy). By doing that I was totally immersed in whatever color was left and managed to cover some new trail. The track around Sabrina was good for the north side of the lake and frequently disappeared afterward. I got to cross a creek on a log and scramble up and down and across a few cliffs, and I also found an old campsite with a fire ring with cut and split wood nearby. It has not been used in a very long time as there was a small tree growing out of the fire ring. When I popped out of the trees onto a beach, two small kids in a boat started pointing toward me and waving. I was talking to their mother about my walk and they asked where I came from, so I just answered "I'm Batman". I finally abandoned the plan of walking near the shore as some of the trees were growing all the way down to touch the water and on a cool day I didn't want to go wading for 20 minutes. I worked my way straight up the hillside and quickly found the regular trail to George and Blue lakes, from there it was an easy walk back to the dam and then my vehicle.
On Sunday morning I planned to hike up to the Horton Lakes but the extremely rocky dirt road was beyond my comfort level since I don't drive a 'real' truck. Since I still had a few hours I explored some of the south fork of Bishop Creek at the Big Pines campground, where I ran into a couple groves of nice Aspen. That was a good finish to my day and I managed to make it home in time for dinner.
North Lake. I hoped to see that hillside on the right when the leaves turned.
Chasing the outflow of North Lake, which becomes north fork of Bishop Creek.
North Lake, distinctive red coloring near the Piute crags.
Road to Lake Sabrina. This was the last day of the season for boat rentals.
Sabrina from the dam.
Finally some fall color.
This was about the end of the trail, I think most people out here fishing aren't willing to go further.
Old campsite (?). There were some rocks at one side that looked like an entrance trail.
Standing on the water's edge I ran into this much brush. I knew the official trail was up the steep slope.
Finally a reward for all the walking, it's definitely worth the drive for me.
