Tahoe National Forest
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Bowman Mountain (almost) Tahoe National Forest |
August 25, 2024
Although I have circumambulated Bowman Mountain several times, I never have attempted to climb it. The mountain's eastern side is forbidding, but getting up the forested western slope looks doable; so I'll give it a try.
There's the objective
Loney Meadow
A little aspen grove
Broadleaf Lupine
A mile or so up the trail are the remains of a 2007 forest fire. Just beyond that little hill is Bullpen Lake, which never is seen from the main trail.
I tried shortcutting through there once, but regretted it; too many downed trees
Bracket Polypores
After a steady climb offering little in the way of scenery:
After another relatively mundane mile, I take the left fork up the Bowman Mountain Trail. Another short climb begets a nice northward view.
Bowman Lake is 1,300 feet below
Bowman Mountain looms above
I still could climb that, I suppose; but I'm not that desperate.
The trail is rough and rocky in places, yet is much more scenic over here
I was on that lakeside road just last week
Sulfur Flour Buckwheat
Poison Hemlock
I'm headed up there
California Fuchsia
The Black Buttes have a dusting of snow
Bowman Lake, and Sierra Buttes in the background on the right
At what seems like the elevation high-point of the trail, I plunge into the forest.
Starting up the mountain here
Meadow Lupine
Getting closer
My route was down through that grove of trees
Some snow in the High-Sierra
I hope that the recent dusting doesn't affect my planned walk at Donner Summit just two days hence.
That's not the actual summit
After about 200 feet of bushwhacking ascent, it is only now that I begin to regret not having brought along my usual map and GPS waypoints; for I don't know just how much more climbing would be required up to the summit. I suppose that my iPhone could be helpful in that regard, but the actual mountain top just doesn't seem that important to me right now. I believe I will terminate my adventure here.
Starting down toward the trail
Not being sure of the best direction, I do manage to plunge directly down onto the trail. Half a mile or so later, I reach the anticipated hairpin turn in the route, which actually is an old logging road.
From here I have previously shortcutted the route by at least half a mile, by heading westward while the road circles around to the north and back. Having little reason not to do it again, I start down.
Fall Creek Mountain to the south
The going is quite easy for a while, then becomes steeper as I encounter a gully or two. Following the everpresent sound of a cowbell, I presently emerge from the forest into an unfamiliar meadow.
There's Bossy now
Being unsure as to just which way to proceed, I start bushwhacking northward briefly,
then turn westward, then back to the south, finally encountering the trail not far from
where I was before. In fact, my start down a real trail is accompanied
by — you guessed it — the sound of a nearby cowbell!
Half a mile later, I am on the west side of Loney Meadow, not far from the
trailhead.
Texas Creek Crossing
At the corral
§: Well, although I did abort the 'mission' as soon as I got the chance,
it seems that I actually had climbed only halfway up the mountain, stopping about 200
elevation-feet short of the summit. Also, I incurred some extra mileage at
Bossy's meadow for lack of suitable coordinates to guide me. Will I never
learn? No matter how 'well' one knows an area, something always could come up,
I suppose.
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The route was counter-clockwise from the lower-left corner
