Mt. Tallac is an iconic mountain in the Sierra Nevada Range. At a height of 9738′ it is a popular hiking destination for hikers and backpackers. Hiking Mt. Tallac has been on my list for a while and last night I finally got the chance!
Since it was a full moon and the sunrise was supposed to be spectacularly clear we decided to start our hike at 1am from the Glen Alpine Trail Head which is on the far west side of Fallen Leaf Lake. There is also another trailhead, but we chose the Glen Alpine Trail Head because it ran through the Desolation Wilderness.
The hike starts at 6400′ and the first 1.3 miles was a gradual uphill that took you to a local historic site. We kept going and since we had about 3500′ in elevation to gain the trail was almost always an incline. Even though it was early in the season the trail was very well maintained.
We followed the trail markers past Gilmore Lake where backpackers were camping out. At this point we had only lost the trail once in the dark, but had easily found it. However, after leaving Gilmore Lake we had a bit of an issue in the dark finding the trail. We ended up following some rock trail markers until we had re-found it. If it weren’t for being dark we would have immediately seen the trail, but that’s all part of the adventure!
The last two miles saw an approximate 1500′ in elevation gain with the steepest part at the last quarter mile. As we were climbing the slope it was amazing to see the moon setting and the golden glow from the sun coming from the east.
We made it after about 5 hours of hiking and as the sun was peaking over the mountains on the east side of the Lake. It was a bit chilly at the top and I wished I had brought my Jetboil for hot cocoa, but we’ll have to save that for next time! We stuck around for a little while until the sun was fully up and then decided to make the trek back down.
The trek back down was much easier due to sunlight, but the downhill was a little tricky due to the amount of loose rock you have to navigate. The return trip took us about another 4 hours before we arrived back at the Glen Alpine Trail Head.
Overall, it was a great trip. I got to use my new Delorme inReach Explorer (http://www.rei.com/product/877499/delorme-inreach-explorer-satellite-messenger) for the first time and was very happy with it! Especially, when I was a bit lost and I could go back and track my waypoints!
To know for next time!
-You’ll need a Desolation Wilderness Day permit which is free at the Glen Alpine Trail Head.
-There were a lot of springs and streams along the way for a water source.
-Next time, I am going to backpack into Gilmore Lake and once camp is set up just trek up the last 2 miles to the summit. This will probably be my plan in the winter time for some awesome backcountry trips!
