Independence

July 4, 2021

It was supposed to be just Buzz and me, but circumstances out of control brought a third along for the journey on foot. Michael was supposed to be dirt biking not too far away while Buzz and I explored the high elevation wonders of the Sierra.

We’ve still only seen such a small amount of the area, but to be fair, it is at least a four hour drive to the Sierra. The compromise was two different activities to please both of our adventurous spirits. But here we were together on a damp morning in the Sierra already above 8,000 feet. 

It was nice to see moisture and green grass, flowing rivers, and a little bit of mud. A stark contrast to the central valley of California that we drove across to get here and the crispy, golden hills near our home in Salinas. The mosquitoes were happy too. I tried unsuccessfully to karate chop them out of the air as we got ready to move.

We geared up and left the almost full parking lot to start our loop. Buzz was raring to go as we took it easy in the moist, thin air. The tree-lined trail brought us toward the campground at Woods Lake before climbing steadily away. I felt strong as the sun began to hit us unrelentingly.

• 

• 

Stopping to layer down and add sunscreen allowed us to catch our breath. The trees got smaller and more spread out as we climbed upward. Rocky outcroppings, grass, flowers, and small creeks ran along the trail. I felt so relieved to be around moving water. 

Buzz loved it too, taking every chance he could get to walk in and sip some of that alpine water goodness. The trail followed a small creek up and we soon found ourselves above the treeline. We kept a good, strong pace that left gas in the tank for the climbing and adventures that lay ahead.

• 

• 

Soon we reached Round Top Lake as the trail came to a T in the trail. Moderate human traffic congregated here as groups of trail runners and families chose their direction. We took Buzz to an area away from everyone so he could jump in to the lake and cool off. Water is where Labrador’s belong.

Swimming never seems to make Buzz tired. It rejuvenates him and reinvigorates his love for adventure. He is a great hiking companion when there is water around.

• 

We headed back to the main trail to head toward our summit destination. Though we hesitated. Most people were hiking to a higher peak than what I had planned. We wondered if the elevation mattered or the name of the destination.

It was the 4th of July, Independence Day, after all. I thought what better way to celebrate than by going to 4th of July Peak or 4th of July Lake or both! But Round Top was right there and looked so enticing.

We kept course. Following the trail to the west around the side of the lake by overnight campsites. We had to walk around the steep ridge that backdropped Round Top Lake to another saddle. 

The open alpine meadow left us with breathtaking views in all directions as we walked the rocky and dusty single track toward our summit destination. We passed a small snowfield before making our way around the corner and saw 4th of July Peak for the first time.

• 

It certainly didn’t look as high or monumental as Round Top Peak that we passed up for this destination. But the timing and the naming was just too right and too good for me to pass up.

The trail dropped gently down to the saddle below before we would climb back up to the summit above. We made sure to turn off and stay on the saddle instead of following the main trail which dropped down to 4th of July Lake below. We were unsure if we would want to go down to the lake since we would have to climb back up afterwards.

We decided we would decide after reaching the summit first. 4th of July Peak was laid out before us and a couple hundred feet of climbing in the thin air separated us from our destination.

The trail got steep, rocky, and loose pretty quickly. We took it a few steps at a time if needed, always moving forward even when we slid back on the loose rock. 

Before we knew it we were cresting the mountain and the actual summit was in view. Nobody else was there. We had it all to ourselves. I quickly clambered over to the highest point that I could see to make it a true summit of 4th of July Peak on the 4th of July. Michael and Buzz looked for a spot to rest for a while.

• 

• 

• 

I came down a little off the summit to meet them and the view that stretched for miles in all directions over the high Sierra. We looked down into the lake valley below but couldn’t quite see the lake from where we were at.

• 

We enjoyed our snacks and rest and the view that came from the work we just put in. Buzz drank some water and took a short rest, but he still had exploring he wanted to do. Snacks and water rejuvenated us as we left our packs to see if we could find a closer view to the lake.

We could see the trail drop down into the lake basin below. It didn’t look too bad, but we weren’t sure if we were up for it today. After some scrambling down the ridge line we found a nice view over 4th of July Lake.

• 

• 

It looked like a nice spot to spend a night out in the mountains and we were glad to see it from above. We climbed back toward our packs slowly over the rocky terrain. As we got back two other people were arriving at the summit. We talked with them for a while before grabbing our things to head back down toward the car.

We got all gathered together and started back toward the trail to head back down to the saddle. As we crested the other side of the mountain we looked down to several groups of people in a stream heading up toward the peak. They must have had the same idea and all got a similar start to arrive around the same time.

We felt thankful that we had the summit to ourselves for a while as we hiked and slid periodically down the summit trail making sure to get out of the upward hikers way. I said hi and wished many of them a Happy 4th of July.

Quickly we were back down at the saddle and back on the main trail heading back toward the first lake we arrived at. We didn’t run into too many people heading out now. The small parking lot at the trailhead must keep crowds mostly at bay and later in the afternoon people get spread out.

We stopped again at Round Top Lake to let Buzz rest and get in the water again. Even Michael and I took our shoes off and refreshed our feet in the icy alpine water. It felt wonderful, even the rocky lake floor massaged our feet. It was an aggressive massage that felt needed and awful at the same time.

• 

After a nice refreshing break we put our shoes back on to continue. We still needed to get back down to the car, but decided to take the other trail that loops back toward the parking lot. It would be nice to see different scenery on the way back.

I think most people would choose a loop over an out and back, I know I always will. We had one short climb away from Round Top Lake before heading steadily downhill. We would head over toward another lake before looping back to the trailhead.

As soon as we made it up the short climb we could see where the trail would go and had a gorgeous view over the lake we were heading to. The trail widened out going downhill. A few groups of people were still making their way up as we went down the rocky and dusty trail.

We followed the trail gently down closer to the Winnemucca Lake. Small dots of people started to appear everywhere around the lake. The moderately tree line shoreline was also dotted with groups of people and families enjoying their holiday weekend.

• 

• 

The trail followed around below Round Top Mountain. A few small cascades with trickling water followed above the trail. More greenery began to fill the space as we dropped in elevation.

When we got down to the lake we found a nice shady spot to sit close to the lake, but no views. We ate our sandwiches, taking our time as we had been exposed to the sun the last few hours.

After refueling with our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we felt complete and ready to take the trail the rest of the way back to the car.

We headed down the gently graded, dusty trail as we followed the growing creek beside. Happy plants lined the trail and some flowers were blooming. They still had abundant water from the lakes and a few small snow fields.

• 

The vegetation got larger as we headed back into the shade of the trees. We closed the loop after crossing the river and the road and arrived back at the car full of the revitalization that only a trip into the alpine could provide.