Thunder Mountain Bike and Hike
8-23-12
8-23-12
I had not seen my good friend and hiking partner Fred for a couple of months, so we put together a motorcycle and hike to catch up on old times and enjoy some beautiful weather in the mountains. We met in El Dorado Hills for gas and Fred bought me a Safeway breakfast sandwich, very tasty! We got on the road around 8:15 and drove out to Pollock Pines to take Mormon Emmigrant Road out to Hwy 88. We took a break at Jenkinson Lake, and really enjoyed to ride out towards Carson Pass.
The Thunder Mountain Trailhead is about 10 miles from the Hwy 88 and Mormon Immigrant Road intersection. It has a large dirt parking area and really nice informational board with trail maps and distances.
The trail is really nice but pretty busy. Shortly after you leave the the trailhead, you come across some odd looking structures. Apparently they are an avalanche control system for Hwy 88.
The trail is follows a ridge overlooking Kirkwood Ski Resort. The features are very volcanic.
There are a lot of warning signs for the benefit of skiers, some more dire then others
The trail is open and hot higher up, but a nice breeze kept us cool. We passed numerous volcanic formations and interesting trees.
The summit views were great, overlooking Silver Lake and the Carson Pass area. We relaxed and signed the summit register, took pictures and chatted with fellow climbers. An awesome day spent in the mountains!
The total stats for my day of hiking were:
8 miles
8 miles
Peaks Climbed On This Trip:
Thunder Mountain 9408 ft
Thunder Mountain 9408 ft