Opening the Cabin, 2011

Big snow in the Sierra this year.  Record-breaking amounts of snow!  Piles and piles on feet upon yards of the white stuff in big rolling drifts.

So, when we went up to open the cabin in the last weekend of June this year, we were all tingly with expectation to see the extent of the mountain frosting.  Last time we were there was back in February, when though there was a lot of snow, it wasn't yet at record-setting levels.  Now we knew there would be less, but we also knew there would be a lot more than normal.  Normal in late June for the immediate area around the cabin being none.

We drove up Friday night, got in around 9 or 10, hiked up to the cabin and dropped into bed.  In the morning we awoke to a brilliant spring wonder-land.

 

It was great!  Lots of snow, warm days, and the constant murmur and rush of the big melt going on all around us.  Much of the trip we spent our time opening and cleaning the cabin, but we also found some time to do some sledding.  That led to a pretty hairy accident.  Here's a smaller foreshadowing of that disaster.

The long and the short of it is that Dad hit a tree going much faster than above, and he was OK.  Thank God.

On Sunday morning, we took a hike up to Hart Lake.  We figured that trail would be fairly open due to its open treeless slopes and more southerly exposure, and we were right.  To get there, we hiked up the Coldwater Creek Campground road, which was still closed, enjoying the Pine Siskins and Cassin's Finches busying themselves in the trees around us.

 

Up on Red Mountain, we were serenaded by Dark-eyed Juncos, Green-tailed Towhees and Thick-billed Fox Sparrows.  At a meadow, an Orange-crowned Warbler was foraging in the willows.  I'm always surprised to encounter this species, which breeds in our local park, at high altitudes.

The best part of Hart Lake was that it was still frozen!  There was a thick coating of snow and ice over much of the lake, along with a scattering of trees swept in by an over-winter avalanche.

 

That afternoon, we headed home.  It was a short trip, but a fun one, and we'll long remember this extraordinary year of late spring snow.  Lots more pictures, and some videos, from the trip can be found on our Flickr page.