Carson Pass & Red Lake (Part 2) - Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

On the 17 October 2025, my parents and I took a trip Eldorado National Forest, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and Lake Tahoe. We drove on State Route 88, State Route 89, and then to Lake Tahoe before circling back to the SF Bay via State Route 80. I went there to see aspen autumn foliage and the small amount of snow in the mountains. It was beautiful. I took photos with my phones, and the photos are split into 4 posts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

Message from the Photographer: This is the first Sierra Nevada trip since I caught COVID. I got hit with the worst altitude sickness ever. I have been wanting to go for 2 years now, but did not dare due to the amount of respiratory issues I've had with Long COVID. I decided to take a risk this time and paid for it hard. Unfortunately my health is nowhere near where it was before the COVID infection, and there is no end in sight for Long COVID. (More information at the end of the blog post.)

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 (Coming Soon) | 4 (Coming Soon)

This blog post are photos from State Route 88 in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in California. Photos are from Carson Pass and Red Lake. Don't let the smile in the photos of me fool you, I was feeling very sick, but tried my best to smile for the few photos my mom took of me.

A photo of me next to the "Carson Pass Elevation 8574 ft" sign. Also in the photo are State Route 88 (left), snow, snowy mountains, and forest. My mom helped me take this photo at Carson Pass.

A photo of me next to the "Carson Pass Elevation 8574 ft" sign. Also in the photo are State Route 88 (left), snow, snowy mountains, and forest. My mom helped me take this photo at Carson Pass.

A photo of me next to the "Carson Pass Elevation 8574 ft" sign. Also in the photo are State Route 88 (left), snow, snowy mountains, and forest. My mom helped me take this photo at Carson Pass.

A photo of me next to the "Carson Pass Elevation 8574 ft" sign. Also in the photo are State Route 88 (left), snow, snowy mountains, and forest. My mom helped me take this photo at Carson Pass.

A photo of me next to the "Carson Pass Elevation 8574 ft" sign. Also in the photo are State Route 88 (left), snow, snowy mountains, and forest. My mom helped me take this photo at Carson Pass.

A photo of me next to the "Carson Pass Elevation 8574 ft" sign. Also in the photo are State Route 88 (left), snow, snowy mountains, and forest. My mom helped me take this photo at Carson Pass.

A scenery photo of the car park at Carson Pass, State Route 88 (right), snow, snowy mountains, cars, and forest.

Next we begin our descent into Hope Valley, stopping at Red Lake on the way.

A scenery photo of Red Lake, Red Lake Peak, aspen autumn foliage, forest, and snow. The photo was shot on Red Vista Road.

A scenery photo of Red Lake, Red Lake Peak, aspen autumn foliage, forest, and snow. The photo was shot on Red Vista Road.

A scenery photo of Red Lake, aspen autumn foliage, snowy mountains, and forest. The photo was shot on Red Vista Road.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photo are aspen trees and pine trees. The photo was shot on Red Vista Road.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Next time I will have photos from Hope Valley in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in California. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Full Altitude Sickness Story: This was my first trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains since COVID-19 infection in November 2023. I got hit with the worst altitude sickness ever, and it went beyond anything I had expected or experienced before. At 6000ft (1800m), I start feeling affects of altitude what I used to get at 8500ft (2600m). By the time we got up to 8000ft (2400m), I was dealing with air hunger, a bad throbbing headache, nearly lost my lunch (swallowed it back a few times), a really wet cough, and severe dizziness that didn't go away even sitting down. Blood O2 was a persistent 85%-90%. 7000ft (2130m) wasn't much better, but blood O2 was around 87%-93%. Around 6300ft (1900m), I was able to maintain a persistent 95% O2, but my heart rate was very fast, and the air hunger was pretty bad. My body was resisting me very badly up there, however I was pretty happy getting to see snow and autumn foliage again. I most likely won't be doing another trip into the Sierras unless I can get oxygen.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 (Coming Soon) | 4 (Coming Soon)

State Route 88 (Part 1) - Eldorado National Forest

On the 17 October 2025, my parents and I took a trip Eldorado National Forest, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, and Lake Tahoe. We drove on State Route 88, State Route 89, and then to Lake Tahoe before circling back to the SF Bay via State Route 80. I went there to see aspen autumn foliage and the small amount of snow in the mountains. It was beautiful. I took photos with my phones, and the photos are split into 4 posts. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!

Message from the Photographer: This is the first Sierra Nevada trip since I caught COVID. I got hit with the worst altitude sickness ever. I have been wanting to go for 2 years now, but did not dare due to the amount of respiratory issues I've had with Long COVID. I decided to take a risk this time and paid for it hard. Unfortunately my health is nowhere near where it was before the COVID infection, and there is no end in sight for Long COVID. (More information at the end of the blog post.)

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 (Coming Soon) | 4 (Coming Soon)

This blog post are photos from State Route 88 in Eldorado National Forest in California on our drive up to Carson Pass. Photos are from Peddler Hill Scenic Viewpoint, Silver Lake, and Caples Lake.

A scenery photo of snowy mountains, forest and clouds. The photo was shot at Peddler Hill Scenic Viewpoint on the side of State Route 88.

A scenery photo of rocks, trees, snow, clouds, and State Route 88. The photo was shot at Peddler Hill Scenic Viewpoint.

A scenery photo of Thunder Mountain, Silver Lake, Treasure Island, and forest. The photo was shot at the intersection of Plasse Road and State Route 88.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photos are aspen trees and pine trees. The photo was shot at the intersection of Forest Route 10N15 and State Route 88.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photos are aspen trees and pine trees. The photo was shot at the intersection of Forest Route 10N15 and State Route 88.

A close up photo of aspen autumn foliage. In the photos are snow, aspen trees, and pine trees. The photo was shot at the intersection of Forest Route 10N15 and State Route 88.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photos are aspen trees and pine trees. The photo was shot at the intersection of Forest Route 10N15 and State Route 88.

A scenery photo of Caples Lake, snowy mountains, rocks, and forest. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 88.

A scenery photo of Caples Lake, snowy mountains, rocks, and forest. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 88.

A scenery photo of Caples Lake, Caples Lake Dam, State Route 88 (right), snowy mountain (left), and forest. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 88.

A scenery photo of State Route 88 (left), Caples Lake (right), snowy mountains, rocks, and forest. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 88.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. Also in the photo are aspen trees, pine trees, sign (left), snowy mountain (left), and State Route 88 (left). The photo was shot near Caples Lake.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photo are aspen trees, pine trees, and snowy mountain (right). The photo was shot at Caples Lake Public Boat Launch.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photo are aspen trees, pine trees, and rocks. The photo was shot at Caples Lake Public Boat Launch.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photo are aspen trees and pine trees. The photo was shot at Caples Lake Public Boat Launch.

A scenery photo of aspen autumn foliage and snow. In the photo are aspen trees, pine trees, and rocks. The photo was shot at Caples Lake Public Boat Launch.

This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! Next time I will have photos from Carson Pass and Red Lake in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in California. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Full Altitude Sickness Story: This was my first trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains since COVID-19 infection in November 2023. I got hit with the worst altitude sickness ever, and it went beyond anything I had expected or experienced before. At 6000ft (1800m), I start feeling affects of altitude what I used to get at 8500ft (2600m). By the time we got up to 8000ft (2400m), I was dealing with air hunger, a bad throbbing headache, nearly lost my lunch (swallowed it back a few times), a really wet cough, and severe dizziness that didn't go away even sitting down. Blood O2 was a persistent 85%-90%. 7000ft (2130m) wasn't much better, but blood O2 was around 87%-93%. Around 6300ft (1900m), I was able to maintain a persistent 95% O2, but my heart rate was very fast, and the air hunger was pretty bad. My body was resisting me very badly up there, however I was pretty happy getting to see snow and autumn foliage again. I most likely won't be doing another trip into the Sierras unless I can get oxygen.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 (Coming Soon) | 4 (Coming Soon)