On 9 April 2023, my parents and I took a day trip to Eldorado National Forest and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest to see snow. We also dropped by Mesa Vista, CA during sunset. We mostly drove along State Route 88. I took photos with my cellphones. I hope you enjoy viewing my photos!
The California megastorms definitely left their marks on the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I have never seen this much snow before.
A photo of me standing next to the snow wall at Peddler Hill Scenic Viewpoint. The photo is from the Eldorado National Forest.
A photo of me standing next to the snow wall at Peddler Hill Scenic Viewpoint. The photo is from the Eldorado National Forest.
A photo of me standing next to the snow wall at Iron Mountain Sno-Park. The photo is from the Eldorado National Forest.
A photo of me standing next to the snow wall at Iron Mountain Sno-Park. The photo is from the Eldorado National Forest.
The snow walls were tall! It was my first time seeing snow walls this tall. The tallest snow wall I saw on the trip was at Carson Spur, but that is an avalanche area and there was no place to park. I think parts of the snow wall at Carson Spur was the height of a 2 story house. I really wanted to take a photo of the snow walls at Carson Spur, but there wasn't any opportunities. If you want to take scenery photos right now while driving along State Route 88, I think you would need to bring a ladder. It was almost impossible to climb up a little bit to raise your phone over the snow wall in most places.
A scenery photo of Silver Lake, Thunder Mountain, snow, and forest. The photo was shot at the intersection of State Route 88 and Kays Road in the Eldorado National Forest.
A scenery photo of forest, snow, and clouds shot on the side of State Route 88 in Eldorado National Forest.
You can see in the previous 2 photos, my cellphone barely cleared the snow wall. I managed to climb up a tiny bit and raised my cellphone just barely enough to clear the snow wall.
A scenery photo of a snowy mountain, snow covered meadow, forest, and clouds. The photo was shot at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in Kirkwood, CA and Eldorado National Forest.
A scenery photo of snowy mountains, snow covered meadow, forest, and clouds. The photo was shot at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in Kirkwood, CA and Eldorado National Forest.
There was a "ramp" onto the meadow at Kirkwood Mountain Resort. The meadow is located near the intersection of State Route 88 and Kirkwood Meadows Drive.
A scenery photo of Carson Pass (Elevation 8574), State Route 88, snow walls, trees, and avalanche warning signs. The photo was shot at Carson Pass Sno-Park in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Next my parents and I arrive at Red Lake in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. I did some snowshoeing at this location. There wasn't too much to see unfortunately. My parents and I did get to use the
Motorola T100 Talkabout Radio and the
Motorola T107 Talkabout Radio to communicate. Only I have snowshoes, so my parents didn't follow me on most of my walk (they did climb the pile of snow next to the parking lot to get photos of Red Lake). The 2 radios did better than I expected. My parents and I were communicating just fine 0.45 mile apart in heavily obstructed conditions (trees, forest, snow, and a hill). Granted, there was a slight hiss to the transmission at that distance with the obstructions, but we could understand each other just fine. At 0.43 mile and with moderate obstruction (snow and trees), the hiss disappeared. I was quite surprised because these low powered radios only transmit at 0.2W and has short stubby antennas. For the price I paid for these, it went beyond my expectations.
There is a "ramp" for people snowshoeing and backcountry skiing at Red Lake.
A scenery photo of Red Lake and Red Lake Peak. The photo was shot at Red Lake in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
A scenery photo from Red Lake in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Left: Red Lake Peak
Center: Red Lake
Right: Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, Jobs Peak, Pickett Peak, Hawkins Peak
A panorama from Red Lake in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Center: Red Lake & Red Lake Peak
Right: Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, Jobs Peak, Pickett Peak, Hawkins Peak
A scenery photo of Freel Peak, Jobs Sister, and Jobs Peak (in the center). The photo was shot at Hope Valley Sno-Park in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
A scenery photo of Pickett Peak (left), Hawkins Peak (right), forest, and clouds. The photo was shot at Hope Valley Sno-Park in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
A scenery photo of West Fork Carson River, forest, and mountains. The photo was shot on the side of State Route 89 near Picketts Junction in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Our final destination on this day trip was Mesa Vista, CA. We ended up seeing the sunset on Emigrant Trail.
A sunset scenery photo of the snow covered Eastern Sierras, grassy plains, and ranches. The photo was shot on Emigrant Trail in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of cows, the snow covered Eastern Sierras, grassy plains, and ranches. The photo was shot on Emigrant Trail in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of the snow covered Eastern Sierras, grassy plains, and ranches. The photo was shot on Emigrant Trail in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of cows, the snow covered Eastern Sierras, grassy plains, and ranches. The photo was shot on Emigrant Trail in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of the snow covered Eastern Sierras and giant plains with desert plants. The photo was shot on Emigrant Trail in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of the snow covered Eastern Sierras, giant plains with desert plants, and ranches. The photo was shot on Emigrant Trail in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of the snow covered Eastern Sierras, Emigrant Trail, and ranches. The photo was shot in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of snow covered mountains, giant plains with desert plants, and ranches.
A sunset scenery photo of the snow covered Eastern Sierras, giant plains with desert plants, and ranches. The photo was shot on Emigrant Trail in Mesa Vista, CA.
A sunset scenery photo of snow covered mountains, giant plains with desert plants, and ranches.
After Mesa Vista, CA, we turned back to get back to the SF Bay Area.
A sunset scenery photo of Waterhouse Peak (left), State Route 88 & 89, mountains, clouds, and snow.
This is all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing the photos! 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.
