Skiers and Boarders,
A friend and I took an easy 5 mile round trip hike this morning along the Pacific Crest Trail between Hwy. 80 and Hwy. 40. We did not hike the entire distance between the highways, but just enough to loosen the legs, enjoy awesome views, identify a number of birds, and soak up the colorful wildflowers, especially the bright pink Mountain Pride Penstemon.
We set out to walk to Azalea Lake, but missed the turn off which is not signed. Luckily we spotted the trail that cuts off from the main PCT on the way back. The lake is full and ready for a swimmer to part its still waters.
It is really not much farther to hike to Hwy. 40, but I did not have enough time to do the entire hike back and forth. It is certainly worth the effort to drive up to Boreal and park in the PCT parking area. You may even meet a few thru hikers heading to Canada.
Enjoy your day,
Andy Wertheim
Wow! Azalea Lake really looks a lot like Donner Lake. Years ago my wife and one child would park at one of the Donner Passes and hike towards the other. I and our other child would park at the other and head out on the PCT. We’d exchange car keys when we met and passed each other. I also used to love to run roundtrip between the two Donner Passes. It made for a great 8 or so miles of rolling terrain with no major climbs.