On June 8, 2002, Dick Fraschetti and I tackled a butt kicker of a hike going from the trailhead near Camp Sacramento on Highway 50 to the peak of Mt. Ralston at the southern edge of the Desolation Wilderness.

One way, the hike is approximately 4 miles and ascends 2,840 feet from 6,400 feet at the trailhead to 9,240 feet at the summit.

The route to Ralston Peak offers a little bit of everything -- dense forests, low-growing manzanita,open meadows, and plenty of granite slopes. And a lot of one thing -- elevation gain. Whoever pioneered this trail did not believe in switchbacks. It pretty much was a straight vertical climb to the top over the last two miles after covering moderately difficult terrain over the first two miles.

It being early June, we found snow fields at the higher elevations. The last hundred yards to the top, we scrambled over saber-sharp talus while trying to maintain our balance as we fought swirling and gusty winds.

The views from the top were in a word -- AWESOME! And well worth the effort. The heady summit panoramas take in the Lake Tahoe basin, Fallen Leaf Lake, the mountains around Carson Pass, and right down below us, the multitude of small lakes comprising the Desolation Wilderness. Most of the surrounding peaks and slopes were still covered with a blanket of winter snow. WOW!! What a view!!

I added a couple new birds to my bird list. We encountered a raucous colony of gray and white Clark Nutcrackers inhabiting a group of dead conifers and spotted a pair of bright yellow and red Western Tanangers. The usual suspects were also seen -- Stellar Jays, Robins, and several species of LLB's (little brown birds).