Hike to Tinker Knob

The crest of the Sierra, view south to Anderson Peak

Today I hiked a small section of the Pacific Crest Trail, some seven miles from Donner Pass to Tinker Knob. The Trail extends 2,650 miles from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. The Pacific Crest Trail Association says that an average of 300 hikers attempt the entire route each year. (And about 180 finish.) I spoke with six of them. The first two were in their late twenties or early thirties. The man was from Norway and the woman was from Wisconsin. I don't know if they were a couple or had informally joined up. The hikers start at Campo, California, either alone or in groups, and along the way they form informal partnerships, to share information and to check on each other's welfare. Since there is a window of time to do the hike, the hikers depart in April, and the wave of hikers was now passing through this area. The next man I met was in his late twenties. He was from Houston and worked in home remodeling, but with a shortage of work he was taking these several months to hike the trail. I met the other three hikers on my return from Tinker Knob. They were walking at a pace far faster than mine and they overtook me. They were less talkative than the others, but I learned that the couple was from England and the other hiker was from Palm Springs. The man was in his early twenties and the couple was in their late twenties. To hike the entire trail, one must be in top physical shape, and being young is a plus.

I saw a total of about thirty people on the trail. There were groups of runners. They park a vehicle at the Squaw Valley Ski Resort, drive to Donner Summit, and then run the trail (average elevation around 8,000 feet) to Squaw Valley. Others, like me, were out for a simple day hike.

I stopped at Roller Pass to look down the slope. The overland emigrants, after crossing prairies and deserts, noted in their diaries the dread they felt upon reaching their greatest obstacle, the wall of the Sierra Nevada. Roller Pass saw use from 1847 to 1850. It was less arduous than the Donner Pass crossing to north, where wagons had to be disassembled before being hoisted up the cliffs. With a 400 foot chain set over a log (the roller), the emigrants used double teams of oxen to bring their wagons up the slope. Once at the top, it was pretty much all downhill (but still a difficult journey) to the Sacramento Valley. The interpretive sign at Roller Pass stated that a little under 10,000 emigrants used this route.

View north to Roller Pass, Mount Judah in the background

I continued my hike south to Tinker Knob. There were still large patches of snow blocking sections of the trail. One simply walks around them.

Tinker Knob is the core of a long dead volcano. The summit (8,949 feet) is reached by a bit of scrambling - there is no defined trail. The slope is steep and one must pay attention. Once at the top, the scenery is magnificent. Tucked amongst some rocks is a military ammo can with log books. I read my July 19, 2009 (10:52 AM) entry where I mentioned my bear encounter down by the ski lifts. I logged myself in for this hike. Another hiker reached the summit and we talked for some ten minutes. He then departed, to return to Donner Summit. I took some more photographs, gathered my gear, and left. Going down the slope of Tinker Knob takes more caution than going up.

Tinker Knob, 1.2 miles away, seen from Anderson Peak

The only thing of note on the return hike was the wind, the steady relentless west wind blasting over the crest. But, in all, a nice hike for this day.