Gateway to Mt. Tallac: Cathedral Lake

Cathedral Lake is a small lake between Fallen Leaf Lake and Mt. Tallac in the Desolation Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada in California. Cathedral Lake is located about half a mile south of Floating Island Lake. If your hiking route to the top of Mt. Tallac starts near Fallen Leaf Lake, either at the Mt. Tallac Trailhead parking lot (see Between Mount Tallac and Fallen Leaf Lake) or at the Fallen Leaf Tract of summer homes, Cathedral Lake is on your way and will make a nice resting place before you leave the dense forest and begin the ascend over shrub-covered and rocky slopes.

Reference and further reading
“Floating Island & Cathedral Lakes” on pages 165 and 166 in Mike White's hiking guide Afoot & Afield • Reno-Tahoe • A comprehensive hiking guide. Wilderness Press, Berkeley, California, 2nd printing November 2008.

Floating Island Lake west of Fallen Leaf Lake

Floating Island Lake is a small lake between Mount Tallac and Fallen Leaf Lake. Mt. Tallac can be seen towering in the lake background as well as a reflection on the surface of the lake, which is surrounded by fir forest. Floating Island Lake is about 1.25 miles south from the Mt. Tallac Trailhead northwest of the Fallen Leaf Lake.
The Floating Island Lake Trail goes along the east-side shoreline of the lake. It connects the Mt. Tallac Trailhead with the intersection at which another trail arrives from the southern end of Fallen Leaf Lake. From this intersection, Cathedral Lake is only a few hiking minutes away.

Rubicon Point's Lighthouse at Lake Tahoe

Lighthouses typically are tall structures that can be seen from far away during times of day light—although their modus operandi is to be recognized at night by lantern light. In contrast, Rubicon Point's Light House is a small building, which is difficult to spot from land or lake. It is hiding between trees on a steep, rocky slope at the coast along the southwest corner of Lake Tahoe between Emerald Bay and Rubicon Bay. The current structure of the Rubicon Point Lighthouse was stabilized and preserved in 2001, after the elegant old structure, acquired by the State of California in 1929, was vandalized and nearly destroyed.
Read more about the lighthouse history of Lake Tahoe at the interpretive boards at the light house or trailhead. Excerpts are given here:

In 1916 the U.S. Congress appropriated funds to construct navigational lamps at Lake Tahoe. The decision followed three years of requests by the Lake Tahoe Protective Association. Construction of the Rubicon Point Lighthouse took place in 1919 under the direction of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Lighthouse Service.

Rubicon Point was originally one of four navigational lamps on Lake Tahoe. The light was built at a cost of $900.00. A flashing 70 candle power light was visible for seven miles.

Getting there, hiking around
From Highway 89 between South Tahoe and Tahoe City, a few miles north of Emerald Bay, enter the D. L. Bliss State Park. From the Visitor Center, drive north and park to the right at the Lighthouse trailhead (quick access) or continue on, all the way through the camp ground, until you reach the parking area for Lester Beach, the Rubicon Trail and the Lighthouse Trail. From there, take the o.3 mile trail that ascends to the light house. Instead of returning the same way, continue on in southward direction until you meet the Rubicon Trail, on which you may return or hike further above and along the lake shore for about four miles to get to Emerald Point and Vikingsholm at the head of Emerald Bay.

Balancing Rock Nature Trail in Bliss State Park at Lake Tahoe

The Balancing Rock Nature Trail, a half-mile loop trail, is located in D. L. Bliss State Park at Lake Tahoe in California. While driving north on Highway 89 from Emerald Bay to Tahoe City, you'll pass by along Bliss SP before getting to Rubicon Bay, but probably will not see the Balancing Rock from the highway, although it is very close by. However, the hiking trail inside the park, named after this natural rock sculpture, loops around the weathering granite structure. In fact, the overlying rock is not balancing, it is fixed to the underlying granite. As the erosion process continues, the upper rock will “loose its balance” at some point in the future, maybe during a Tahoe Area earthquake, and will fall downhill. Following the loop trail downward into the small creek, you are able to see the place, where the rock and its split-offs might come to rest. The loop trail offers various views of the rock from above and below and from all different angles. There are also views of Lake Tahoe and Rubicon Peak. The biosphere of the trail includes pine trees, manzanitas and ferns. Getting there From Highway 89 enter the D.L. Bliss State Park at the Visitor Center and drive to the camp ground in the north part of the park until you arrive at a signpost directing you to the trailhead. The trailhead parking lot is also used as an overflow parking area for the camp ground. If you are staying at the camp ground, you may consider walking or biking to the trailhead.

Tomales Bay Trail to Giacomini Wetland and Lagunitas Creek

The Tomales Bay Trail in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area offers access to the southern end of Tomales Bay. From the trailhead, it is about a mile, slightly downhill, to the wetland and saltwater areas. The photography shows the view along Lagunitas Creek, meeting Tomales Bay. Fog is moving inland from the west over the Point Reyes National Seashore and over the bay. The trail splits into two dead-end trails. One is going north between Lagunitas Creek and old oak trees. The other is going southeast to the Giacomini Wetland, which is named after dairy-man Waldo Giacomini, who build dikes and levees here in the 1940s to convert parts of the marshland into pasture. Today, this is the land of white egrets, river otters, naturalists, hikers and kayaking enthusiasts—then and now, always right on top of the San Andreas fault.

Getting to the Tomales Bay Trailhead
The Tomales Bay Trailhead is about two miles away from A Street in Point Reyes Station, north of Stinson Beach in California. From A Street, take the Shoreline Hwy (Highway 1) and drive northeast for about half a mile. At the intersection with the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road, turn left and continue on the Shoreline Hwy until you see the trailhead parking lot on the left side.

Read more on Tomales Bay's restoration, wildlife and paddling:
[1] Carolyn Longstreth: A Marsh is born at Point Reyes: Just Add Water. Bay Nature October-December 2009, pp. 12-15.
[2] Physical characteristics of Tomales Bay.

White heather at the shore of Twin Lakes

White heather is an evergreen with upward-angled, needle-like leaves. Plants, which grow in masses, typically start flowering in July. The plants in the picture (July 2) were found at the shore of Twin Lakes in the Sierra Nevada in California. Wet, rocky areas on open slopes near and above the timberline are their usual habitat. White heather mats have been located and described in places from Alaska to northern Nevada and central California.

White heather (Cassiope mertensiana), also named alpine heather or western moss heather, belongs—big surprise—to the heath family (Ericaceae). Flowering plants are easily identified by their white bells, hanging from tips of slender stalks and “hold” by reddish pink, finger-like sepals.

More about white heather:
[1] Cassiope mertensiana (Bong.) G. Don.
[2] White Mountain-heather.
[3] Cassiope mertensiana var. mertensiana. Western Moss Heather.
[4] Calflora: Cassiope mertensiana (Bong.) Don.

Twin Lakes in the Crystal Range of the Sierra Nevada

The Eldorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevada southwest of Lake Tahoe in California is an area of small and not so small lakes, hidden in forests or openly placed in granite bowls. This “forest” includes the Desolation Wilderness, a part of the High Sierra with boulders, rocks, and walls; yet featuring various wildflowers and here and there a tall tree. The best time to see the colorful display of wildflowers such as blue lupines or white and red heather is late spring and early summer, when the meltwater is rushing downhill and builds its own streams, not to be found on any map. On July 2, this year, the Twin Lakes Trail still served in parts as a path for running water.
The Twin Lakes hike—on trail sections with up to forty percent grade—is a scenic experience. The eastward view at the lake goes across the lake, small rock islands to a waterfall and patches of snow in the Crystal Range.

Getting to the Twin Lakes Trailhead
From Highway 50 between Strawberry and Freds Place take Wright Lake Road (Highway 4). Drive uphill to the Chimney Flat area. Cross Lyons Creek and South Fork Silver Creek. Continue on Wright Lake Road all the way to the Visitor Center at Wright Lake. Turn right, drive slowly through the camp ground and find the parking lot at the end of the road. This point is close to the eastern end of Wrights Lake and provides trail access to Maud Lake, Gertrude Lake, Tyler Lake, Twin Lakes, Island Lake, Grouse Lake, Smith Lake and Hemlock Lake as well as other lakes, ponds, wetlands (in spring) and waterfalls.

References
[1] Eldorado National Forest, Recreational Activities: Hiking, Biking, and Horses. Wrights Lake Area.
[2] Desolation Wilderness at summitpost.org.
[3] Adam Paul: Nature & Travel Photography and Narratives. Hiking from Wright's Lake to Twin Lake (Desolation Wilderness, California).