| Sword Lake - Carson / Iceberg Wilderness Trip Report |
| Sword Lake - Carson / Iceberg Wilderness   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: California, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 38.38042°N / 119.98169°W Date Climbed/Hiked: Jul 27, 2007 Activities: Hiking Season: Summer | Page By: Skiesofthewest Created/Edited: Jul 29, 2007 / Jul 29, 2007 Object ID: 317554 Hits: 919  Loading... Page Score: 0% - 0 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Add Heading HereMy brother and I backpacked into Sword Lake friday afternoon. We decided to take an alternate route in this time, using the "Wheat's Meadow" trailhead instead of the normal "County Line" trailhead. Reports had said that the Wheat's Meadow trail was easier, although twice as long. County Line is 2.0 miles, Wheats Meadow is 4.5 miles. However, I had surgery on my right leg in march, so we figured the easier, longer route would be better.
I am here to tell you, those reports are all false information. The Wheats Meadow trail to Sword Lake is not easier than County Line, and the fact that it's uphill sections are 0.5 to 1 mile long sections makes it incredibly strenuous at times. The County Line trailhead is class 5 difficult for the first 0.5 miles in, but the rest is fair. The Wheat's Meadow trail is class 4 difficult for the first 0.25 miles, but then has extended periods of uphill climbing for up to a mile at a time, with switchbacks and narrow trails throughout the trek. We went in the Wheats Meadow route, we came out the County Line route!
The trip, as always, was a wonderful experience. After being told in January that I'd never do strenuous backpacking again, making this trip was a personal victory. My brother and I have had limited opportunities to get away and do the things we did as kids...so this trip was nostalgic as well. Swimming, cliff jumping, and scaling the rocks throughout the area are always "must do" activities at Sword Lake!
We found time to do some creative writing, and enjoyed 5 star backpacking meals with excellent weather for July! Nothing over 80 degrees, with a constant breeze!
One thing, we did not see any deer...which is highly unusual for that area. And, we did not see any bear, or bear tracks, which is also very unusual. There were however a million and one blue belly lizards, squirrels, chipmunks, quail, garter snakes, and a few hawks. Mesquitos were non-existant but there were a few biting flies.
The moonrise over the Dardanells embedded in light grey clouds was a mystical sight to see. Unfortunately, as all to often seems to happen, neither of our cameras were working! It was the best moon rise I've seen in a very long time!
We made it a short trip for several reasons, but...the trip was wonderful! The water is up, the season is cool, and the skies were clear!
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