A Solo Hike Along the Silver Divide

The stairway to the stars...or heaven. Whatever music you like best. You have to admire the work that went into this. Where does the stair end??

The Plunge

Silver Divide Trip from Edison Lake Trailhead, August 2001

The trail now descends to the lake below on the face of a cliff. The trail has been carved and blasted out of solid rock, a precarious groove sure to overly thrill anyone on horseback. On foot the trail is nearly as thrilling, and it is advisable to be stone sober when walking this section. Long traversing switchbacks, some nearly level to cut across some nearly vertical faces, gently lowered me to the shore of the lake. I had to look back up the rocky face just to admire the Sierra craftsmanship that went into that trail section.

Lake of the Lone Indian close up, just before my break-stop. Crowded fair camping on the left.

The trail was still above the lake a ways when it reached the junction. I turned left and took the undulating trail to a broad level grassy area on the shore of the Lake of the Lone Indian. There was a dead stump in the middle of the grassy area where I propped myself up to survey the scenery. To the left was a use trail along the shore to an obvious campsite. I waved to a group of guys lounging around there looking in my direction, but they ignored me and kept staring. Takes all kinds I guess.

I still had plenty of water, and I did not feel like stopping for the day yet, nor had I planned to. So I decided to continue on. I knew the next section was yet another climb, and the first leg to the trail sign was unnecessarily steep. The trail sign was actually a junction for a trail that came from the other trail junction I had come across from above.