Warning!
11/18/2021: We hiked to Shirley lake. This is not a trivial hike especially at this time of year when there is snow and ice on the trail near the top. While this may not be rated difficult, it is certainly a high moderate. Still, it had everything to include beautiful forest, waterfalls, a lake and gorgeous granite and views.
Marg’s Notes: By far the hardest hike! Only 2.5 miles, but a 1,300 ft elevation gain! UGH Started out by climbing up some rocks…should have known! The lower part was thru a forest and along a pretty creek (Squaw Creek?) [Yes, Squaw Creek] with lots of falls. Still some climbing. Tiring, but not too bad. At the 1.4 mile mark, we came to a warning sign that said to turn back if you were not wearing boots! Also warning that it was a mile to Shirley Lake with a 600 ft elevation gain ☹. I was already tired & feeling the elevation, even tho we were not at the top. Max elevation was 7,550 ft. The last mile was brutal! Climbing up rocks & over granite slabs. Towards the top, we saw 4 people who told us we were almost there, but that it was windy at the lake. We trudged on over the rocks & a bit of snow! Finally made it to the lake. It was a bit cool, but not really windy. We put on our jackets. There was a ski lift on the other side of the lake! We ate our lunch, then headed back. Going down was tiring too! In the parking lot (of a small church) we met 2 girls who had locked their keys in the car ☹. Back to condo to collapse!
Last of the Lasagna.
Rod’s Ramblings from the Trail: Took about an hour and 5 minutes to drive here from Stateline, NV. Getting on the trailhead about 10:10. Parking in the church parking lot which is free but they would like a donation. The elevation is 6,100 ft. Temperature is low 50s but feels colder than that.
I would imagine this is wall-to-wall people on this hike in the summertime. But right now, I think we might be the only ones on the trail.
The waterfalls are a must stop and take pictures place.
The creek [Squaw Creek] that runs along this trail is gorgeous with many small waterfalls. It runs through the granite rocks, tumbles and makes a beautiful rushing noise of course. Sometimes I feel like a beaver because I'm always attracted to the rushing water, and this is a good place to be attracted to.
The waterfalls continue to be beautiful at 1.7 mi in. To this point the hiking has not been that difficult. Perhaps that’s because we take our time and take a lot of pictures, so it slows us down. We're not in a hurry.
At the point where you reach the sign that says it’s dangerous and be careful going up the steep granite. It says to make sure you have good hiking shoes and if you don't, I recommend you turn around. Pay attention to that because good Vibram soles will help you an awful lot on these rocks.
We made it to Shirley Lake. It is a little disappointing to me because we are looking at a chair lift. It really was quite difficult climbing the last 700 ft of elevation gain to get here from the place where it says it's dangerous. It took us about 2 hours and 45 minutes to get here. We're going to eat lunch, turn around and head back. I would rate this as our least favorite hike so far. It's not terrible but only gets 4 stars from me. We could have turned around at the “Danger” sign.