Today 5/18 I “Free Soloed” Mt. Tallac in Southlake Tahoe to take my first peak of the Las Tahoe 6 Pack of Peaks Challenge.  My wife and I drove up to Southlake on Friday, crashed at a motel, and she dropped me off at the trail head at 615am. 

It was a glorious day to be out. The weather was clear and mild with no wind. I was alone for the most part on the trail until I came across another hiker, Ryan from Reno, coming down from the summit. He was the first one to summit today. I encountered him about a mile from the summit.  

There was snow all over the trail. From Floating Lake to Cathedral Lake, it was manageable but just past Cathedral it was soft and harder to make the climb. 

The trail at times was hard to follow because of the snow. Also, there were snow bridges where you could hear rushing water under them that were tricky to navigate.  If the weather stays this warm over the next few weeks, I am guessing by mid-June the trails will be more manageable.   

It was a tough climb with the snow. I used my crampons to gain better traction for my climb. I was exposed for the most part of the hike, but the weather was incredible. I peeled off many layers and was sweating.  

When I reached the summit at 1020am, I was the only one there. A very light breeze and blue skies. I rested for 30 minutes, ate, took pictures, and headed back. It was very tranquil at the top.  

On my way down I encountered a few trail runners. But as I made my major descent towards Cathedral Lake there were quite a few others making their assent to the summit. It was about 1130am when I encountered the others. The snow was becoming even more slushy and the pace of the hikers coming up was slower than mine earlier in the morning.  

 I got back to the parking lot at about 120pm where my wife had just pulled up. I changed my clothes, hopped in, and we headed home.   

It was a fantastic day to hike Mt. Tallac! I hiked 9.65 miles, gained 3386 in elevation in about 7 hours. The snow really slowed me down. Last year I hiked Tallac 6 hours.   I have posted all pictures here and there is a link to the All-Trails route I took. If you would like to ask more questions about my hikes, please feel free to message me and I will share all my info. If you are interested in my hikes, you can follow me on my Facebook page Jason’s Hiking Adventures, Bay Are Hikers, Instagram @jasonshikingadventures, Social Hiker, and All Trails. Thanks for reading! 

All Trails Map: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/recording/el-dorado-county-hiking-125b93c