After walking two miles up a dirt road, we reached the trailhead.
Having nothing better to do, Nancy and I decided to hike up to Tinker Knob via the Coldstream Valley trail. You used to be able to drive up to the trailhead, but the wet winter caused so much erosion that it’s now too burly to drive.
The trail is an old mining road that is so overgrown that you can barely tell that it was once a road. Surprisingly, the trail is open to motorcycles.
Crossing a small stream.
This route to Tinker Knob is steeper, but shorter than hiking the PCT from Highway 40. Since you start lower, you gain about 3000’.
After a mile in the woods, the trail opens up with views of Anderson Peak.
We had almost made it above timberline when we ran into a big mother bear with her cubs. We backed off and waited for her to clear out, but her cubs had climbed a tree and she wasn’t budging, so we had to bushwhack around her.
A view of Deep Creek valley.
The Coldstream trail intersects Road 01, which runs north-south and connects the various drainages that drop down to Highway 89 along the Truckee River.
Once you make the ridge, you join the Pacific Crest Trail. Granite Chief and Squaw Valley are in the background.
After walking along Road 01 for a couple hundred yards, you head up a single-track and join the Pacific Crest Trail.
Nancy scrambling up the rocks to Tinker Knob.
From there it’s about ten minutes to the top of Tinker Knob.
Nancy checking her summit log entry from a year ago.
It was a nice, sunny day and we didn’t see another soul out—unless bears have souls.
Bret wondering which way is north.
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