Ralston Peak from Camp Sacramento

A friend was visiting from the mountain-less part of this country and expressed the wish to accompany me on one of my Sierra Nevada hikes. Whenever someone asks me if they can come hiking with me I say yes, but hardly ever does it happen that someone actually comes along. My choice for this hike was Ralston Peak from Camp Sacramento along the trail, an easy* hike with not too much altitude gain, but one that should give my friend a good view of the Tahoe area and Desolation Wilderness.

We start our hike at the Ralston Trailhead parking lot, about 3 miles east of Strawberry on Highway 50. The path is easy to find and hard to miss and follows the southwest flank of Ralston Peak all the way to the highpoint. Due to the cold and rather strong wind we take our break on the lee side of the mountain. Even though we are somewhat protected we start getting cold soon and retrace our steps to the trailhead.

* Note: according to the information board at the trail head this hike is considered "difficult"...


Update September 2020:
Attached an alternate route [Ralston Via Horse Tail]. From Camp Sacramento with the bicycle down to the Pyramid Creek trail head, then hiking up along the Horse Tail waterfall to Avalanche Lake and from there to Lake of the Woods and up to Ralston Peak and finally back down to Camp Sacrament.
Very nice hike with different routes up and down!