The Mokelumne Wilderness

Years and years ago, Rai, while making a mountain pass in California's Sierra Nevada range, we spotted a sign marking a trailhead. We stopped, got out of the car, and took a closer look. The 2 or 3 hour hike we took from there is one we'll never forget.
The marker was for a trail that leads the hiker into the Mokelumne Wilderness, a beautiful name, but one we'd never heard before. Looking at the simple trail map posted on the sign, we saw that this trail would first bring us to Frog Lake from which we could continue to Lake Winnemucca. With a name like that, this was a lake we couldn't miss!
Just minutes along the trail and we stopped, mouths open, literally awestruck. We were in a high alpine meadow and the wildflowers were incredible. Neither your Mom nor I had ever seen as amazing a field of wildflowers as this one. The entire grassy meadow was covered in flowers of all colors.
Frog Lake was pretty but Lake Winnemucca was something else entirely. It was a magical lake sitting right under a giant granite peak covered in snow. In this spot, with Mount Round Top looming right in front, we had the impression that we were much higher, in a greater mountain range. Who knew that the Sierra offered mountains like these?
Almost seven years have passed since our hike to Lake Winnemucca but still, every year, the name has come up many times. "We should go back to the Mokelumne Wildnerness for the spring wildflowers," one of us would say ever winter. We never did, almost always choosing a coastal trip over a drive into the mountains.
Last weekend, we finally returned to the Mokelumne Wilderness and to Lake Winnemucca. Your new cabin is just a half hour from Carson Pass, the mountain pass from which we had discovered this amazing place years ago. During our long weekend at the cabin, we drove to Carson Pass one afternoon, headed for Woods Lake, another favorite spot of ours. From there, we noticed a trail called the 'Winnemucca Trail'. How could we resist?!
A quick ascent brought us up to the ridge below Mount Round Top where Lake Winnemucca's placid waters rest. Discovering new places is wonderful but there's something even more special about returning to familiar places, especially those that filled one with wonder and excitement the first time. On this second visit, Lake Winnemucca filled us with the same sense of magic we had felt the first time. We now know that this is the year we will finally return for the spring wildflowers.