Mount Tallac

June 2026

I was heading out to Tahoe for work so I figured should try to squeak in at least one SPS peak on my way there. I settled on Tallac and maybe Dicks if time permitted. Well before dawn I left Santa Cruz and got to the Mt. Tallac trailhead around 10. The trail heads south and follows the length of Fallen Leaf lake for some time, a beautiful start to the route. Eventually, I peeled up to the west and started climbing more steeply towards the peak. Coming from sea level, it definitely felt like I was sipping fumes, even on the flats.

The trail is very highly trafficked and consequently super well maintained. This was a nice break from the gnarly cross country routes I usually navigate to reach SPS peaks in the Sierra. I greeted tons of hikers as I trotted by and eventually found myself boulder hopping in a scree field, picking my way to the broad saddle south of the peak. Once at the saddle, the trail became more defined again and I followed it all the way to Tallac’s rocky summit.

The views down to Lake Tahoe were incredible. Equally stunning were the views to my south—Lake Aloha sat in the foreground of the formidable skyline of Pyramid Peak, Agassiz, and Price. I had done that traverse years back and remembered it fondly while sitting on Tallac’s summit.

It had taken me about an hour and thirty minutes to reach the top. I was doing well on time, but Dicks still looked incredibly far away. The fact that the traverse to it was all cross country didn’t help my cause. After some hemming and hawing, I decided I would skip Dicks this time and come back for it.

This worked out well because I could slow the pace on the way down to really take in the scenery. I lounged for a bit once I got back to the trailhead, and eventually mustered the energy to drive up to Tahoe City where I’d be grinding for work the next four days.