MT. FILLMORE (7,716’), MT. ETNA (7,163’) October 19, 1985

The four of us faithful to the peaks decided on this fall adventure. This was a private trip organized at the spur of the moment. We left town to drive up the La Porte Road. I knew that the fall colors would be good. This would be our first time for these peaks, but I knew they would be easy. In the face of an oncoming storm, we chose to do this slight risk.

We had a good van. The road wasn't as rough back then, so we made it to the trailhead. We started out on our hike. I recall that there was a better use trail. Getting to the top, I took pictures, and there was a register. We had such an easy time going down, we decided to climb nearby Mt. Etna. I recall that took only 25 minutes. We left a register which we were never to see hardly again.

Touring, we visited the town of La Porte. I had a special interest in the Chinese barracks. The drive back was filled with fall colors. We had an interesting cloudy sky. Going back three more times to do Mt. Fillmore, I like Plumas County for its fall colors. The dogwood and maples are great for this part of the Sierra. The area was later tagged with the name, “Lost Sierra.”


Most hikers don't go here because they are not mentally capable of navigating about. The opportunities for solitude therefore are excellent. It is hard to understand why with such an fine op for gentle easy hiking that it is not more popular with capable mountaineers. I can see why with the forest and the understory that an aerial search would be nearly impossible. Too scary for the hiking club!

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