Lake Alpine is a high, clear reservoir in the Sierra Nevada, about 2,200 metres above sea level, and it sits like a cupped hand among granite and lodgepole pine. Highway 4 runs along its edge, and for a few months of the year it is a delightful stop: a lodge with a deck, a small boat ramp, and a view down the water to bare rock. It is the sort of place where you take your helmet off, buy a cold drink, and for a few minutes forget that the road beyond is a serious one.
The ride up from the west, from Arnold and Bear Valley, is gentle at first, with sweeping bends through tall conifers, but the road beyond the lake gets narrower, steeper and rougher. It is the western approach to the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, which crosses the Sierra at nearly 2,700 metres, and the sections east of here are among the toughest paved ones in California. The lake is a good place to prepare: top up with water, tighten your luggage and check your brakes. The surface up to Alpine is generally good, with the occasional frost heave, and traffic is light.
The climate shapes everything. Winter snow is deep, and Highway 4 is closed east of the Bear Valley area from late autumn until spring, usually until at least May, and sometimes into June. In summer the days are warm and bright and the nights cold, and afternoon thunderstorms drift over the crest. The lake is fed by snowmelt and is cold enough to take your breath away if you wade in. Spring flowers appear late and in a rush, and in autumn the aspens turn gold along the creek.
The surrounding region was gold country on the western slope and silver on the eastern side, and the old wagon routes across the mountains were rough and slow. Today the main business is recreation: fishing, camping, hiking the Pacific Crest Trail section nearby, and in winter cross-country skiing around Bear Valley.
Fuel is not available at the lake. Arnold, about forty kilometres back, has petrol and supermarkets, and so does Murphys further west, while Bear Valley village has a few small shops. On the east side, Markleeville and Gardnerville have fuel. Fill up in Arnold, carry some food, and enjoy the lake before the climb.