Stairs leading up to the reservoir. The waterfall on the left is from the dam's overflow pipe

Bear Gulch revervoir, very close to overflowing. (From the mud at the far end, it looks like it had overflowed recently). On the back left you can see the climber access trail I would use to get over to the south shore of the reservoir- the main trail along the shore was underwater.

Looking down at the stairs leading up to the reservoir.

Another view of the dam and outflow waterfall.

Looking out over the reservoir. Later in the season, the water level wiill be 5+ feet lower than this. See this shot showing the water level in November 02

I needed to get to the shore on the far end of the shot to pick up the Chalone Peak trail. The intervening section of the trail was underwater, so I had to take a climber access trail around/over the rocks to my left.

The Chalone Peak trail headed steadily uphill for the 3 odd miles to the highpoint. It started raining as I headed up the trail- just a drizzle at first but a steady downpour by the time I got to the top

"Clear Skies?". The text on this placard describes the pollution issues with the valley that can usually be seen from the peak. No views today as the peak was entirely clouded in. Here is the view on a clear day.

The lookout tower on North Chalone Peak. South Chalone would usually be visible from here.