Desolation Wilderness: Echo Lakes to Lake Aloha
- This topic is empty.
-
Echo Lakes to Lake Aloha via PCT
September 10-11, 2011
3.8 Miles in (Boat Shuttle $10, saves 2.5mi)
6.3 Miles out
10.1 Miles round tripThis is my third trip in the Desolation Wilderness area since I've moved to Nevada almost two years ago and it is my wife's first backpacking trip ever. We woke up early to go catch the Glow Show & Dawn Patrol balloons at the Great Reno Balloon Race at 5:00AM and then drove up to the South Lake Tahoe Visitor Center to meet our friends at 10:30. We got there really early and while we waited I re-read the trail reports in two guidebooks and then we went down to the Lake Tahoe beach for some photos.
Mt. Tallac in the background.Our friends, another couple with dogs and a single mom with young son, finally arrive and we drive to the Echo Lake Chalet to start the trip. With such a late start, gloomy weather, and being that we have three first timers on the trip we decide to take the boat shuttle across Upper and Lower Echo Lakes to shave 2.5 miles from today’s mileage.
A beautiful rock strewn trail gently climbs to Haypress Meadows after about 1500' of elevation gain. The ground is still soggy off trail which is a reminder of how much snow this area had last winter. I'm sure many of the PCT'ers had some muddy shoes though this section just a few months ago. Thunder began to boom though the Echo canyon and we saw a few lightning strikes in the distance. I stopped to grab out my rain gear and put it on the outside of my pack for easier access when finally decides to rain.
We arrived at the far SE corner of Aloha after a 700' +/- descent from Haypress Meadows to find that many of the flat areas are already occupied by other campers. Any of the remaining sites are too close for any illusion of solitude and we decide to continue north to find a more secluded area. We were also thinking that any bears the Rangers told us about will likely be visiting the more frequented campsites we're passing by. The water level is quite low this time of year but considerably lower than what I remember from a similar trip with my dad last September to the NE corner of the lake via Glen Alpine Trailhead.
We finally settle on a nice area about a 1/4mi North from the "tent city" at the SE corner of the lake. I searched around for a place to put my Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 making sure that if it rained that my tent was not in a puddle later. After starting to set it up I discovered that I could only get about half of my stakes in the ground so I moved it to a grassy area a little way's away and had no trouble. I’ll need to add some guylines to the tent corners so I can use rocks instead of stakes when I have limited site selection.
The thunder became more insistent so I decided to make dinner as quickly as I could. About halfway through my boil it started to rain so we put on our rain gear. I had planned to make some Mountain House Raspberry Crumble, my favorite dessert, but we postponed it till breakfast the next day because of the rain. The rain ended up only lasting about an hour-and-a-half and the resulting sunset towards Mosquito Pass was incredible. We spent the rest of the evening chatting and exploring the rocky shoreline near our camp. I had been hoping for a cloud-free night for some moonlit photos of the Crystal Range but no luck there. Maybe next time?
Shortly after dinner a lone hiker came by our camp and was looking for a place to set-up his tarp. I offered an area closer to the trail for him to use as I knew that the campsites further to the south were cramped and quite exposed if the weather turned bad. I learned that he was from British Colombia and was finishing up a 200mi south-bound stretch of the PCT. After running out of vacation time he was stopping at the Echo Lakes Chalet and going home. When the next morning came he was already gone without a noise.
We woke shortly after sunrise on Sunday and decided to get up and go for a short walk north along the beach. We discovered three more campsites in use and took a few sunrise photos where the sun just started to catch along the Crystal Range. After our walk we took down the groups bear hang and started to make our breakfast of Chia Goodness, cranberries, and our Raspberry Crumble from the previous night. It ended up being a very delicious and filling breakfast. I fired up the MYOG stove and Heine pot again for some coffee made with Starbucks Via, individual Coffee Mate creamer, and leftover Baileys. Bailey’s makes a delightful nightcap and a delicious morning coffee!
Our camp mates rustled out of bed around 9 and we visited and laid around camp enjoying the scenery for the next few hours. The little guy decided to test the alpine waters despite being quite cold. We departed around noon when the rain started again. It would rain off and on for the rest of the hike out. We stopped an hour later and made lunch. I followed Sarah's recipe for Southwest Chicken Wraps but modified it a bit. No re-hydration of the freeze dried corn was necessary as the broth from the chicken packet was more than enough and I made everything in the chicken foil packet. It's quite the tasty lunch and I'll definitely be bringing it again.
A few of us had already decided that we would be walking the extra 2.5 miles instead of taking the boat shuttle. About 1/8mile from the boat dock I realized that my sunglasses must have fallen off somewhere up the trail. I decided to run after them uphill with my pack still on, something I can do now that my pack weight isn’t a burden. After about 10 minutes going full blast and asking everyone if they've seen my glasses, I came across a group of hikers who had brought them down from 15 minutes further uphill. Boy was I lucky! I got out the trekking poles and flew back down the trail to catch up with my wife and the rest of the group.
We stopped in town to grab some greasy burgers, fries, and rootbeer floats before driving back home. Overall a great trip and the wife is willing to do it again which makes it even better.
Thank you for sharing, Eric. Your photos are amazing.
I was also in Deso that weekend, Sept. 10-11, 2011, and the weather made it a fun trip. I was on the other side of Mt. Price from you and got some pretty intense hail in addition to the thunder, lightning, and rain.
Interesting side note, I met a guy on the trail from NY that was in the first WTC tower when the second one was hit. He still has his visitor pass from that day and wears it like a badge of honor. He obviously had a pretty amazing story to tell and wanted to be as far away from NY, and the media coverage, as he could on the 10th anniversery. Anyways, cool guy.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Garage Grown Gear 2024 Holiday Sale Nov 25 to Dec 2:
