Desolation Wilderness (Lake Tahoe Area, California)

Trip date: May 19-21, 2018

The view from my first camp near Lake Aloha.

I had two back-to-back conferences in California on consecutive weeks (San Jose the first week and Lake Tahoe for the second week).  At first I was a bit upset I would be gone for so long but when I realized I could sneak a trip to the northern Sierra's in between the two my outlook improved considerably.  

I only had three days for this trip and given the early season conditions, staying at lower elevations seemed smart.  I settled on Desolation Wilderness area near the southern end of Lake Tahoe.  I didn't really know what to expect snow-wise.  I made a rough plan but I figured I would play it by ear once I got out there.  

Caltopo map here:  caltopo.com/m/DJDP

Day 1: Talus

I started at the Echo Lake TH near South Lake Tahoe.  From here it looked like snow would be minimal right?  Right?

Looking west over Lower Echo Lake near the Trailhead.

These signs always make me happy.

Looking back across Echo Lake.

Snow starts.

Right after I hit the snow I noticed a big hill to my left and wondered what the views would be like at the top.  This hill turned out to be called Keith's Dome.  The original plan was just ​get a quick picture and return to the trail...

I followed the ridgeline towards Lake Aloha, starting with Keiths Dome.

Once I got up there I knew I was going to be following ridgeline after ridgeline.  

Looking towards Lake Tahoe from Keith's Dome.

My favorite tree tumor so far

Once I saw this I knew I had another ridge to traverse. (This is Crooked Crag).

A map check, food, and foot drying break.

Snake!

Jabu Lake

Talus would be the theme of the day.

My descent path off of Crooked Crag

Looking back up at Crooked Crag from Lake Aloha

The whole day I got the feeling like I was walking on the moon. I'm not used to environments that are completely covered in rocks. I've never broken a stake by trying to pound it into the ground with a rock before. I guess there's a first time for everything. In the end, I just tied the guyline around a large rock; it worked pretty well.

Looking west over Lake Aloha towards Mt. Agassiz and Mt. Price.

Camp at Lake Aloha

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Day 2: Snow

Morning at Lake Aloha

Next I'd pass over Mosquito Pass and eventually camp around Dicks Lake.  

The view after crossing over Mosquito Pass. At this point I'm thinking "shit. It's gonna be snowy the whole time"

This boulder was the size of a car (before Zeus sliced it in two).

The first time I crossed the Rubicon. Yes, that's really what it's called.

It was much simpler once I gave up on having dry feet.

My shoes did smell pretty bad in the few days afterwards...

The second time I crossed the Rubicon.

Huge mushrooms!

Looking North East from the saddle uphill from Dick's Lake. The first lake is Lake Velma and the one in the far distance is Lake Tahoe. The boulder in the foreground was the size of a house.

Very happy to find some actual dirt to camp on.

I scoped out a reasonable route for the next day and went to bed while the sun was still up.

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Day 3: Scottish Highlands

The next morning I woke up to heavy cloud cover and fog.  Fortunately I had a GPS which would be helpful in navigating over Dicks Pass (which was now completely obscured--see photo below).

Dicks Pass is out there somewhere...

Near Dicks Pass the visibility had dropped to about 50 feet due to heavy fog. I was thrilled to see some rocks where I could get out of the snow and sit down to check over my maps.

The stark scenery on the descent from Dicks Pass had some of the best views of the trip.

I passed by Lake Aloha once again on the way out.

I approve of the Sierras.  I'll be back for sure.