Washbourne Chronicles: 2011.07.27 -- Backpacking the Desolation Wilderness

Wow! What a trip. As a result of this expedition I now have new most favorite AND least favorite places on planet Earth. There was still tons of snow in the high sierra and we ended up traversing two mountain passes, so we got to see plenty of snow, swam in three alpine lakes, crossed rivers multiple times, and improvised dozens of snowmelt crossings.

We had three 8 mile days and one 4 mile day with full packs. John, Robert and Erick Washbourne; and Joe and Jovanni Stefani were on the trip.

Link to mapmyhike with route and elevation profile.

Wednesday 27 July -- Water taxi to Upper Echo Lake, 4.5 miles to Lake Aloha

In 2010 we started above Fallen Leaf Lake and took the Glen Alpine trail. This year we opted for entry at a higher elevation and started at Echo Lake, southeast of Lake Tahoe and just off highway 50.

There is a water taxi from the east side of Lower Echo Lake that cuts off 2.5 miles of the trail and drops you on the west side of Upper Echo Lake. The dock is at 7500 feet elevation, and our destination the first night was around elevation 8200.

The cut between Lower Echo Lake and Upper Echo Lake is very narrow and hardly visible until you are quite close.

From the dock you climb for two and quarter miles at an average gradient of more than 6 percent, which is a rated category 2 climb. We were very fresh and it did not seem too bad at all, but it seemed like a really long descent on the trip out.

Near the top of the climb from Upper Echo Lake, with Lower and Upper Echo Lake in the background.

Panoramic view of Upper Echo Lake from the top of the climb.

After the climb we hit the first snow, and spent a fair amount of energy trying to keep track of the trail. There had not been a lot of traffic yet in the area, so it took some work to stay on trail.

Robert used some of his extra energy to climb on a tree. Note that he is carrying two matress pads; one for himself and one for Erick.

A mile or so more and we reached the eastern shore of Lake Aloha, formerly my favorite place on planet Earth.

Joe and Jovanni on the eastern shore of Lake Aloha.

Panoramic view of Lake Aloha from the east.

Much more snow compared with Lake Aloha in 2010.

Hiking along the shore of Lake Aloha towards the west (1).

Hiking along the shore of Lake Aloha towards the west (2).

Hiking along the shore of Lake Aloha towards the west (3).

After a total of 4.5 miles from the dock we reached the campsite location for the first day. There was a nice sandy flat spot big enough for both tents, and far enough from the water to be acceptable. The legal limit is 100 ft from water, but the rangers prefer 200. This site was closer to 100 than 200 but pickings are slim if you need a spot for two tents.

The kids resting at camp site #1 (1).

The kids resting at camp site #1 (2).

Getting ready to cook dinner at camp site #1. Note the tripod stool I carried. At that moment worth every ounce. Some question of worth on the bigger climbs in the next two days.

Panoramic view from a ridge above camp site #1.

Thursday 28 July -- Mosquito Pass, Rockbottom Valley trail through China Flat, and Middle Lake Velma.

Advance plot summary: there is definitely a reason it is named Mosquito Pass

After some lengthy discussion the night before, we decided to attempt a mega-transect of the Desolation Wilderness: a 16 mile excursion to the north into parts we had never seen before. We all agreed that "it would be stupid not too".

Our path led past the interestingly named Mosquito Pass through a long 4 mile valley and then to a series of lakes, one of which was identified as very cool by a friend of Joe's.

Early morning mirror magic on Lake Aloha (1). Photo courtesy Joe the early riser.

Early morning mirror magic on Lake Aloha (2).

Early morning mirror magic on Lake Aloha (3).

Early morning mirror magic on Lake Aloha (4).

Robert and Jovanni next to Jovanni's cairn #1.

View of camp site #1 from above.

After breakfast we hiked along the shore and took the cutoff towards the interestingly named Mosquito Pass. The trail up the pass was a challenge to find because it was completely covered by snow, but determined map work by Joe and entrepreneurial spirit by the rest of the crew got us on the way.

Panoramic view of Lake Aloha from just below the trail to the interestingly named Mosquito Pass.

We spent a fair amount of time throwing rocks from that ledge towards Lake Aloha. There is still debate but the consensus is that Jovanni's rock went farther, although Joe's "sounded like it landed in deeper water".

Joe rock throwing form (1).

Joe rock throwing form (2).

A snow field on the trail up the interestingly named Mosquito Pass.

The trail was even harder to find on the other side of the interestingly named Mosquito Pass. A bit of dogged searching led us finally to a ragged looking trail marker and we were again sure of our location, on the far side of the interestingly named Mosquito Pass.

Jovanni near the ragged trail marker below the interestingly named Mosquito Pass. One side of that trail marker has the interesting name Mosquito Pass, with an arrow pointing, as it turns out, in the right direction: which is the direction OPPOSITE the way we were going.

Past the snow on the far side the interestingly named Mosquito Pass.

Once down in the valley, we had to contend with several river crossings. The river of course was swollen with snow melt, and on 3 occasions we had to remove our shoes and wade.

The first shoes off river crossing. Note the long sleeve shirts. Those are due to the dammed to the ninth circle of hell mosquitoes in innumerable multitude.

Jovanni on the first shoes off river crossing.

Joe on the first shoes off river crossing.

I convinced Erick to stand still long enough to take this picture for Larissa, who likes flowers. In the duration of that time he was stung approximately seventeen hundred times by mosquitoes.

Erick feeding the mosquitoes.

Robert in preemptive long pants.

My least favorite place on planet Earth

Somewhere in here we crossed China Flat, which is my new least favorite place on planet Earth. There was a shoes off river crossing, followed by a huge swampy section with slow moving water that was very warm. In case you were not aware, that is the recipe for growing mosquitoes in innumerable multitude.

I don't have any pictures of China Flat, because it would be insane to take a picture in the frenzy of avoiding so many mosquitoes, but I want you to imagine trying to put your shoes back on with mosquitoes as thick as heavy rain. You wave a hand to swat them away and hit a dozen. It was really something.

Permanently crossed off my list of destinations: China Flat, Rockbottom Valley, and the aptly named Mosquito Pass.

Robert at the last shoes off water crossing.

After running north about 4 miles in the valley we had to climb out, and this turned out to be a long exhausting climb up granite slopes in the sun.

Partway up the long sunny climb out of the valley.

Near the top of the climb (1).

Near the top of the climb (2).

We spent the night near the unremarkable Middle Velma Lake still in the presence of lots of mosquitoes. The tents were a real lifesaver, but we had to spend some effort to kill all the bugs inside the tent before going to sleep.

Friday 29 July -- Fontanillis Lake, Dick's Pass, and Susie Lake

Fontanillis Lake was really the whole point of the mega-transect. It was identified as really nice by a friend of Joe's and was the impetus for the whole 16 mile trip to the north. From the place we camped, Fontanillis Lake was only about one mile away. We filled up water at Upper Velma Lake and headed south.

The trail marker for Fontanillis Lake.

My new favorite place

The trail was again a little difficult to find, but we used good sense and map reading and perserverence and ended up at Fontanillis Lake, which was every bit worth the trip, even through China Flat. It is my new favorite place on planet Earth.

Group photo with Fontanillis Lake in the background.

Ripply Fontanillis mirror magic (1).

Ripply Fontanillis mirror magic (2).

Happy hikers on the shore of Fontanillis Lake.

More from the shore of Fontanillis (1).

More from the shore of Fontanillis (2).

Next we started the real climb up to Dick's Pass, which is a rated category 1 climb. After speaking with several different hikers we expected lots of snow, with some folks even suggesting we needed crampons or rope to make it up the north side.

Turns out those people were total wimps.

Random snow field on the way up the north side of Dick's Pass (1).

Trail marker for Dick's Pass (1).

Trail marker for Dick's Pass (2).

On the trail to Dick's Pass with Dick's Lake down below.

Random snow field on the way up the north side of Dick's Pass (2). Sideways is the only way up without extra gear.

At this point we were in continuous snow, and the only faint suggestion of the trail was some tracks here and there. It was also quite steep, hitting 15 percent according to mapmyhike.

Snow on the north side of Dick's Pass (1).

Snow on the north side of Dick's Pass (2).

Snow on the north side of Dick's Pass (3). That is 15 percent at minimum.

Finally with the top in sight! Dick's Lake and the south end of Fontanillis in the background.

On the saddle of Dick's Pass, looking towards the north (1).

On the saddle of Dick's Pass, looking towards the north (2).

Coming down the south side of Dick's Pass with lots of flowers (1).

Coming down the south side of Dick's Pass with lots of flowers (2).

Partway down the south side, looking north to Dick's Lake and Fontanillis (1).

Partway down the south side, looking north to Dick's Lake and Fontanillis (2).

Coming down the south side of Dick's Pass with Susie Lake in the background. Susie was the destination for camp #3.

More flowers (1).

Beautiful trail.

More flowers (2).

Susie Lake!

We reached Susie Lake and snagged the same camp site we used last year for two days. A really nice location with good beach access.

Swimming in Susie Lake (1).

Swimming in Susie Lake (2).

Erick and an interesting tree near camp site #3 on Susie Lake (1).

Erick filtering water at Susie Lake.

Erick and an interesting tree near camp site #3 on Susie Lake (2).

Jovanni and rock cairn #2.

Destruction of rock cairn #2 can be seen at YouTube. This is the kind of goofy things people do in the back country.

Panoramic view of Susie Lake from above camp site #3.

An interesting tree near Susie Lake.

Preparation for a short rain squall, conversion of the footprint tarp to a temporary rain fly.

Saturday 30 July -- Susie Lake to Lake Aloha, and return from Lake Aloha to Upper Echo Lake.

Saturday we hit my favorite stretch of trail in the Desolation Wilderness, which is to say my favorite stretch of trail on planet Earth. The 3.5 miles from Susie Lake to Lake Aloha is fantastic! We had nice weather, a beautiful breeze, and it was really a perfect day.

Check these next pictures out! The amount of sheer awesomeness has the awesome meter pegged.

Panoramic view of Susie Lake.