Desolation Wilderness

On the boat dock at Echo Lake, just before boarding "Hobbes" for the ride to the other end of the lake.

The terrain climbing away from Echo Lake was rugged but beautiful.

As Tom said later that day, we started out by breaking two of the major rules of backpacking. First we didn't acclimate to the altitude overnight, and second we were hiking in the heat of the afternoon. Fortunately, the weather was not terribly hot, but I was sure huffing and puffing!

As we climbed, the surrounding terrain certainly deserved the name "Desolation Wilderness", even though we weren't technically in the Wilderness yet. Fortunately we didn't really have to spend a lot of time in the exposed, rocky part of the Wilderness, as you'll see.

Jimmy gets some tips from JC to get ready for the "5 mile hike with map and compass" requirement he'll be doing the next day.

A gallon of sweat later, here we are at the official boundary of the Wilderness. No noisy machines past here!

Looking back at Echo Lake. We boarded the boat at the far end and rode it to the close end before walking the rest of the way :-) This was an incredible view, but only one of many to come.

Many of the dead trees made striking images with their bleached white branches twisting against the intense blue of the mountain sky.

Tom and Amy pause to check out the climb ahead while you see the climb they've made already. I believe that is Tamarack Lake in the background.

Now we're getting into the wooded terrain, with more welcome shade and a less rocky trail. I think this is Haypress Meadows.

Scouts are always great at finding good places when it's break time!

The trail runs from lower left up to the right, then back to the middle (see the Scouts?) as it winds its way through the woods, further uphill.

Ah, this was our first time to feel that wonderful feeling that happens when you catch sight of the destination lake for the first time! Lake Lucille was our first camp site, after about 4 hours of gasping, er, I mean hiking.

Having a little rest before looking for a camp site. Even though this was the shortest mileage day, it was still a tough first leg, but everone did great!

Amy knows just what to do while the Scouts scout for a good camp site!

Amy and I found a perfect little flat area for sleeping under the stars. The Scouts set up under the trees behind Amy. Amy’s file: I learned poison oak doesn’t typically grow above 6,000’

The view from Amy and Rich's camp.

Popcorn followed the excellent Jambalya (which featured David's own homegrown jalapeno peppers).

Who says you can't have luxury in the woods? Not only did we have granite counters, we had a granite coffee table! :-)

Amy enjoys the sunset.

Relaxing in camp.

The Scoutmaster imparts wisdom (or tells a funny story...) In the background, you can see our food bags hanging from a tree that drew raves from Tom as one of the best "bearbag" trees ever. Most of the time, good trees for hanging food were hard to find, so we were glad to have along 3 bear cans that worked great not only with bears (we didn't see any, but heard there had been some around), but also kept the food from being crushed in the packs, and then doubled as chairs in the kitchen!

Rich & Amy are packed up and just about ready for the trail on a beautiful morning.

Jimmy keeps the heat coming while the coffee cake bakes in Tom's homemade backpacking oven. Too bad the photo doesn't capture the yummy smell.

Wyle E. Coyote is alive and well...

Jacob found a good perch.

Ah, the coffee cake at last. The bottom broke up just a bit, but it was perfectly cooked and much enjoyed, along with that well-known "delicacy", fried Spam!

The view from the kitchen. Nice place to cook, eh?

Getting ready to leave Lake Lucille and head to Gilmore Lake, just before clean sweep. This was our sleep-in day (7:00am reveille), with a later than normal departure.

The photo doesn't really capture the rich textures and sometimes astounding angles of the terrain.

"Aloha, lake!" you might say when looking at...

...Lake Aloha! As we had heard, the lake was low, and quite short on good camping sites. The setting was incredibly beautiful in a stark sort of way. Note the snow high up.

Amy's file: I learned that when you are hiking on rocks and gravel, keep your feet close together under your pelvis to minimize rolling your ankles and losing your balance. THANK YOU to Jim at Redwood Trading Post for the great boots, and to Pat for recommending the hiking sticks!

More Aloha Lake.

The midday sun baked the stone while we followed the path towards a seemingly impenetrable wall of mountains.

A lonely sentinel keeps watch over fallen comrades.

We were glad to find the trail soon snaking over a ridge and into a much greener and more hospitable seeming landscape.

Regular geocaches aren't allowed in the Wilderness area, but that didn't keep Tom from finding this "virtual" cache. He'll get credit for it by counting the number of planks on the bridge and reporting that to the cache creator.

The bridge was over this charming stream that came cascading down the hillside.

The bridge and stream were right next to Lake Le Conte, a small and very beautiful setting for a break. Amy's file: I learned how to estimate hiking time, factoring in altitude, increase in altitude, and rest breaks.

Lake Heather's shore ws pretty darn rocky, at least on the trail side.

Lunch at Lake Susie! All the lunches were pita, cheese, meat (jerky or salami), dried fruit, a dab or two of peanut butter, a couple of Lifesavers, and lots of water!

Amy's file: I learned to expect to carry 1.5 pounds of food per person per day for a backpacking trip, and 20-25% of your body weight in your pack. THANK YOU to Taska at Redwood Trading Post for the great fit on my pack.