So this was the perfect backpacking trip. Matt will confirm.
We arrived at the Echo Lakes parking lot at around 6:30 on Friday. John was kind enough to prepare some BBQ chicken for dinner, along with a couple bottles of very nice wine. Matt and Janet brought along some salad and a bunt cake to round out the meal.
We camped just outside of the parking lot in a small area, hoping to avoid the rain that threatened from some nearby clouds. Fortunately, we managed to miss the rain drops and had a comfortable first night.
In the morning we took our time making breakfast and getting packed up. I made chorizo and eggs for those who wanted it. Those who didn't shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. :)
We broke camp and hit the trail about 9:30am. The trail cut close to Lower Echo Lake and wandered along the mountainside. It rolled slightly along the trail, but it was mostly level.
The lake is rimmed by small cabins and had a few boaters out waterskiing and innertubing. This somewhat detracted from the "Getting-Away-From-It-All" ideal, but it was still somewhat relaxing because of a distinct vacation vibe.
The trail had some minor ups and downs while tracing Echo Lakes, but started climbing quickly as we got near Lake Tamarack. The trail along the mountainside up to the plateau was paved with skree, which is small to medium chunks of broken rock. Or, as I like to think of it, ankle-twisting fun time. This was probably my least favorite part of the hike.
After cresting the high point of the trail, it was only about 1.5 miles of mostly downhill hiking through some very pretty forest to Lake Aloha. It is worth mentioning that the same PR firm that named Iceland named Desolation Wilderness. It is (at least this time of year) lush and green, full of dense stands of trees and rolling meadows.
Lake Aloha is a large, shallow lake, full of small islands of rock jutting up all over. It is located in a small valley, surrounded by several peaks. The peaks themselves were covered in morraine and rubble. Honestly, that was most desolate part of the whole trip.
We hiked along the east side of the lake less than a quarter mile before finding a nice spot to camp. Upon dropping my pack, I instinctively found the most comfortable boulder and laid down. After a brief rest, I declared that my bed for the night.
We spent a little while filling water containers. The lake itself was warm by alpine standards (about 65 F), so it was great for swimming. The deepest part of the lake I saw was about 14 feet. It was right next to an island rising about 10 feet out of the water. So I got to work on my swan dive. :)
After relaxing by the lake for a while, Matt, Janet and I took a short walk along the lake, catching up and snapping pictures of anything that looked pretty (that is, everything). Both Matt and Janet have Canon SLR cameras, though the one Janet was carrying had been modified for infra-red pictures. The infra-red shots look very cool on the built in screen, and they should be even cooler once they've been processed.
We came back and spent a while puttering about. We got the tents set up, and started dinner. I swapped refried beans with Tom and John for some of their enchiladas, so that worked out. BTW, Winco has dehydrated refried beans for cheap and they are good and filling. That and a couple tortillas makes for some good and easy camp food.
Matt spent some time setting up and playing with the cameras to get some pictures of the stars. He got some pretty good pics, too.
In the morning we made some breakfast and coffee (thanks Tom!) and slowly reassembled our packs. We broke camp about 9:15am. The trip back was quicker, but we still took our time, not really wanting to go home. The skree-lined trail was even more treacherous, what with faster, heavier footfalls.
Towards the end of the trail we were reminded, forcibly, of exactly how much downhill we did on the way in. It just seemed to keep going up, despite the fact that the lake was right there! We kept thinking we reached the top, only to go around a slight bend and find more up! It was frustrating to be so close, and yet keep having to work harder and harder.
At last, we reached the parking lot around 1:30pm. We celebrated a successful and enjoyable with a milkshake from the general store. (Hmm, maybe there is a reason I never seem to lose weight on backpacking trips.)
The rest of the photos can be seen at my Picasa page: http://picasaweb.google.com/jheckey/DesolationWilderness#
Happy Trails!
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