Desolation Wilderness
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Keiths Dome Desolation Wilderness |
August 9, 2024
Today I would knock off a bucket-list item with Eileen, who always is game for anything. One concern is the pair of ongoing forest fires just west of our trailhiead; so the plan is to check out the skies upon arrival and detour elsewhere if necessary.
The air quality looks great as we approach Echo Lake, however; so off we go.
As usual, we must park well down the road from the big lots, which themselves are a
ten-minute walk from the Echo Lake Resort. As usual, we must pay the
exhorbitant $22 each for a two-mile ride on the 9-o'clock boat taxi;
but unlike my last trip, there barely is room for us on board.
Eileen is napping on the boat, which has 17 passengers
And now we're onto the worst trail I ever have encountered this side of Italy.
Mind you, I symphathize with the Forest Service for its condition. It is
both the Pacific Crest Trail and the Tahoe Rim Trail, and the nearest destination is the
glorious Desolation Valley region; so a lot of cost and effort are required in order to
maintain this 900-foot climb, which in places is intentionally routed over rocks
instead of around them.
This is well and good, I suppose; but it doesn't alter the fact that careful attention
must me paid to virtually every step in order to avoid a potentially catastrophic fall
onto sharp rocks. This two-mile stretch is not my idea of fun.
Nothing much bothers Eileen, though
Backpackers do a lot of resting in here
No one is atop Ralston Peak at the moment
The farther we go, the worse it gets
Finally, we reach the ridge top and what is essentially a five-way trail junction. Ignoring them all, we turn northward into the forest. Our climbing isn't finished.
It's Adventure Time
Albeit steep, the going is much easier than it might have been
It doesn't look much like a dome, but that's it
After a 300-foot climb, we are beside a 40-foot pile of sizable scree. With just a bit of maneuvering through the sharp rocks, good views can be had in every direction.
Fallen Leaf Lake and Tahoe
The three highest points in Desolation are lined up in the Crystal Range:
Pyramid Peak (9985'), (unnamed), Mount Agassiz (9967'), Mount Price (9974'),
(unnamed) ⇔
Those are the mountains I see from certain places in Sacramento — on a clear day, that is.
Little Pyramid Peak (9441') is farther north up the mountain chain
No one is on top of Pyramid Peak, either
The amazing summit block on the shoulder of Mount Price
Ralston Peak (9239')
To view the region's highest points, one must look outside the park:
Hawkins Peak (10024') is 14 miles east
Freel Peak (10886') overlooks Lake Tahoe
After lunch, we are disinclined to negotiate the enervating scramble to the
tippy-top
Lake Aloha is barely visible as we depart
This shortcut through the meadow saves a quarter of a mile
It also begets each of us a few hundred burrs sticking to our pants.
Regaining the PCT
Poison Hemlock
Masterwort
Fireweed
In the garden
Back down into the rough stuff
Tamarack Lake
Still nobody on the summit
Alpine Aster
California False Hellebore
Large Mountain Fleabane
Giant Red Indian Paintbrush
The non-photographer forges ahead
Creambush
Sierra Stonecrop
It's not far now
At the spur junction down to the boat landing, Eileen wants to continue walking the remaining 2½ miles; but I decline, and my excuse is that my back is beginning to hurt slightly. Of course I could just take an ibuprofen if necessary, but I wimp out and opt for another expensive boat ride instead. Shame?
The woman says that the boat taxi has just departed
It is nearly a 30-minute wait for the next one
We might have saved time by walking! We definitely would have saved 44 bucks.
The minnows beside the pier don't care
§: Well, the mission was accomplished, and a good day was had;
but I must say that for me the best part of this outing was the post-hike
milkshake at the resort.
Had Eileen and I actually climbed the final scree slope, some northern views would have been improved; but Keith's Dome just isn't high enough to view the waters of Desolation Valley itself, and that's what I was hoping to see. For that, I'll just have to return to Ralston Peak.
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