(
click any photo to enlarge) I woke to a beautiful day and an awesome
view from our
tarptent. Today Christi and I walked in our backyard. We consider Desolation Wilderness to be our 'home'. The route today took us past Lakes Aloha, Heather, Susie, Gilmore, Dick's, and
Fontanellis. All of this area we have hiked many times. Anytime we take friends backpacking for the first time, we take them to this area. We have a 3 day, 40 mile loop that we call the 'Golden Loop'. It incorporates most of the hike today. From Tamarack Lake we climbed gradually up to Lake Aloha.
This lake is the crown jewel of the area. When people think of Desolation Wilderness, they think of this lake. Surrounded by granite on all sides, Aloha has a very 'High Sierra' feel to it. When the lake is full, the North shore is a combination of grass and flat granite. One could hang out there for weeks if the mosquitoes weren't eating you alive. Just past Aloha we descended to Heather Lake and then to Susie, the latter being heavily fished as it lies 5 miles from the Glen Alpine
Trailhead. Since we arrived early there were very few hikers around. From Susie we started the climb up to Lake Gilmore. Just before we reached the lake, we saw a snake crossing the trail. It
must've just eaten as it was very lethargic and slow. I think it was a
Rubber Boa.
It was slow enough for me to take a couple of close up photos. We stopped for breakfast at Gilmore. I took a quick swim as Christi was preparing muesli and blueberries. Sitting in the sun on our little sheet of
Tyvek with no mosquitoes was heaven. I wanted to linger but my wife, well........ So onward we went. Up Dick's Pass and over to Dick's Lake. We were here last September to climb Dick's Peak.
As we walked around
Fontanellis Lake, we showed the Funks where our secret camp spot was on the East shore and moved on toward our destination for the day, Middle Velma Lake. We found a spot on the Northwest Shore away from the trail. We had the spot to ourselves. I can't believe that this is our last night! Just before bed I was able to coax one more photo out of my camera.
Another great day. I'm sorry that this is our last night. Just as you get in the groove , you have to return to normal life. Bummer!
(click any photo to enlarge) I woke to a beautiful day and an awesome view from our tarptent. Today Christi and I walked in our backyard. We consider Desolation Wilderness to be our 'home'. The route today took us past Lakes Aloha, Heather, Susie, Gilmore, Dick's, and Fontanellis. All of this area we have hiked many times. Anytime we take friends backpacking for the first time, we take them to this area. We have a 3 day, 40 mile loop that we call the 'Golden Loop'. It incorporates most of the hike today. From Tamarack Lake we climbed gradually up to Lake Aloha.
This lake is the crown jewel of the area. When people think of Desolation Wilderness, they think of this lake. Surrounded by granite on all sides, Aloha has a very 'High Sierra' feel to it. When the lake is full, the North shore is a combination of grass and flat granite. One could hang out there for weeks if the mosquitoes weren't eating you alive. Just past Aloha we descended to Heather Lake and then to Susie, the latter being heavily fished as it lies 5 miles from the Glen Alpine Trailhead. Since we arrived early there were very few hikers around. From Susie we started the climb up to Lake Gilmore. Just before we reached the lake, we saw a snake crossing the trail. It must've just eaten as it was very lethargic and slow. I think it was a Rubber Boa.
As we walked around Fontanellis Lake, we showed the Funks where our secret camp spot was on the East shore and moved on toward our destination for the day, Middle Velma Lake. We found a spot on the Northwest Shore away from the trail. We had the spot to ourselves. I can't believe that this is our last night! Just before bed I was able to coax one more photo out of my camera.
Another great day. I'm sorry that this is our last night. Just as you get in the groove , you have to return to normal life. Bummer!
No comments:
Post a Comment