Backpacking in Desolation Wilderness - Clean and Proper

Before I write about my Independence Day hike, I need to write a clean and proper report about my Desolation Wilderness backpacking trip. A quick and dirty summary simply won't do. Go on and lace up your boots while I rewind time by two weeks...

Day 1 – Glen Alpine to Heather Lake

The trip began at the Glen Alpine trail head (elev. 6,560), not far from Lake Tahoe, around 2:30 on a Friday afternoon. It was sunny and in the mid-seventies.

The first mile was a wide and rocky fire road with a steady uphill slope. It was the perfect surface to practice not falling while wearing a 35-pound pack. Somehow, I succeeded in staying on my feet, which was good because the next mile was a series of switchbacks that only grew rockier and steeper.

By the time we reached the three-mile mark, right around the Gilmore Lake junction, the pack felt comfortable and my feet felt steady, but I was beginning to feel exhausted. The combination of altitude and elevation gain was taking a toll.

After three hours of hiking, we reached camp at Heather Lake (elev. 7,900). We had hiked nearly five miles and climbed roughly 1,300 feet, which is nothing to an experienced backpacker, but is a fair amount to a rookie.

We set up camp quickly, warded off mosquitoes while eating dinner around tiny camp stoves, filtered nearly three gallons of water for the next day's hike (there were six of us, roughly 2 liters each), and stayed up until the cold and dark finally chased us to our tents and sleeping bags.

Day 2 – Heather Lake to Mt. Tallac

While two of the group went fishing early in the morning, three of us hiked the perimeter of Heather Lake, which was a challenge since only half of its shore has a clearly defined trail. The other half is rocks, boulders, or snow.

Miraculously, we survived the off-trail jaunt and returned to camp in time to join the group for a hike to Mt. Tallac.

One of the neat features of my backpack is that the top can be removed and used as a day pack. I loaded it with a hydration pack and snacks.

The first four miles of the six-mile hike to Mt. Tallac were easy. The trail was either flat or downhill until we reached Gilmore Lake. The hike grew more difficult as we crammed a nearly 1,800-foot climb into the last two miles.

The two things I remember most about Mt. Tallac is the wind and the view. At the peak, the wind gusts felt strong enough to blow a person right off the mountain. It was a struggle just to stand and pivot to take a 360-degree video.

As for the view, it was breathtaking and well worth the climb.

When we got back, we ate a hearty dinner and retired early due to the rapid drop in temperature. I thought I'd get a good night's sleep after such a hard hike, but the constant wind gusts kept waking me up throughout the night. Several times, the tent felt as though it was going to snap from its anchors and roll over.

Day 3 – Heather Lake to Mosquito Pass

After a quick breakfast, we said farewell to two in our group who had to return to work on Monday. We relocated our camp to a smaller site on the west end of the lake. After settling in, we hiked a short distance to beautiful Lake Aloha, a lake that is home to several granite islands.

We hiked as far as Mosquito Pass, which gave us a glimpse of China Flat.

As we returned from Mosquito Pass, we spotted the first visible plumes of the Angora Fire, which we would later learn started twenty minutes before we saw it. From the ledges overlooking Lake Aloha, we watched the fire grow.

After ninety minutes, we returned to camp. We thought the fire was a good distance away, so we felt safe staying the final night before heading home. Only on our way out would we learn just how close the fire actually was and how lucky we were.

Day 4 – Heather Lake to Glen Alpine

On our final day, we awoke to smoke. It was everywhere. The strong wind gusts of the previous three days were gone. Without the easterly winds to protect us, the smoke had moved in, obscuring everything, including the sun.

We quickly broke camp and headed to the Glen Alpine trail head. My pack was perhaps five pounds lighter and our path was nearly all downhill, so it made the outbound hike much easier. My pack would have been even lighter if I hadn't been the rookie of the group and tasked with garbage duty (remember, leave no trace).

We reached the car without incident and were overjoyed to see that nothing had happened to it. We slowly made our way back to Highway 89, passing a number of fire vehicles and exhausted firefighters on the way out.

Conclusion and Lessons Learned

All in all, it was a great trip. I'm eagerly anticipating my next backpacking trip. Of course, there are a couple of things I would do differently next time and I wanted to list them here...

• Pack less clothing – I had an extra long-sleeved shirt and pair of convertibles I didn't need.
• Pack camp sandals – Comfortable footwear around camp would have been nice.
• Rice packs – Somebody brought rice packs from Ranch 99. They're individually sealed bags of rice and shrimp or chicken that one can boil in water for seven minutes and eat. I got a chance to try one and it was delicious.
• Pack a bandanna – It makes a great cooling rag, face towel, and mosquito swatter.
• Keep a set of clean clothing in the car – It would have been great to be able to change into a fresh t-shirt and shorts for the ride home.