Lake Aloha in Desolation Wilderness

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ritter
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Lake Aloha in Desolation Wilderness

Post by ritter »

Hey all,

Anybody been up to Lake Aloha in Desolation Wilderness recently? Any snow or mosquitoes still lingering about? I may get a night off over October 7-8 or 20-21 to get out and see the granit.

Thanks for any info.

Ritter
Shawn
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Post by Shawn »

Hi Ritter,

I just returned from the South Lake Tahoe area. While I didn't get into the back country I can say there were no skeeters around Lake Tahoe or the general area. Of course I was eyeing the surrounding mountains, there were some usual patches of snow up high, but not having been to Lake Aloha I can't speak about it specifically.

BTW, you have a great name. Is it your given first name or used just for the board?

Shawn
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madeintahoe
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Post by madeintahoe »

Ritter

There won't be any snow at Aloha...just the patches up higher that Shawn says.
There are no mosquitos in Desolation that I have noticed as of two days ago.

The only thing is, they may be releasing water from Aloha, so the water level may be way down...I don't know if they have started doing this yet. My friend told me they were diverting water from Echo Lakes a week ago to the American River.

Have a nice trip there
Shawn..How neat you were in Tahoe! it would have been nice to meet you
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burtonfm
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Post by burtonfm »

Ritter,

I hiked up to Lake Aloha last weekend via Horsetail falls. The lake is really low right now and looks more like a collection of ponds than a coherent lake. The bugs were gone, and the only snow I saw was on the backside of Pyramid Peak at about the 9,000 foot level. The other lakes in the area, such as Pyramid Lake, are beautiful and still full of water. Personally, I'd camp at one of the lakes around Aloha.
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ritter
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Post by ritter »

All,

Thanks for the information, especially about the Aloha Lake level. I was only there once about 8 years ago for my bachelor party and it was mostly covered in snow, so was hoping to see it in a liquid state. But, as stated, there are many other beautiful areas, so no worries.

I think I might change the plan to use the Fallen Leaf Lake TH to Susie or Heather lake then do a quick day trip up Mt. Tallac or Dick's Peak. It's so nice to be able to get quick area information to firm up plans. Thanks all!

@ Shawn: No, Ritter is just my screen name (I'm in disguise, so to speak!). I've been enamored with the idea of bagging Mt. Ritter for years, just never seem to have the time to make it to the back side of the Sierra.
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mountainLight
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Post by mountainLight »

Ritter,
Not sure how much time you have but there is a nice loop you can do from the fallen leaf trail head. Susie, Heather, Aloha, Lake Lucile, Haypress Meadow, and back down going by Lilly. I did this with my father in two days last year. The trail back down is a bit steep and not well maintained but makes for a nice loop.

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=38. ... &layer=DRG

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=38. ... &layer=DRG

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=38. ... &layer=DRG

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=38. ... &layer=DRG

Use the links to follow the trail around.
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pat h
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Post by pat h »

Ritter, I have been exploring Desolation now for 26 years. Post some specifics like trailhead and nights out and I can really set you up with the best routes for mostly class 1 off-trail no people stuff. At any rate, if Aloha is your thing make sure you go around the lake on the SW side not the trailed side. Getting right underneath Mt. Agassiz and route finding amongst all the terraced lakelets is very cool. Only traversing the steep boulder field at the north end is of any challenge. Pat H
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hikerduane
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Post by hikerduane »

pat h, 26 years?, is that all. :lol:
Piece of cake.
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pat h
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Post by pat h »

hikerduane, Sorry, I can only be so old. Pat H
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Post by giantbrookie »

If you happen to fish the area is indeed electric in the fall. We did a version of the loop described by Mountainlight in late October 1997 and we dubbed it "The Lunker Loop". Some idea of how good it was can be gained from the fact that a 17.5" brookie I caught out of Lake of the Woods was NOT the biggest fish of the trip. The steep trail from Triangle down to Glen Alpine is spectacular indeed.

One note regarding cross country around Aloha. It is indeed very pleasant and enjoyable cross country as long as you don't hike after one of those early fall storms that dumps enough powder to make walking tedious. On the "lunker loop" trip we were going to go around to the steeper (north, northwest) side of Aloha from the Heather trail junction but the knee deep powder from a storm several days before made that too tedious and calorie consuming. The dusting of new snow did make the area absolutely gorgeous, though (imagine crystal clear skies and a white Crystal Range!).
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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