TR: Ski Trip to Desolation Wilderness- April 12-14/2025

[Harlen]

Wolfie and I just returned from a quick trip into Desolation Wilderness, to ski up to and all around Lake Aloha.  This is one of our perennial favorites, and I never tire of gazing into the Crystal Range, (especially with the Moon full again) and making the long circle around Lake Aloha.  I have yet to make the easy climb up to the summits of either Pyramid, or Dicks Peak, and the view from both should be very fine.  So those were our goals-- the long and the short of them.  I have also wanted to expand my travels in Desolation, by making some small circular day trips from a camp, and by placing a partner's car at some of the other trailheads, any suggestions are welcome.

At Echo Summit you need a Sno-park Pass to leave your car.  It's $15 per day, and $40 for the year.  Right now you can start skiing as soon as you cross the melted out lot and entrance road, and never take off your skis from then on.  It is melting fast though in the heat of the past few weeks.  It takes about 7 miles and 1,000' of gradual climbing to reach Lake Aloha (*henceforth Lake A).  You first ski for 2 miles across the big Echo Lakes, and then it helps to stay to the right of the creek that comes down from Ralston and Tamarack Lakes... otherwise you'll need to drop down to the creek bed, thrash about in the willows, break through, soak your feet, and curse.  Staying right (east) avoids all this sort of fun, and it is also the more gradual ascent route.  Most folks choose to ski a track ~200 feet above the level of Tamarack Lake, passing nearby Lake Margery.  Another tip is to stay to the right from there, on the last mile to the shore of Lake A.  It is longer than turning due west, but it is the best way to the lake, avoiding the unpleasant, icy downhill run through shadowy woods, and the attendant falling and cussing.  You see, there is a rise at the end of "Haypress Meadow," which puts you 250' above the level of Lake A.  Even if you happen to enjoy the downhill, it is both up and down, humpy terrain that way, compared with the steady smooth descent, skiing northwest down to Lake A.

Skiing on Echo Lake. 

Juniper trees.



There is some very nice scenery along the way, including the pines, hemlock, and some fine specimens of Sierra juniper.

Jeffrey pine.

More junipers. John Muir sometimes maligned these impressive trees for being too short and squat for their girth, but I love them for it.  I found a tight group of 3 joined trunks with a combined circumference of about 34 feet!  (*Note, the most fun way to get the circumference is to hug your way around the whole trunk at breast height, moving finger-tip to finger-tip, using the knowledge that one's arm-spread is roughly equal to your height.)  And dig this about Sierra junipers:  

Based on dendrochronological evidence from the 2,675-year-old Scofield Juniper, Sierra junipers are the fourth longest-lived tree species after the Great Basin bristlecone pine, alerce and giant sequoia.

(what's the "alerce?) You will also pass by Mt. Ralston and its broad shoulders, which apparently is a downhill skier's paradise, judging by all of the tracks.

Mt. Ralston on the right.

I thought to camp at a new place with a great view of the Main Divide peaks: "Jack's" and "Dicks" (*which might have been better named), and the frozen lake country in between.  I found a spot 6 miles in, on that rise just beyond Haypress Meadow, amid some giant pines, though sadly, many were dead or dying.  We had a clear view of the two big mountains by looking over the top of the artful "Cracked Crag," a sinuous, dark rocky ridge in the foreground.  

The Crystal Range through the trees in the evening.

We were both footsore.  For medicinal reasons I drank half a bottle each of rum and Bailey's with my hot chocolate-- the thumb-sized minis seen in the photo.

Wolfie, who is an incorrigible sleeping bag hog all night, will then wake at dawn to run and roll in the icy snow!  I wonder if he is ever cold in his great fur coat.

[Harlen]

Pyramid Peak (9,983') is the highest of the Crystal Range, and must have a nice view north along the ridge.


 

View north from our first camp.

Jack's Peak is right of center.  I climbed it with Bear the very first time we came here.

I still struggle setting up my new Tarptent (the Double Rainbow), but once up it's nice.  

I used AT gear for this trip, and it worked well, though the boots are awful for climbing on rock.  I forgot to change out the kicker skins for the wider ones which fit these skis, and I suffered less grip for it.  I never needed the crampons, nor my rain pants, nor the long underwear-- so I didn't need to weigh 35 lbs.  I actually carried a quart of lemonade water, since it is hard to come by liquid up there.  I also had a small thermos for coffee.

Early morning is the only cold time on these fair weather trips, and that's because I am up taking photos and freezing my fingers... and because it's so nice to be up to watch the sunrise. If you can stay in your sleeping bag till the sun hits your camp, there is no cold at all. *This assumes a fair weather trip, of course. I bring out the sleeping bag for us both to wrap up in.  Dry ground tree wells are a luxury I look for to cook, and hang out in.  

Lake Aloha is full of wooded islets, so it is not always apparent when you are over the lake.  

Pyramid Peak is the peak on the left.  In the early morning, when we arrived on Lake A, there were no less than 15 climbers in the distance, snowshoeing their way up the broad south ridge.  And in the bowl between Pyramid Pk. and Mt. Agassiz there were another 10 or so people making their way upward.  Between Wolfie's sore paws, and my ambivalence to crowds, we chose to save the climb for another day, and tour all the way around the big lake.  We had a great day, all by ourselves.

Now we're over the lake, with Mosquito Pass in the distance.

We skied above the lake, and back down a few times for practice.  I still am deciding which sort of ski setup to take if I go on a longer trip-- there are a lot of pros and cons to consider. 

[Harlen]

The northeast corner of Lake A. has a tempting level drop-off down to Heather Lake, and onward.  This could lead one over to Susie, and then Half Moon Lake, with Dick's Peak hanging above to be climbed.   We perched ourselves there in the rocks.  It was perishingly hot, and the cool breeze felt very nice.  It must blow fiercely here judging by the tortured look of the trees.  Krummholz vegetation for sure... which I just looked up and found this: "Krummholz (German: krumm, "crooked, bent, twisted" and Holz, "wood") —is a type of stunted, deformed vegetation encountered in the subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes, shaped by continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds."  That about covers it. 

There is also a lot of "flagging" to indicate frequent fierce winds from the southwest.

Here is the very worst of the Krummholz trees; this time it is the junipers that have been literally flattened by the wind, and are trying to survive by hiding in the rocks.

We skied an easy 8 miles around and back to camp, and then moved camp down to the slope across from Tamarack Lake.  We found a dry spot under a giant juniper and made a stone patio the size of a bed, and slept out.  The new view westward was of the big frozen lake, a half healthy, half burned forest, and above it all sailed the wide wings on either side of Mount Ralston.  We also had a wondrous Sierra juniper garden all around.  Once again, we encountered no other people,  not counting those many climbers seen in the distance in the early morning.  We hadn't encountered anyone since the beginning of Day 1.  

Tamarack Lake hidden in the trees, Mount Ralston above.

Mt. Ralston was laced with ski tracks.  

[Harlen]

Echo Lakes below. With an icy cold start, I chose to hike my skis down the first steeper slopes. One reason I had decided to move camp down the day before was to ski in the relative ease of softened snow. As expected, my last day of skiing began with skiing and falling down the night-hardened, steeper slopes, till I reached the easy stuff lower down. The flat lake snow surface was delightfully fast and silky to travel in.

The Sierra juniper garden.

Last few miles on Echo Lakes, and then a snowy road to the Sno-Park.

What a fun partner! Good luck out there.

[Gazelle]

Does Wolfie share your sleeping bag at night?

[paul]

Nice! Quite a bit of blue showing on Echo Lakes. Looks like there will be some open water pretty soon.

[commonloon]

Wolfie must be part Wolverine ;-) Love the photos, seems like a wonderful "quick" trip!! Dog's life!

Curious, how supportive was the snow? Could someone walk on it until say noon?

[Harlen]

Hey Kristine/gazelle,
The first night Wolfie did end up inside with me, and it was tough to zip up. The second night i did what Bearzy and I would do, that is to unzip the bag, and make a quasi-quilt out of it. I put my down stuff in a pile under Wolfie, and the sleeping bag over us both. It wasn't very cold at all--probably around the high 20's.

When I first saw your name in hte comments, I thought that you had been up there too, perhaps part of one of those big climbing groups? But you are more of a soloist by nature, aren't you?

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.

... indeed.

[Harlen]

Paul, your concern about "open water"/breaking through and soaking in it, is a more critical concern than commonloon's question about supportable snow. I do reckon that the Echo Lakes will soon be sketchy to ski over. One skier I met said it had melted a lot in just the week since she had been away, and she didn't recommend skiing over it... but then another skier said she thought people skiing right along the edge were silly, because the lake ice is thickest far from the edge. This is true in general, but breaking through into deep water is such a hideous thought!

Paul/commonloon, yes, it is becoming a post-holing problem late in the day-- especially for small dog legs. Wolfie would walk in my tracks to stay up. I never broke through more than knee-deep while walking around camp in my boots, but the potential for crotch-deep misery is a coming thing. Are you planning to shoot for one of your FKT epics? Good luck.

[commonloon]

Harlen,

No FKT planned for the near future ;-) FKT for the Skiers High Route is less than a day. Sherpherd to Lodgepole. Hmmm, that would be really beautiful about now and I wouldn't need a lot of PTO days. Just kidding!