High Sierra Topix

I'm planning a backpacking trip in Desolation Wilderness and also hoping to summit pyramid peak as part of the trip(max class 2 route).

It seems like most of the Pyramid Peak routes originate near the highway. Are there any good backcountry spots to start the pyramid peak ascent or should I head back to the highway?

Thanks for the help!

When I did Pyramid Peak a long time ago, we started on the Horsetail trail from Highway 50. Once in Desolation proper, we went to Ropi Lake and then headed straight up Pyramid Peak. It was pretty straightforward. Nothing over class 2.

The N ridge of Pyramid is class 2, and there is a pass with a huge cairn between it and Peak 9686. There’s a use trail up from the Lake Sylvia direction as well. It is basically class 2 from everywhere but the NW.

Horsetail falls is a scenic route but it does have some routefinding issues, even though it is a very popular and super scenic route. Even dayhiking, missing the correct ledge etc. can lead one into potentially hazardous class 3 climbing which has in fact claimed lives over the years. Backpacking it would be more difficult. Easier would be to go out of Wrights Lake and go to Lake Sylvia or that area to camp then summit Pyramid. I think Horsetail is a more scenic way to go to Pyramid, but Wrights to Sylvia is easier and safer.

Come in from Echo Lakes; up to Aloha; easy xc by way of Waca and American Lakes to Pyramid Lake; from there its pretty straightforward to get up onto the sotheast ridge and to the top. Nice camping around Waca and Pyramid lakes, as long as you like granite slabs.