Today’s hiking began with a 2.2 mile, 975′ ascent to Dick’s Pass. Although it sounded aggressive it was actually quite pleasant. The grade was moderate and we had more tree cover than I expected. It was not long before we stood topped the pass and could look back at our excellent campsite on Dick’s Lake to our right and the heart of Desolation Wilderness to our left.
The view from Dick’s Pass is simply stunning – especially if you’ve hiked the area you can see already because you really sense the scale of the area. Our goal today was Lake Aloha, Desolation’s most famous water feature. as we began our descent we could see Aloha sitting atop it’s granite shelf with the incredible Crystal Range beginning with Pyramid Peak rising just behind it.
This part of the hike also has its share of lakes. We passed Half Moon and dozens of tiny unnamed bodies on our right and then Gilmore on our left. At the Gilmore fork we took a hard right and dropped to what feels like Desolation’s floor. Where the PCT intersected the Glen Alpine Trail (which leads to half Moon Lake) we dropped our packs, set up our chairs and made coffee. It was glorious.
We then headed east toward Susie and Heather Lakes. The scenery was just ridiculously beautiful – as it was that perfect time between Fall and Winter where there was still plenty of water everywhere but also great colors popping amongst all the green pines.
Susie Lake is quite large compared to most Desolation lakes and the trail around it begins at a grotto-like outlet that is a great place to stop and get water. As we wound around Susie’s south side and up the eastern shore we could see island formations in it. These were nice but the islands at the upcoming Heather Lake were even better.
The beauty of Heather Lake is accentuated by the trail which takes you right along its northern shore along the base of a huge rock fall. I am pretty sure I heard a rattlesnake warning me to keep hiking – which I did despite never laying eyes on it. As the trail ascends from heather to Aloha we found what looked like a decent campsite right next to the water in a grove of trees but something about it seemed off and we didn’t stay long. We were aiming to stay at Lake Aloha if possible.
After a final push of 200′ or so in half a mile we got on top of the ridge that contains the incomparable Lake Aloha. I had first seen this area from the air – more specifically the saddle under Pyramid Peak when my best friend and I hiked the Lyon’s Creek trail many years before. It is a shallow lake formed in the bowl under the Crystal Mountain range (several peaks composed from a single piece of granite). Seemingly hundreds of little rocks and islands pop up all over the lake, sometimes forming puddles, pools, or ponds.
After dipping our feet in the cold water we spent some time scouting for a place to camp – thinking we might just end up out on the solid granite that formed the south shore of Aloha. Dominion proved his worth once again, however, and found this ridiculously cool spot big enough for two tents. It was only a few steps off trail but hidden behind a stand of trees. Perfect!
We got camp set up, ate, and watched one of the greatest sunsets I’ve ever seen. Seeing the Crystal Range silhouetted against the colorful darkening sky was just amazing. We settled in for our last night in Desolation and slept.
Backcountry Pilgrim 