Got back from backpacking on the Eagle Lake Trail in the Desolation Wilderness yesterday. Two-night trip with Karin and Justin. Lots of fun. See the photo album on flickr [soon].Here's what we did.
Day 1: After class was over for the long weekend we loaded up Karin's car and headed out. Lots of traffic on the way to Lake Tahoe, so it ended up being a 3 hour drive. Pulled into the parking near sunset, grabbed our packs, and set out down the trail. It was a 1 mile hike to the campsite, past a waterfall and along the course of a stream. We reached the turnoff for Eagle Lake as the night was beginning to fall, found a suitable campsite in waning sunlight, and set up our tent.
Day 2: Woke up and took our time eating breakfast and breaking camp. I grabbed Justin's camera and snapped some photos while he and Karin pumped water.
Set out down the trail, ran into a group of rock climbers from Davis that Karin knew, chatted, continued on. So began a long day of encounters with fellow hikers of both the bi- and quadrupedal variety (lots of backpacking dogs!). We hiked upwards, reached a flat rocky outcropping with a view of Eagle Lake and Lake Tahoe in the distance. We lost the trail here, and ended up picking our way through rocks and snow for a while until we rediscovered the trail. With the trail mostly concealed by all the snow on the ground this became a major theme of the trip!
We reached the intersection of the Eagle Lake and Velma Lake trails and lunched at a nearby ridgetop overlooking another pair of icy lakes with a sheer, tall, snow-covered slope for a backdrop. Quite a change of scenery from my usual lunch on the UC Davis quad.
Made our way down the Velma lake trail with a pair of hikers and their dog Seven. Spent a lot of time searching for footprints, putting our faith in the navigation skills of the groups in front of us. We ended up in the right place, Upper Velma Lake, where a couple other groups of hikers were enjoying the scenery.
We continued on to Middle Velma Lake, making our way downhill until we reached a wide stream. Here we again met up with the intrepid Seven and company. Proceeded to cross the icy stream in our bare legs and feet, gasping at the cold as Seven stood immersed in the water and watched us. What a dog!
Two other friends from Davis came walking by as we pumped water by the stream. We hiked with them for a while, then went on to explore Velma Lake and find a good spot to pitch our tent. Our options: snow or rock. We decided on rock, and set up camp on the flattest surface we could find.
We lounged around for a time, enjoying the scenery and talking about the night's dinner. We ate spaghetti, a backpacking favorite, and polished off the last of the fig bars I'd brought. As the sun set on the Sierra we walked down to the lakeside and took a few pictures.
With the sun down, our bellies full of food and our minds full of beauty, we settled down in the tent. We left the side flaps unzipped and watched the stars and satellites pass overhead. As we drifted off to sleep we saw a bright shooting star come streaking across the sky, leaving a long tail.
Day 3: Another leisurely morning, waking up as the sunlight hit our tent. More oatmeal today, then the long walk back to civilization. We came to the same creek crossing from yesterday, and again trudged across the icy water.
Feeling bold, we decided to take a dip. Some of us (Justin!) decided to go for an icy swim.
After our dip we all dried off in the pleasantly warm sun, filled up on water again, and again hit the trail. Or so we thought. We ended up walking through unfamiliar snow and rocks, starting to feel a lost and looking over our map to figure out where we were. We finally saw a pair of hikers in the distance, made our way down and followed their tracks back to the trail.
More walking down the trail, banter with other hikers on their way in seeking word of the trail conditions up ahead (snowy!). Slipped and slid through snow and small streams of melt-water, trying not to step on weak points in the snow where our feet would sink through. Eventually made it back to the rocky outcropping we'd made the wrong turn at the day before. We lunched on a rock overlooking Eagle Lake and Lake Tahoe and spent some time trying to find the best route up a particularly large boulder.
As we got closer to the trailhead we met more hikers of an increasingly wide age range. Finally made it back to the car and a crowded parking lot, changed into fresh clothing as driver after driver inquired as to our departure plans ("We'll be a few more minutes!"). Crossed the street to take a look at a heavily touristed but still stunning waterfall with a view of Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe.
Then back to the car, and the long drive back to Davis. Got back to a delicious Indian meal with friends, with the added bonus of a Star Wars movie night and chocolate cake dessert. The perfect ending to a great weekend.
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