Tag: Desolation Wilderness

PCT Section K Southbound – Day 4 – Desolation Wilderness camp to Lake Aloha 7/18/24

Ian

Thursday, July 18, 2024

17.5 miles – PCT mile 1116-1099.5

I woke up sore, specifically my shoulders. Legs were actually fine. Now I was heading into Mordor for mosquitos, apparently. Also, Dick’s Pass, the highest pass I would cross on this hike (9000+ ft) was looming in the afternoon.

As I came out of mosquito hell, I started to get into the lakes section of the Desolation Wilderness and it was pretty spectacular.

Best water source of the whole hike

Dick’s Pass was a 1500 foot climb and was a bit daunting, but you just have to take it one step at a time. I did it in about an hour. I bonked pretty hard at the top, as I had waited to eat lunch, so my body was completely out of fuel, but the views were great.

Looking down on Dick’s Lake from whence I came

The entire trail down from Dick’s Pass was NOT my favorite. If you’re a fan of sharp rocks stabbing your feet though, have I got a trail for you!

God damn rocks

The rest of the day wound up and down past a couple of smaller lakes and then opened up to Aloha Lake (Lake Aloha? I’m not sure what the proper order is) where I would find my favorite campsite of the trip. Great neighbors, including two Sobo hikers that were continuing into the Sierra further south and also a couple and their friend, and their dog (Doug), who had hiked in from Echo Lake to basecamp and day hike. Fantastic swim in Aloha Lake to end the night.

Not my tent

PCT Section K Southbound – Day 3 – Five Lakes to Desolation Wilderness bush camp 7/17/24

Ian

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

21 miles – PCT mile 1137-1116

This was the longest distance I have ever hiked in a single day. 21 miles.

I woke up early, checked that my water was full, and headed straight up hill. It’s always best to get big climbs out of the way early, I’ve found.

Once I got to the top of the ridge, it was a lovely day and I just enjoyed the breeze and easy trail.

After a while I did have to sit down and do some foot care, as the outside of my left heel, which is always the first place to blister no matter what it seems, started to blister. This and the outside of my right heel were the only two blisters I would incur on this trip, so I think the new toe-sock liner combo I tried worked out pretty well.

Top to bottom: toe-sock liner, regular sock, leukotape, ibuprofin, blister bandages, sit pad

A little while later, I came to the junction of the PCT and the TRT (Tahoe Rim Trail). From here, the TRT joins the PCT until just south of Echo Lake, where I would end my section hike, so I would be on both trails for the remainder of this trip.

I would also reach the other end of the Granite Chief Wilderness.

Then it was lunch time and I found a wonderful little creek to lounge by.

After lunch, I passed several hikers who had good news for me: trail magic just down the hill! I honestly didn’t even think I would run into any trail magic on this trip, so it was a wonderful surprise. First, I walked through an idyllic field of Wooly Mule’s Ears again.

As I descended down to a trail head parking lot, I saw some Nobo hikers surrounding a couple of coolers of soda. Trail magic! Thank you trail angels!

I knew I had another climb to get to my goal, 5 miles ahead and 3 miles past Richardson Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. With about 3 hours left of daylight, I put on some climbing music (metal) and put my head down to power through.

Those last 2 miles were ROUGH. They were flat, but mentally challenging, knowing this was my longest day ever and that I was almost at the end of it. I collapsed at camp and it was all I could do to set up my tent and force down a protein bar for dinner. I didn’t even brush my teeth this night. Just lay flat on my back and fell asleep quickly. There was no breeze and all was silent.