2003 Desolation Wilderness Backpacking Trip - Day 4
(Sunday, 31 August, 2003)

Sunday, 31 August:
I woke up early to a beautiful sunrise over Mt. Tallac. Unfortunately it was beautiful because there were large clouds rolling in - hmmmm. Some sprinkles peppered us as we made coffee and had the last of our tasty ginger granola and instant milk. This was worrysome, as today's plan was to dayhike Mt. Tallac, then backpack back to the car. Black clouds loomed over Dick's Peak and thunder boomed in the distance, but in the end we decided to give it a go, as there's no telling what Sierra thunderstorms might do.

After about 15 minutes of climbing towards Tallac it started raining fairly earnestly. The rain soon turned to large (but thankfully slushy) hail and lightning began striking closer and closer. After one touched down just a mile or so from us, we decided it was a good time to beat a hasty retreat down the mountain. We hurried back to camp and hunkered down in the tent listening to the storm rage all around us. It wasn't a terribly wet storm, but it was very electrically active. For about an hour there were several lightning strikes a minute, some under a mile away. I though it was fascinating; Sarah thought it was a bit scary.

As the storm appeared to abate, we broke camp and debated making another attempt on Tallac. A loud boom of thunder nearby quelched those plans - Tallac would have to wait for another trip. I was disappointed to have not climbed any peaks at all on this trip, but so it goes. The mountains will still be there next time I'm in the area.

We set down the trail back to the car at around 10:00. Naturally, there was little thunder or rain, and a second go at Tallac would likely have been successful. The hike back to the car was uneventful, mostly going back the way we'd packed in, which hadn't gotten any less rocky in the intervening two days. The weather continued to threaten, but nothing further manifested. We saw two women backpacking with a very noisy dog that yapped its head off at every passing hiker/bird/squirrel/leaf. When they caught up to us at Glen Alpine Springs, we saw that the dog had three legs - what it lacked in appendages it more than made up for in spirit. It was a very friendly dog and the women said they were working on training it to behave in the wilderness. We saw a pretty steady stream of day hikers heading towards Tallac. After what felt like a bit too long, we arrived back at the trailhead.

At the car, we changed into less dirty clothing and stretched. A couple came over and asked us what the day hike to Lake Aloha would be like. I showed them my topo map (as always, puzzled that people don't think of these things before setting out on a hike in the Sierras) and they walked off. Then returned and asked about Heather Lake. Then asked several more times about various nearby destinations. For heaven's sake folks, just go hike! As we drove out on Fallenleaf Lake Rd., there were an astounding number of cars arriving - far, far more than the (fairly large) Glen Alpine trailhead could handle. We stopped at the ranger station we'd picked up our permits at to use a bathroom with running water (ahh the luxury!) and pondered hiking the Rainbow Trail (a tourist trail by the lake), but in the end decided our feet were too sore and the area too crowded, so we headed towards home, stopping in Placerville to have some nice, greasy burgers.

This was a very enjoyable trip overall despite things not going quite as planned (but when do they?). The number of lakes in the south Desolation Wilderness was a delight, and I learned quite a bit about gear and technique that will undoubtedly prove useful on subsequent trips. I would have liked to have spent one more day out, but Sarah and I decided early in the planning stages that it would be better to have a day back in the Bay Area to adjust, rather than plunging directly back into work on Tuesday. Its easy to see why the Desolation Wilderness is, according to the forest service, the most heavily used wilderness in the country on a per-acre basis. I'll definitely be back!

I leave you with a poem written on a plaque near Glen Alpine Springs:

Previous Day

Trip Home

• Day 1 - Glen Alpine to near American Lake
• Day 2 - Dayhiking Lake of the Woods, Ropi Lake, Toem Lake, Desolation Lake, "Fun Lake," Channel Lake, and American Lake
• Day 3 - near American Lake to Gilmore Lake
• Day 4 - Gilmore Lake to Glen Alpine
• Pack list