Lake Tahoe: Echo Lake to Aloha Lake and Beyond - California, United States

Unfortunately, there is no public potable water at the parking lot, so we had to start the trip with minimal water. Also, I had slept less than a couple hours the previous night, and I could immediately feel that I was dehydrated: not the best combination for hiking, but we powered on through the two Echo Lakes.

The desolation wilderness boundary is soon after you leave the last good view of Upper and Echo Lakes, and the trail ascends up a nice sunny slope with amazing flowers blooming all around. The timing was perfect, with blues yellows and reds dotting the tall grass and granite slabs around the trail. 

We took a slight detour to visit Lake of the Woods which is a beautiful and clear lake. As we took a little break, we started to hear thunder rolling in behind us over Lake Tahoe and decided it wouldn't matter too much if we made it to camp before the rain hit, either way, we'd get a little wet. Fortunately, the rain missed our area completely and it was just nice to hear the thunder and wind in the sierras.

When we got to Lake Aloha, the water was incredibly still, and we found a site as quickly as we could so that we could go and jump in the water while the air was still a moderate temperature. The water was a little cold, but very comfortable while swimming in it. We all went out to an island and sat as the sun drifted down to meet the horizon. Aloha is quite a popular spot and far from a completely isolated camping spot, you can hear a couple groups talking at any one time. We made up a rock skipping game and had some fun doing that until sunset, at which point the trip went from awesome to not so awesome very quickly as clouds of mosquitoes attacked us at dusk. Shortly after returning to camp, it went from bad to worse when we realized no one brought a stove.

We ducked for cover into the tent and ate some uncooked couscous with chicken and curry. It turned out to not be that bad after all, but nevertheless, I wouldn't recommend forgetting your stove as a weight saving technique.  

The next day we journeyed west towards Pyramid Peak but ran into trouble when we hit a large and swift moving river. It took quite a while to find a suitable crossing location and with the delay, we decided we couldn't summit and make it back home at a reasonable hour. We decided to stop atop a ridge with a great view of the surrounding alpine lakes, including Pyramid Lake, American Lake, Lake Aloha, Desolation Lake, Channel Lake, Lake of the Woods, as well as several unnamed ones. After a short break, we headed back, and took the same route back down to the Echo Lakes. Mostly downhill, we traveled much faster. 

Once back at the parking lot, the lighting was awfully dramatic and lit up much of the hillside with a brilliant indirect light. The trails are definitely popular in this area, but the benefit is the trails are really easy to follow (when on them) and the sights are beautiful the whole way there.

Don't forget your stove!

Make sure to get your Wilderness Permit in advance in order to pick a zone that you favor.