Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Aloha

Questions and reports related to Sierra Nevada current and forecast conditions, as well as general precautions and safety information. Trail conditions, fire/smoke reports, mosquito reports, weather and snow conditions, stream crossing information, and more.
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rozim
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Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Aloha

Post by rozim »

Hi, new member, hope this post is appropriate for this forum.

Have a 2 day permit for Desolation Wilderness starting this Friday (June 9, 2017).
Plan to start at Echo Lake.
Permit night #1 is Lake of the Woods.
Would be fine going to Aloha for night #2.

I will be with 2 teenage daughters.

I have a decent amount of 3 season fair weather (well, some rain and lightning storms)
SIerra experience including doing the JMT 2y ago.

From the experience page I think this is accurate for me:
Level 3- Numerous backpacking trips, some x-country travel
Class 2 terrain/pass/x-country

My daughters are probably half a level or class less experienced than me.

Our idea on this trip is to get exposure to shoulder season and snow backpacking in June in a familiar area.
We have been to Desolation numerous times over the last 5 years.

We have no experience with snow however.

We are OK doing what we would do on an easy backpack trip where you mostly
keep to the trails i.e. there are no steep ascents planned on this trip.

Our tent is a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL3 and we can double up on sleeping pads.
We have decent down sleeping bags.

Questions are:
- Is it safe to assume the road from Hwy 50 to Echo Lake is still snowed in?

- What is the trail like along Echo Lake and then beyond up to Aloha?

- Is there any bare ground exposed in any these areas now (Echo to Aloha).

- What do people recommend in terms of footwear? We are used to trail runners and I see that Skurka
seems to say that such things are OK in the snow though I still find that hard to believe..
http://andrewskurka.com/2017/backpackin ... onditions/

- Should we look into snow shoe rental? Or invest in microspikes for our party of 3?

- Do I need some kind of (avalanche) shovel for digging a platform for the tent?

- Is this trip a bad idea due to some combination of lack of experience, amount of snow still around, possibility of rain
in Friday, and or possibility of scorching sun and lots of very wet snow...

thx,
Dave

PS
I am aware of this page http://desowv.org/trail-conditions but looking for more detailed first hand data..
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Tom_H
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by Tom_H »

I hiked that route in mid-July of 2011 and the snow was 3' to 6' deep from Haypress Meadows all the way through most of Desolation. The trail was impossible to find and you simply have to depend on orienteering skills. There were palaces with continual post holing (the ice collapses below your foot and you plunge as much as 6' down, landing with a serious jar to ankles, knees, hips, back). The climb from Upper-Echo to Haypress was clear then. It will not be now and it is steep. I think both Echo Lakes are still too frozen for the water taxi to run to the upper end, so that adds to your distance.

Thing is, I am a retired professional guide and had extensive experience in winter and summer snow backpacking. If you have not done this before, it IS going to be far harder than anything you have done before. You need heavy duty hiking boots that are either waterproof with Gore-Tex or leather and coated with Sno-Seal, and extra pairs of wool socks. On my trip, we found one small ridge just before reaching Echo that was snow free. Wind across the lake was a constant 50 mph at night and it got down to about 25 degrees. You do need both micro-spikes and snow shoes. You need to have close to winter sleeping bags and clothing for evening and morning. You need zinc oxide all over your face and labiosan on your lips during the day so your face does not look like you've just been through a whole series of radiation therapy. It will cook you. I am not talking about sunburn; it will literally cook your skin and lips, covering them with giant swollen blisters. You need glacier glasses too. You probably need ice axes, but they are not something you can just go out and use without training beforehand; you can kill yourself with one.

For someone who wants to do this, you have to start somewhere, but it's a whole lot better to go first with someone who's done it before. I personally do not think it the best thing for you to do. If you do, be prepared to bail if you can't handle it, but certainly not at night. If rain is in the forecast, DO NOT GO; you could all easily die. If you get soaked by rain and are in snow, hypothermia will claim you before you know it has even started. I hope some others, particularly Wandering Daisy, will chime in here. Good luck, whatever you decide.
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tim
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by tim »

I certainly wouldn't go to Lake of the Woods as it's down in a deep hole with even fewer places that will be snow free than Aloha. In addition to the challenging climb to Haypress Meadow mentioned above, if the snow hasn't melted out yet I'd also be nervous about the traverse along the side of lower Echo Lake as it is quite steep in places (and I very much doubt you can walk on the lake as people do in winter).

We loved going to Aloha in April 2015 (http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... =1&t=12607) but in that drought year we only had snow after Haypress Meadow and there was plenty of bare rock at Aloha. So we were on snow for less than a mile in total. I'd pick somewhere easier for a first snow trip and not go more than a mile or two beyond the snowline.
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AlmostThere
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by AlmostThere »

USDA snow depth (updated daily) indicates 60-98" of snow remains in that area currently.

The ranger told me it's highly likely there will be snow and ice on the passes - when I go in September.

Meanwhile, Heavenly has an alpine roller coaster....
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rozim
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by rozim »

Big Thanks to everyone - it is definitely sounding like time for Plan B.
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rozim
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by rozim »

Plan B, or Z it is --> will go to Henry Coe State Park for a warmup trip and worry about snow in the future.
thanks again,
Dave
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Tom_H
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by Tom_H »

Point Reyes and Lost Coast are also good possibilities.
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AlmostThere
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by AlmostThere »

Henry Coe will be hot - hope you are used to that. We are the Land of extremes....
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rozim
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by rozim »

Point Reyes: hard to get camping reservations at the last sec.

Lost Coast: love it, have been last 2 years, but too far N from SF for a 3 day weekend.

Henry Coe: first time and it sounds like by entering on the East side we can avoid overly controlled
camping which is what we prefer. The weather seems to be in the low 70's which should be fine.

thx,
Dave
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AlmostThere
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Re: Advice for Desolation Wilderness June 9 2017, Echo to Al

Post by AlmostThere »

:) I've hiked there several times a year for years. Have not gone in via Dowdy, as it opens well after I'm comfortable going back there....
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