**Trail report from Jedediah that the bridge over Meeks Creek is partially washed out (check with ranger on current conditions before counting on it being there) **6/30/18**
Leo
and I decided to do a backpacking trip in Desolation Wilderness. We
picked a spot along the Tahoe Rim and Tahoe-Yosemite Trail. This trail
is named both through this section. Make sure to get a permit for both
day use and overnight stay in the wilderness. I made a reservation by
calling (530) 647-5415. We decided to head to Stony Ridge Lake that
is most easily accessed from Meeks Bay Trailhead. The hike in is 5.9
miles according to my GPS. This trail has both gorgeous views and lakes
(well worth the hike in). This shot is Leo and my truck at the trailhead.
To get to the trailhead from the Bay Area head East on 50 to South Lake
Tahoe and then head on Highway 89 towards Truckee. You travel along
the west shore of Lake Tahoe (great views) and past Emerald and Rubicon
Bay. The trailhead is decently marked on the Left side. There are a
few small buildings and what looks like a road. There
are no facilities at this trailhead and no water, so make sure you take
care of things at the ranger station or in Lake Tahoe.
Here
is the first part of the "trail", the road I mentioned earlier.
The first mile is along this road and provides a good warm up for the
steeper section to come, as the road is very level. There is nothing
too steep on the way to Stony Ridge Lake. If you plan on going all the
way to Rubicon lake then the very last quarter mile is up. Make sure
to look at a topo map of that section (and count the lines you cross)
if you plan on tackling it.
Here
is where the trail starts going uphill. The trail marker is in the middle
of this picture and tells you to take a right. According to the map
the road doesn't go much farther but I have never checked it out. We
saw quite a few areas of gathered wood on the way in like someone was
planning on setting a couple hundred small bonfires. I am not sure what
those were all about.
You
hike for another 2/3 mile and then hit the Wilderness Boundary. This
is really how these signs should look (not carved on or falling apart
or missing). I am sure this one is pretty new.
On
this section of the trail make sure to look back occasionally as you
can catch a few glimpses of Lake Tahoe. In this picture you can barely
see it but it is there in the middle (trust me).
Most
of the trail is covered but I would still recommend getting to the trailhead
early to make sure you get a spot to park in the rather small trailhead
parking lot. This shot is of the bridge that goes over Meeks Creek.
**Trail report from Jedediah that this bridge is partially washed out (check with ranger on current conditions before counting on it being there) **6/30/18**
The
trail takes a big bend through here. Here is Leo clearing the trail
of a small log. I tried to get a shot of him karate chopping it in half
but I wasn't fast enough with the camera. You can see the rest of the
log on the bottom right of the picture.
All
of your effort is now worth it as you reach the first lake, Lake Genevieve.
A nice lake that provides a good spot to eat lunch or take a quick dip.
We just kept going as we wanted to get to our camp before relaxing.
The
trail continues to Crag Lake. This lake is very close to Lake Genevieve
but much longer. You can see all of the high country you can explore
in the distance of this lake. This section of trail is on the eastern
edge of the Desolation Wilderness and this shot is looking southwest
over the rest of Desolation Wilderness. If you want to take a multi-day
trek past as many lakes and passes as your legs will carry you this
is a great wilderness to do it in. I think this picture has Phipps Peak
in the background.
This
shot is of a tree that decided to take out another tree. The sap still
looked pretty wet so I am sure this great crash (yes I am sure it made
a noise even if no one was there to hear it) was pretty recent.
Someone
had some time on their hands on this trail. The black things lining
the trail are pine cones... yes someone decided to take the time to
gather pine cones and lay them out to mark the trail, or maybe a squirrel?
You
cross Meeks Creek one more time on the trail to Stony Ridge. You are
almost to the junction with Hidden Lake at this point. This late in
the season there is not much water in the creek.
Here
is Shadow Lake. It looks to be filling in and becoming a meadow. This
is the normal progression for alpine lakes. There are not much camping
opportunities around this lake. I would go the additional 1/2 mile or
so to Stony Ridge Lake.
Stony
Ridge sits underneath Rubicon Peak and has a dam on the outlet side.
Here is Leo making the trek across the dam to a site on the other side.
Here
is our site for the night. It had some decent shelter and a killer view
of the lake. We didn't see anyone else that night.
Here
is Leo in the morning. I had a major packing mistake that left me sleeping
outside that night. I had laid out both my one man and two man tents
and in my haste while packing the two man tent I grabbed the poles for
my one man tent. I realized this fact when we arrived at the trailhead
(just a little late). Luckily Leo had decided to try and make a hammock
shelter so he had already planned on bringing his own shelter so it
was mainly me that was sleeping outside. Leo started off in his shelter
that night (you can see it between the trees) but with the wind coming
through he abandoned his shelter to get out of the cold wind. He said
with some minor modifications this will work next time.
Here
is Leo hiking back over the granite rock that is part of the dam on
our way out. We took our time getting over this so we didn't start our
trek out all wet.
This
shot is of the meadow alongside of Shadow Lake.
One
more shot with a different angle and settings.
There
are some great reflections in the early morning. This was taken on Crag
Lake on the way out.
Sometime
leaving the foreground in the shot frames the picture in so nicely.
It adds more depth as well.
Ok
so maybe I took a few too many shots of the same thing but I just wasn't
sure what effect I wanted.
This is a great trip with some beautiful lakes with not that much hiking. If you can't make it out here overnight this makes a great day hike as well.