Fathers Day Backpack Trip

(written by Bill)

Our very first post on WordPress was titled Desolate Cabin and for whatever reason we could not stop thinking about the backpacking trip we took last Fathers Day that put us back at the “Cabin”.  So we thought we would add a few images and give a little more description about the rest of our hike into Desolation Wilderness, near Lake Tahoe, in California.

First of all, you can see the original post by clicking here – Desolate Cabin .  In this post, we gave information about the cabin only, and included images both inside and out. Now we will give more detail about the rest of the hike, including additional photos.

Day 1 – We hiked just under 10 miles from the trail head near Wrights Lake (~7,000′), going up and over Rockbound Pass (8,650′), and setting up camp at Lake Schmidell (7,881′).  On day 2, we hiked down to the valley floor (7,400′) and paralleled the Rubicon River until coming to the China Flat junction which took us up steeply to our second nights destination at Lake Doris (8,360′).

Arriving at Lake Doris about mid-day allowed us the entire afternoon to relax and enjoy the spectacular views of the nearby rocky peaks, the lush green forests in the valley, and the cool waters at our lakeside camp. Staying here on night 2 was perfect because it would give us a very simple hike back over Rockbound Pass the next morning (just under 300′ elevation gain).

Day 3 – We were all up somewhat early on our last day and after a nice breakfast, dehydrated of course, we were back on the trail heading to our car and concluding another great Fathers Day weekend.  I know the text is brief, but we hope the photo’s will tell the story.

Beauty Lake (7,000′), near the trail head (starting point).

The little dip in the distant mountain is Rockbound Pass (looking north) where we’ll hike over to get into Desolation Wilderness

Bill and Christian nearing the top of Rockbound Pass (Paul shot the photo from the top of the Pass)

Rockbound Pass (8,650′)

We brought ‘Eddie Boy’, Paul’s dog. He did great on the hike but had some sore paws at the end

After day 1, we set up camp at Lake Schmidell (7,881′). 9.5 mile hike

A bit erie yet beautiful. Submerged Tree in Lake Schmidell

We camped at Lake Doris (8,360′) on our second night with the north side of Rockbound Pass in the background

“Reflections” at Lake Doris

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ― John Muir. Paul taking in the awesome beauty of Nature

Day 3, looking north at Lake Doris as we head back over Rockbound Pass to the trailhead

Looking south at Lake Maud in the middle of the picture, we will hike to the far distance mound (as far as you can see) to get back to our car (whew)

Hope you enjoy…