# Into Desolation Wilderness
- Author: Kojin Glick
- Published: 2022-08-01
- Canonical: https://www.kojinglick.com/blog/into-desolation-wilderness
---
## July 29th
Meet Toby, then Stuart and Chloe in Berkeley, and then start driving towards Desolation around 18:30.
Stop on the way to meet Ari and Mari, get (far too many) groceries and eat In-N-Out.
Arrive at the Tell's Creek Trailhead/Equestrian Camp at 23:05.
Enjoy some late night gaffs, and then to bed around 1:30.
Protip: Make sure to be aware of nearby horse droppings
when camping at the trailhead parking lot.
## July 30th
Wake up at 8:00.
Coffee, breakfast and packing before 10:30, hit the trail at 10:45.
The plan is to go from Tell's Creek Equestrian Camp to Lake No. 3.
Leaving the trailhead, the path was mostly flat and gravelled, accessible to vehicles. We passed a large meadow to our left, across which we could see Van Vleck Bunkhouse. We continued until we reached our first major fork towards the right, up Red Peak Trail. The path continued to get narrower as it turned into the forest, occasionally poking out into lush meadows. By the second mile, the tire ruts in the path were gone, and the path was only wide enough for non-motorized traffic. Just before the second third of the hike, the path drives a meandering trail through thick evergreen thickets, some of which seem to be very young. Many of the saplings by the trail were shorter than we were.
This continues through the second third, where the path follows the thicker forest that flanks both sides of the creek.
The final push, which is both more exposed and steeper than the rest of the hike, is where the lion's share of the 1,400ft of elevation are gained. Thanks to a challenging creek crossing, we lose the trail, and start to trailblaze onto the exposed rock. We're generally aware of the heading of Lake No. 3, but since there's no clear path ahead, momentum stalls. After a couple of failed attempts at refinding the trail, we decide to continue up the rock until we see trail. While trying to catch up to some folks, two simultaneous calf cramps humble my aggressive catch-up pace. (Thank you Ari and Toby for the electrolytes!)
Protip: Electrolytes. Water. Potassium. Cramps are the worst.
Finally, we catch the trail as it pokes above the forest and follows a ridge around 200m in front of us. Since it's a little lower than we got, we trace the topography of the ridge we're on until the trail reaches our elevation. Trails allow you to put your head down and just pound out distance and elevation. We regain our momentum to push to Lake No. 3. Right at the end of the journey, the trail splits towards the Lake from the Red Peak Trail. If we were to continue, we would reach Lake No. 5. The sky was mostly clear throughout the hike, and the temperature hovered around the upper 70s to mid 80s. We arrive at our campsite around 15:30, amounting to about 4:45 on the trail. We quickly take dives into the lake, preparing for our afternoon there.
Including us, there were 4 camps on Lake No. 3. For a camping spot by a Lake in the end of July, that's really good. The guy next to us, Max, turns out to be a solo backpacker. He's disappointed that the fish are gone. Apparently, Desolation Wilderness is undergoing a frog habitat renewal, meaning the lakes aren't being stocked as usual.
The lake sits on the Western slope of Red Peak, and the sunset slowly casts over the rest of Desolation Wilderness.
Dinner eaten, bear canisters packed by 23:00.
## July 31st
Wake up to incessant buzzing at 7:00. I give up trying to go back to bed and I go to the bathroom, and catch Ari also awake. We take the bear canisters back to camp. Besides the ants in the trash, no animal interference occurred over the night. Toby's hammock calls to me, and I return to sleep until 9:30 to the sounds of others awake.
Coffee, oatmeal, and dips into the lake are done by 11:30. We start hiking towards the trailhead at 11:45. The way down is easier, and we identify exactly the place we went off track. We realize the trail is camoflaged by a lattice of dry runoffs for spring snowmelt, which carry sediment down and mimic the gravelly floor of an actual trail.
Right when it gets flat, Toby and I find this curious mushroom.
Chloe takes this candid photo of me on the way down.
Toby catches this amazing pull-focused shot.
We reach the cars at around 15:00. Some lunch, repacking, goodbyes, and then back home. Stu, Chloe, Toby and I get to Berkeley for pizza. Delicious.