Desolation Wilderness: Grouse, Hemlock, Smith, Twin and Island Lakes

balzaccom

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
665

For a few years now, we've made many attempts to hike to Island Lake in the Desolation Wilderness. We chose to cancel on our first attempt because of a nasty storm. Then P got sick right before we were to go the second time. Both times, we lost the $26 reservation fee via Recreation.gov.
The third time we got that fee back, because the trip was cancelled by the USFS due to heavy smoke and fire danger in the area. And by that time, we were wondering if we were destined to never see Island Lake.
Until this last weekend. It wasn't easy. When P went to Recreation.gov to reserve our permit, it told him that there were no more permits for Twin or Island Lakes.
It would take more than that to stop us this time. P had also wanted to camp at Smith Lake...and there were permits for Smith Lake available! The itinerary for our trip then specified the second night at Island Lake, as we were on our way! No traffic accidents, no fires, no running out of gas...

Our friend Robin joined us on this trip as we hiked the first day from Wrights Lake up to Grouse, Hemlock, and finally Smith Lake. Parts of this trail are as steep as anything you will hike anywhere, but happily the whole route is only a little over three miles. You gain 1700 feet in those three miles, and at least one mile of the trail is pretty darn flat. The rest goes right up the side of the mountain. And when you drive up from sea level as we did, this part takes a bit of a toll. But it is only tree miles.
There are few good campsites at Smith Lake, but we found one perched on the ridge to the north of the lake, and enjoyed the fact that all of the day-hikers left in the late afternoon...and we had the place to ourselves. Very peaceful. And beautiful. The views out over the Central Valley in the evening were incredible.
And worth the climb.

The next day we hiked back down to the junction and then took the fork to Twin Lakes and Island Lake. This is an easier trail, and as always in Desolation, we had plenty of company, including a boy scout troop and a couple of charming father and son teams who were out exploring. The route up to Twin Lakes is glorious as it heads up long smooth granite slabs. The views open up, the sun was shining....it was a good day for a hike!
Once at Twin Lakes, the trail gets a little less clear, but within a couple of hours we were looking for a campsite at Island Lake---with about the same success as at Smith. But we found a spot on the North shore fairly far along and had a wonderful afternoon wandering around and above the lake. From there the views of Island Lake were worth waiting for--even if it did take us about five years to see them,.


And as you can see in the photo below, evening was once again spectacular.

On the way home, we hiked out on Sunday morning and met a wildly diverse crowd of day-hikers---everyone from young families to old geezers, from urban walkers to Sierra Club vets. locals to travelers from around the world. We've never seen anything like it on a trail outside of Yosemite. But Everyone was in a great mood...as well they should have been Perfect day, lovely hike, and the time to enjoy it all.
And now we can finally cross Island Lake off our list of places we'd like to see....and add it to our list of places we'd like to visit again.

you can see the rest of the photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/balzac...IslandAndSmithLakesInDesolationWilderness2015
 

Vegan.Hiker

Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2014
Messages
2,094
On the way home, we hiked out on Sunday morning and met a wildly diverse crowd of day-hikers---everyone from young families to old geezers, from urban walkers to Sierra Club vets. locals to travelers from around the world. We've never seen anything like it on a trail outside of Yosemite.

Nice report and looks like a cool hike. Just out of curiosity, what is an "urban walker"?
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
JuddOutdoors Hike To Grass Lake //Desolation Wilderness //Lake Tahoe Basin Hiking & Camping 0
klank Desolation Wilderness - Summer Solstice 2014 Backpacking 5
balzaccom Desolation Trail Work Backpacking 7
WasatchWill WRHR: Day 3 - 'Desolation Valley' to Halls Lake Backpacking 15
WasatchWill WRHR: Day 2 - Cirque of the Towers to 'Desolation Valley' Backpacking 28
seekinglost Desolation Canyon, Utah... Any info? Trip Planning 24
Outdoors24 Desolation Canyon Fee Proposal General Discussion 1
neiloro Invite Desolation Canyon River/Rafting Trip - July 3-8 Meet Up (Members Only) 0
Ugly Mill D - Fresh White Milkshake Covered Desolation Winter Sports 15
Nick Desolation On The Water 11
George_Washington_Hayduke 8 Days in Desolation Canyon On The Water 2
Ounce Desolation Canyon 2015 On The Water 8
Nurrgle Desolation Canyon General Discussion 1
travel2walk Gros Ventre Wilderness: Granite Creek, West Fork Crystal Creek, Crystal Creek, & Swift Creek - June 2021 Backpacking 8
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 9 of 9, 7-29 & 30, /2022 Backpacking 5
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 8 of 9, 7/28/2022 Backpacking 5
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 7 of 9, July 26-27, 2022 Backpacking 13
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 6, 7/25/2022 Backpacking 17
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 5 of 9, 7/23-24, 2022 Backpacking 7
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 4 of 9, 7/22, 2022 Backpacking 4
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 3 of 9, 7/20-21, 2022 Backpacking 2
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 2, 7/19/2022 Backpacking 4
F 12 days in Wyoming's Teton Wilderness, part 1, 7/15-18, 2022 Backpacking 11
kwc Round Lake, north central Adirondacks, in the Round Lake Wilderness On The Water 2
scatman Pacific Creek, Moss Lake and Gravel Lake - Teton Wilderness - October 7, 2022 Backpacking 32
balzaccom These guys had quite the wilderness experience... General Discussion 0
balzaccom Mok Wilderness in the fall Backpacking 1
XID_AZ Kanab Creek Wilderness - Sowats Canyon - Mountain Sheep Spring Trip Planning 6
scatman Teton Wilderness Loop - August 6, 2022 Backpacking 24
TheMountainRabbit Red's Meadow to Tuolumne Meadows via the High Route (Ansel Adams/Yosemite Wilderness) - August 2022 Backpacking 5
Bob Teton Wilderness - 50 miles of High Country - Aug 2022 Backpacking 45
Mountain Wanderer First time in to the Sawtooth Wilderness! Backpacking 2
TheMountainRabbit Younts Peak (Teton/Washakie Wilderness) - July 2022 Backpacking 22
F Teton Wilderness, late July 2022 Trip Planning 6
J Teton Wilderness during Hunting Season Trip Planning 6
scatman Mendon Peak - Wellsville Mountain Wilderness - June 4, 2022 Hiking & Camping 13
Miya *SOLD* Superior Wilderness Designs - Ultralight Internal Frame - 50L Gear Market: Buy, Sell, Trade 0
westy Invite Also, Alpine Lakes Wilderness Meet Up (Members Only) 0
scatman Gila River - Gila Wilderness, New Mexico - April 18, 2022 Backpacking 61
TeamJenkins17 Washakie Wilderness Hiking Hiking & Camping 0
Bob Wilderness Areas Trip Planning 3
TeamJenkins17 Washakie Wilderness Trip Advice Trip Planning 17
marquis20 Day 1: Grand Teton Wilderness and Black Canyon of the Yellowstone - June 2021 Backpacking 0
F Maps for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Resource Discussions 3
Mikjik86 4 Days Backpacking Grand Teton Wilderness/Teton Crest Trail - Wyoming, July, 2021 Backpacking 0
balzaccom Yosemite...wilderness permits for 2022 are better Backpacking 2
F Balancing Urban Life with wilderness Solitude Noobs: Introduce yourself! 1
TeamJenkins17 Looking for info on Clark Creek drainage/Pierpont Pass into Hidden Basin in the Washakie Wilderness Trip Planning 5
TeamJenkins17 2022 Teton Wilderness/Shoshone National Forest Trip Trip Planning 0
TheMountainRabbit Southern Absaroka Loop (Teton/Washakie Wilderness) - August 2021 Backpacking 8

Similar threads

Don't like ads? Become a BCP Supporting Member and kiss them all goodbye. Click here for more info.

Top