Winter at Lake Aloha: Lake Aloha is located in the Desolation Wilderness of the El Dorado National Forest. A popular winter recreation area, in 2007 I did a short solo ski tour, camping along the frozen shoreline of Lake Aloha. Leaving Echo Lakes Sno-Park by mid-morning, I slowly skied up to Lower Echo Lake with the rest of the croud in beautiful weather. Somewhat worried about the surface of Echo Lake holding my weight, I took the route along the less sun beaten, southwest side of the lake, reaching Upper Echo Lake just in time for a long lunch. Following the many ski and snowshoe tracks, I ascended up along the buried trail where I reach Haypress Meadow, taking a short detour north underneath the summit of Kieths Dome to view the beautiful northern winter views of Desolation Wilderness. Back on track I skied to reach the western shore of Lake Aloha by late afternoon, completely exhausted. I did the usual winter camping chores - carving camp out of the snow, melting snow - all the while soaking up the beautiful views. I lost the sun at just before 5pm, expecting the temperature to drop, but found it extremely warm. A little dinner and stargazing and I was quickly asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of the winds gusting and howling. I had expected bad weather approaching but not as quickly. A peek out of my tent showed a clear sky but gusty winds. Finally, around 4am I could hear the snow begin to pelt my tent. I had hoped for a nice sunrise, but woke to cloudy skies, howling winds, and dumping snow. With the options of staying in the tent all morning or packing up, I opted to leave a little early. All packed I began the ski tour out, following my barely visible tracks from the day before. Reaching Haypress Meadow at least 3-4 inches of new snow had fallen, making the descent down to Upper Echo Lakes fast and fun. I reached my truck by noon, driving out of the mountains to find the sun shining 30 minutes down the road.

Inlet

Inlet of frozen Echo Lake.

Climbing

Climbing above Tamarack Lake, Mt. Ralston in the distance.

Desolation

Below the summit of Kieths Dome, Lake Lucille Below.

Water

Melting snow for water at Lake Aloha.

Camp

Home for the night, camp at Lake Aloha.

Crags

Alpenglow, Cracked Crag.

Jack's

Last light off Jack's Peak.

Stars

Stars above Lake Aloha, Desolation Wilderness

Bedtime

Settling in for the night at Lake Aloha.