Dates: February 17-19, 2009 Duration: 3 days, 2 nights Mileage: ~11 miles Group Members: Nick McGuire, Michael Ahlmann Pack Weights: ~50 lbs each Contacts: Pacific Ranger District - 7887 Highway 50, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 (530)-644-2349 Tahoe Basin Ranger District - 35 College Dr., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 (530)-543-2600 Williams Power Tools Inc. (Sno-Park Permit Vendor) - 4120 Sunset Ln, Shingle Springs, CA (530)-677-9732 Notes: This was supposed to be a winter mountaineering trip to climb some of the peaks in the Desolation Wilderness but the avalanche danger was way too high and the weather would not permit it either. We salvaged the trip though by just snowshoeing for a couple days in the eastern side of the wilderness near the Echo Lakes. Route Map Available! Outbound Travel: Left Davis at 11:15 AM, where it was raining and headed east on I-80 and then continued east on Hwy 50 towards South Lake Tahoe. Got to Williams Power Tool Inc. in Shingle Springs about an hour later to purchase a Sno- Park Permit ($5 per day or $25 per season) where it was still raining off and on. Hit the chain control road block just outside placerville and chained up the truck which was totally unnecessary since the road had just been plowed. Had to stop several times because the chains were too loose for some reason but finally got them tight enough. Stopped at the Pacific Ranger District Office just outside Pollock Pines to pick up our Wilderness permit and get more up-to-date information for the trip. Started snowing pretty decently after this point and finally about 10 miles from Twin Bridges we pulled over and talked to a CalTrans worker who said we could take the stupid chains off because the road was still well plowed. At this point it was smooth travel all the way to the turnoff for the Johnson Pass Sno Park. Had to put the chains back on after getting stuck part way on the road up to the snow park which hadn't been plowed recently but finally made it the 3/4 of a mile or so to the parking lot. Parked at around 2:30 PM and were packed up and ready to go about 3:30 PM.
Day 1: Left the Johnson Pass Sno Park around 3:30 PM and snowshoed down the "road" directly across from the parking lot entrance which led past a bunch of cabins part of the Berkeley Municipal Camp down towards the Lower Echo Lake Dam and Echo Lake Chalet. Started snowing and the wind picked up once we started to snowshoe directly across Lower Echo Lake. Snow was very deep and powdery making it difficult to walk through. Finally made it to the far shore near Upper Echo Lake just before dark. Had to set up camp on a small spit of land that rises up between Lower Echo Lake and Upper Echo Lake. Dug a shallow pit for the tent, cooked a quick dinner and went to bed around 8PM. Snowed constantly till around 1 or 2 AM and the wind increased strongly over the course of the tonight until about the same time. Temperatures dropped into the mid-twenties that night but I was still comfortable in my sleeping bag with just shorts and a long sleeve thermal top on. Day 2: Woke up around 7AM to an absolutely gorgeous day, made breakfast and cleaned up all our gear and the tent which had all been covered in several inches of fresh powder over the course of the night. Melted snow for water and finally left camp around 10AM. Snowshoed across Upper Echo Lake and followed a creek leading away from the lake off towards Tamarack Lake. The creek we followed turned out to be different from the one we thought it was on the map so after a little orienteering we got back on track and continued heading in a slightly more direct route towards Tamarack. Finally made it to Tamarack Lake around 1PM after having to stop several times to take compass readings to help navigate in the snow which was very slow going due to the depth of the powder and the incline of the terrain. Ate lunch on the shore of Tamarack Lake and then scouted out a campsite up off the lake a ways to the south east. Built a much more substantial campsite with a deep pit for the tent and a kitchen area. Attempted to practice with the ice axes but the snow was just way too soft. Spent the rest of the afternoon setting up camp, melting snow for water and practicing with the avalanche beacons. Ate dinner just after dark and went to bed a little before 8PM. Much colder this evening and got even colder not long after being in the tent. Decided to put long thermal bottoms on thankfully because the temperature plummeted over the course of the night. Day 3: Woke up around 6:30 AM and the temperature inside my pack in the vestibule after the sun was up was only 20 degrees so it probably had dipped into the single digits during the night. Made breakfast, packed up camp and on the trail by 9 AM. MUCH easier going today due to the sun we had gotten yesterday and because we could follow our compacted trail from the days before. Managed to cover the same distance in less than half the time. Stopped for 40 minutes near the dam at Lower Echo Lake to dig a snow pit on a 35 degree south-west facing slope for practice. Only one or two noticeable layers, all of which you could imprint with your entire fist. Our free-standing block failed during the tap test when using the arm from the elbow down on the third tap. Snow was quite a bit harder but still too soft for any ice axe or crampon work. Made it back to the parking lot by 12:30 PM Home-bound Travel: Left the Johnson Pass Sno Park around 1PM and made it back to Davis by 3PM. Distance is almost exactly 100 miles from the Sno Park to Davis. The highway was now completely clear given the beautiful weather the day before so there were no issues at all driving back.