As our final hike in the Desolation Wilderness this year, we decided to dayhike to see both Eagle Falls and Eagle Lake, which are located on a popular trail west of Lake Tahoe. It was a bit touristy, but we enjoyed it just the same.
Originally, we had planned to hike this trail with full backpacks, spending one night at Eagle Lake and the second up higher at Lower Velma Lake. But then we found out that you can’t camp near Eagle Lake, probably because it was too popular for too long, and Vicki didn’t think she could make it all the way to Velma in one shot. Since we had already camped at the Velma Lakes back in 2018, it was less important to us to do it again, regardless of its beauty. So we downgraded our plan to the dayhike option. We would join the rest of the crowd, for a change.
We lucked out and got a parking spot in the small trailhead lot, after driving here from our recent camp at Wrights Lake. Score! This place was busy. I got out our official daypack, an Osprey Stratos 36, which was the perfect size for two people on a dayhike in almost any conditions. It had a great hip belt, a wire frame with good airflow, and plenty of room for food, water, and the ten essentials. No, I don’t make money plugging their products; I just like them.
I filled out the self-issue permit at the trail kiosk and attached it to the pack, and we started hiking. Naturally, it began by heading uphill, like almost every Sierra Nevada trail. This is one of the hazards of hiking in high mountains. You have to climb them. This trail was popular enough that money and time were spent on making solid stone steps. And they weren’t too tall for bad knees! Vicki was delighted. As we climbed the views got better.
When we neared Eagle Falls there was a large crowd on the trail. Were we there already? I wondered. Yes and no. I could see the falls just ahead, but none of the crowd were looking at it! It had been upstaged by a mama bear and her two cubs! Mama was down below on Eagle Creek, presumably searching for berries to eat, while her miscreant, juvenile delinquent cubs were far above her climbing a tall pine. She made no effort whatsoever to climb after them. She’d probably been in this situation before. All she had to do was wait, and they’d be back. Searching for berries was far too boring for inquisitive cubs intent on exploration. Now, I make it a point to stay far away from mama bears and cubs as a general survival rule, but this time they were safely on the distant side of the creek. I just hoped they stayed there.
After that brief interlude of wildness, it was time to get to the business at hand: Eagle Falls. It was more of a steeply sloping cascade than a true plunging waterfall, but we liked it just the same. We were waterfall lovers, after all. The Winter of 2023 was large enough that there was still plenty of water flowing in Eagle Creek, even in September, and it was quite beautiful. But it must have been incredible earlier in the year.
With everybody busy peering at bears, this was the perfect time to check out the falls up close, and to cross over the sturdy footbridge. I took too many photos and videos, but only show a couple of them here. If you want more, you’ll have to take them yourself. Or ask me nicely.
It’s true that we planned to hike to Eagle Lake anyway, but we both had to admit that the quarter mile jaunt to the falls was far too easy. We needed at least a tiny bit of a challenge. I wasn’t sure that the lake would do it, but it did. At least for Vicki. It was long enough, and UP enough, to satisfy her.
We arrived at the spur trail to Eagle Lake about three quarters of a mile beyond the falls. This side trail was basically flat, and Vicki rejoiced. The uphill of the day was done. We continued onward, into the obvious bowl within the surrounding mountains.
We arrived at the lake and took a photo or two. Which way would we go? To the left looked bumpy, but this was also the route of the Eagle Lake Trail on my map. To the right, across the creek, was another trail, plus what looked to be some decent spots for fly fishing. So we rock-hopped across the outlet stream and continued, hoping to find a decent spot for a lunch break. And a fishing break.
It was one of those hot and sunny days, so we were happy to find an overhanging tree to eat our lunch beneath. I got out my Tenkara rod and attached the line. I cast it out again and again. Not a nibble! I also didn’t see a single trout. Usually in High Sierra lakes, the crystal clear water allows you to view the trout as they swim along the shore, utterly ignoring your proffered fake insect. But I didn’t see anything. Sad but true. Still, it was relaxing enough, hanging out in such a pristine location. Well worth the hike to get there.
But all good things come to an end, and we needed to get back to the car. We had a long drive ahead of us, southbound toward the town of Bridgeport, where we planned to do yet another backpacking trip before the final big drive home to San Diego. So I packed up the fishing gear and the snack remains, and away we hiked. This time it went much faster, as it was all downhill. Vicki was a Happy Hiker once again. Not that it stopped her from taking a short nap in the shade along the way.
This time, facing east, we noticed the great views over Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe. Views like that made for great excuses to stop and take photos, or to simply marvel at the loveliness of the Tahoe area.
When we arrived back at Eagle Falls the bears were nowhere to be found. Someone said that they went upstream, which meant that they must have crossed the trail near the footbridge, but that burst of excitement was long since over. Good. And I was glad to see some bears near Tahoe living in the wilderness, rather that eating human garbage every night. This is the way it should be.
We took a few more photos of the falls, but by this time the sun was getting too far into the west for proper lighting. It was time to move on.
All too soon, we were back at the trailhead. It was time to get a move on. But not until we visited the shore of Lake Tahoe. We drove into an Eldorado National Forest picnic area and took another short hike. This time we only brought a snack with us, and simply sat and relaxed on a sandy beach. It sure was a pretty lake.
All in all, we had a great time in the Desolation Wilderness. It’s not a large wilderness area compared to others, but I have to say that it has everything that a Sierra hiker and backpacker could ever want.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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