Dicks Pass sign post

Lake Aloha below Pyramid Peak from Dicks Pass

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Dicks Pass: Backpacking through Desolation Wilderness

Hiking the Pacific Crest and the Tahoe to Yosemite Trails in Desolation Wilderness

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North: Fontanillis to Dicks Pass 2

South: South of Dicks Pass

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video: Backpacking to Dicks Pass, Desolation Wilderness

Backpacking to Dicks Pass from the North

Dicks Pass

Man, this place has incredible views. Dicks Pass sits on a great rounded "flat." On the South side of this flat there is a nice shaded place to take a break overlooking the lakes in the basin between Dicks Pass and Jacks Peak.

Beyond that sits Pyramid Peak with Lake Aloha at its Eastern base. A grand view.

Quite a nice place to take a break, have a snack, and take it all in.

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Dicks Pass, Desolation Wilderness

Desolation Wilderness

Meeks Bay to Dicks Pass

So far

Backpacking to Dicks Pass from the North

Elevation: 9390 feet, +1470' elevation increase from Middle Velma Lake. 3151' elevation increase from Meeks Bay.

Mileage: 4.51 miles South from Middle Velma Lake.

16.83 miles South from Meeks Bay trail head

11.88 miles South to Echo Lake trail head, 13.88 to Echo Summit

Hiking South from Dicks Pass to Echo Lake Trailhead

From Dicks Pass the vast majority of our trail to Echo Lake trail head is downhill. Small climbs from Susie Lake past Heather Lake to Lake Aloha are about it.

Here's the numbers

11.88 miles South to Echo Lake trail head from Dicks Pass, dropping a total of 2013 feet. You've got a couple of small climbs from Suzie Lake past Heather Lake to the North Shore of Lake Aloha, but its almost all downhill from Dicks Pass.

Hummm

If you're looking to make up some time by racing down the trail, this is the place to do it. You have almost 11 miles of down hill hiking before you. The trail is fairly soft until you reach Lake Aloha.

Instead of rushing through, I took some time to soak my aching feet in the ice cold pool at the base of Susie Lake's check dam. But there's often a conflict between the beauty of the terrain and your need to make miles. Try to plan your trip, and your daily hikes, to minimize this conflict.

From Lake Aloha you will be hiking on hard granite until you reach the forest margin at the Tamarack Lake trail junction just South of Lake Aloha. Here you depart the hard granite, exchanging it for a hard packed composite and rock terrain all the way to the Echo Lake trail head.

If the hard granite terrains of the Desolation Wilderness has pounded your feet, you are in for some relief when you exit the Desolation Wilderness: The trails through the deep mature forests of the Meiss Roadless area are noticeable softer than Desolation's hard granite trails.

mileage and elevations

View South from Dicks Pass


Final approach to Dicks Pass. Dicks Peak in near foreground.	Dicks Pass Sign Post has seen better days. It was downed behind a bush.

Ridgeline across to Jacks Pass from Dicks Peak. There's a trail from Dicks Pass to Dicks Peak.	Alta Morris and Half Moon Lakes nestled between the shoulders of the mountain, viewed dropping off the South side of Dicks Pass.

Above: Susie Lake. We will be hiking clockwise around the top of the lake for the little climb up to Heather Lake through the channel in the rock between the top and bottom of the Right side of Susie Lake. MAP

Above: A great view of Pyramid Peak in the far distance, with the late Fall remnants of Lake Aloha at its base. Jacks Peak sits across from our position with Half Moon Lake and Alta Morris Lake laying between our position and Jacks Peak. Above: Detail of Half Moon Lake, nearer to us, and Alta Morris Lake below the rock wall.

Above: Pyramid Peak and the late fall remnants of Lake Aloha at its feet. Ridgeline coming off of Jacks Peak in foreground. Off on the left edge of the granite apron around Lake Aloha is where Pyramid Creek runs off a cliff on its way down to Twin Bridges on Highway 50.

Above: Pyramid Peak detail.

South from Dicks Pass

The South side of Dicks Pass is a visual treat. At our feet between the descending shoulders coming off of Dicks and Jacks Peaks are a series of delightfully shaded lakes.

The colors of the lakes, from the various shades of crystal blues transitioning into a shimmering mossy green along the shores of Half Moon and Alta Morris Lakes, to the deep blue of Susie Lake, takes your breath away.

Well, maybe the climb up here and the altitude took your breath away.

To the West, beyond the series of little lakes nested in the crumpled terrain at our feet, the massive granite foundations of Pyramid Peak spread out from its distinctive summit.

The lateness of the season has depleted Lake Aloha down to a series of ponds held within the irregularities of its granite basin.

That's where we're headed. Check the map through this section, and match up the pictures with the map. We will pass through the terrain pictured above.

These sheets of granite flatten out enough below the Eastern side of Pyramid Peak to provide a granite basin, the Desolation Valley, to contain Lake Aloha. Our trail will follow along the Eastern shore of the remnants of Lake Aloha through Desolation Valley on our way down to the Echo Lake trail head.

This whole section is a visual treat.

North: Fontanillis to Dicks Pass 2 South: Down from Dicks Pass

Dicks Pass

From Dicks Pass' height of 9390 we will now be steadily losing elevation backpacking down to Echo Lake's elevation of 7414'.

Though you will still experience numerous little ups during this long downward hike, we will be going generally down mountain from here to the end of the Desolation Wilderness, and on to our next destination, The Echo Lake Trailhead..

Hiking Topo Map: Lake Genevieve to Phipps Pass Hiking Topo Map: Phipps Pass to Susie Lake

Miles and Elevations

Next page South: Down from Dicks Pass

Backpacking North

Trail Guide

Dicks Pass 2 to Fontanillis

Backpacking South

Trail Guide

Down from Dicks Pass