This was my first hike since my big Yosemite backpacking trip. I have not been motivated to get out hiking. Recovering. Small injuries. Car troubles. Mosquitoes. Heat. Whatever. The weather was good this weekend. I forced myself to get out. Just do it.
I drove up to the Echo Lakes trailhead on Friday after work. I have done this hike twice before (14 and 16 years ago) but both times it was late Fall. The waterfalls were not flowing. I have wanted to go back and see the waterfalls for quite a few years now but the timing was never right. This weekend should be perfect, finally. Sadly I did not have Journey with me. She was out of town with her mommy. This would have been a great hike for her.
It was very windy as I hiked along the Echo Lakes. That should definitely keep the mosquitoes away. There were also quite a few people on the trail. Day hikers on the way back. Backpackers heading up into the wilderness. The parking lot was almost completely full late on a Friday. But I got a good spot.
There are three waterfalls here and I wanted to see all of them (I did). The first stop was Ralston Lake. A tall fleeting waterfall drops into the lake and there is a short window of time to see it. Surprisingly there was a second waterfall as well and it was perhaps even better but it was in the sun and I did not have time to wait around. I continued to Cagwin Lake Falls, a pretty 28 ft. cascade. I had my dinner here on the rocks. When the wind stopped I was swarmed. Not by mosquitoes. By gnats! They were absolutely nuts and they don’t care about mosquito repellent. That is why it is called mosquito repellent, not gnat repellent. Instead of going back up to Ralston Lake I thought to continue cross country over to Tamarack Lake Falls. I wasn’t sure how difficult this would be or if it was even possible but it turned out to be very easy. It was a perfect little cross country loop to see three waterfalls. Tamarack Lake Falls is a very pretty 43 ft. drop (pictured here). At high flow I think it would be incredible.
It was an easy climb from the waterfall back up to Tamarack Lake. There were people camping along the creek above the falls but I wondered if they even knew there was a waterfall here. It is a bit hidden and unknown. It was 7:30PM when I got back over to the main trail. I had an hour until sunset and 3.5 miles to hike. I booted it back down the mountain and jogged as much as I could. I arrived back at the car at 8:40PM, just a bit after sunset. It was a marvelous hike in the Desolation Wilderness on a Friday evening.
