Last weekend Casper and I hiked from Meeks Bay to Emerald Bay in 3 days. A delightful backpacking trip through the Desolation Wilderness in Eldorado County just west of Lake Tahoe.

Tatyana was attending a seminar in Boulder, CO that weekend so it was just Casper and me. We drove up Thu night, arriving after midnight at Lake Tahoe. Parked the car along the road to Fallen Leaf Lake Campground and slept in the car. Up at 7am to drive across Hwy 89 to Taylor Creek Visitor Center for a permit.

In my rush to leave home at a reasonable hour I forgot our bear canister even though I had it out. The last minute work interruption didn't help either. Luckily we could borrow one from the ranger station and we had enough food with us.

With permit in hand and parking slip in the car we drove the last couple of miles to Emerald Bay trailhead where we would end our hike. 20 minutes later we rode the Trolley to Meeks Bay for our starting trailhead. Some described the hike in from Meeks Bay as long and boring, but I found it pleasant and gradual. Always near a creek our breaks provided Casper with many play opportunities. This kept him engaged in our adventure.

We reached Crag Lake by 3pm and found a private camping spot on the west side of the lake. Thus far the mosquitoes had been annoying at times but so close to standing water they came out in droves. The result of snow in late spring. They were even worse than in Idaho and Montana (where we had packpacked the month prior). So bad in fact that we stayed almost our entire stay at Crag Lake inside our tent to escape them. They would never let up, not even in the middle of the night.

Next morning we were on the trail without delay hoping that moving to higher elevations would take us out of mosquito habitat. Which it eventually did, but not for the 1st few hours. On the trail we encountered a group of scouts who did the same trip as us. This motivated Casper immensely. He hiked faster then before and at one point even lead the entire troup on the climb to Phipps Pass. Thanks to our early start we reached Phipps Pass a little after noon, well before the heat of the day.

I was glad that we descended from Phipps Pass as the barren rocks and gravel made for dry and dusty hiking in the now noticeably warmer afternoon. Once back in the trees the mosquitoes returned and we had to keep moving to avoid being "eaten alive". I was starting to fear another tent bound afternoon and evening but to my surprise our site at Middle Velma Lake turned out to be free from mosquitoes. Perhaps to the slight breeze and the more rocky terrain.

We both had a refreshing dip in the lake and Casper might friends with a family camping not far from us --2 young girls with their parents and Shasta the dog. They came from Nappa and were on an in-n-out hike. The kids played together while I put the tent up and cooked.

After another night sleeping under the stars we hiked the last ~6 miles to Emerald Bay. Like the day before, the company of others was a big motivator to Casper. The descent to Eagle Lake turned out to be the steepest part of the trip and for that reason alone I advise agains hiking in the reverse direction (from Emerald Bay to Meeks Bay). By the time we reached Emerald Bay, Casper had hiked another 4 miles. All in all he hiked 12 miles in 3 days. A new record!

It worked out well, me hiking with a single 55 liter backpack. Though next time, I'll take the my larger Dana Design (70 liter) pack so that we can bring the tent's fly sheet. The extra space it provides would have come in handy at Crag Lake hiding from the mosquitoes.