It was June 11th,1988, when the four of us Jim, Tim, Steve and Jay, went up highway 50 to Echo Lakes. This was the start of our backpacking trip to Aloha Lakes. But the main objective was to climb to the top of Pyramid peak.

It is possible to take a boat ride to the end of Echo Lakes. It would give you a 'fresh start', but we elected to walk the trail. The map below shows our route to the camp in pink (just for fun), and the orange line is how we tackled the mountain. It was still early in the season and the snow had barely melted. So there was lots of water and patches of snow on the ground. The weather also looked a bit 'iffi'.

I was familiar with the area because I had taken my daughters up there a couple times. In fact the first time we were with a group of three dads and six young girls. We made a loop that included the blue line to return to a car parked along highway 50. But that is another story. The hike along the two Echo Lakes is very scenic and nice. Then the path climbs across a ridge to where we made our camp right next to one of the many lakes comprising Aloha Lake.

Pyramid Peak is clearly shown above and the route would be along the left side. I remember there were huge boulders and the going was not steep but rough. However, it would be the next day for the climb. After we got settled at our camp, we took it easy for a while, took a nap dreaming of bearded rocks munching snow; or just sat around taking in the scenery and watching this marmot staring at us.

The next morning we woke up with beautiful, clear skies and we were eager to go to the top. Aloha Lake is rather strange with lots of little granite islands and dead trees all around us. This area is also called 'Desolation Wilderness', for good reasons. The water level was quite high and we had to detour several times as we made our way to the base of the mountain. As we climbed we could see the ski slopes of 'Sierra at Tahoe' to the south.

Above is a picture taken from Google Earth showing the route around the lake. At the top of Pyramid we had marvelous vistas in all directions. Again we see the ski slopes of 'Sierra-at-Tahoe' and in the center Ralston Peak (with patches of snow), and a sliver of Echo Lake.

Tim is pointing to Lake Tahoe, but futher to the right (south) we can see the large mountain of another ski resort, 'Heavenly'. Just below us, to the north, was a long stretch of snow and we were tempted to slide down part of it. But I remember from another trip that would be very dangerous; once you start sliding, it is hard to stop. So we went back the way we came. Notice again the extend of the lake and islands below.

I want to thank Jim for taking these great pictures. I had never seen them, but he contacted me recently and so it was nice to reminisce about this brief but neat weekend. At the time we decided to do another trip and it was Tim who suggested North Peak.