California: Desolation Wilderness-September 2020

Over Labor Day Weekend we backpacked for three days and two nights through the Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe, California. We camped overnight at 4Q Lakes and Fontanillis Lake, and covered a little over 20 miles.
*Music*
“Brighter“ by The Light The Heat
“Let It Grow“ by The Light The Heat
“Rest Of Our Lives“ by The Light The Heat
Licensed by The Music Bed, LLC
Instagram: / lylesuch
Website: Lylesuch.com

[@richardmcgowan716]

Used to love swimming and fishing all over Desolation. Wife and I spent our honeymoon in the Velma Lakes basin in 72. Magical times. Namaste

[@lylesuch4421]

Wow, that's quite a place to spend a honeymoon!! I bet you have wonderful memories of that area, I wonder how much it's changed since then. Swimming was our favorite part of hiking in Desolation, after a strenuous day in the mountains you get to have almost an entire lake to yourself!

[@garyji]

Videos like you've produced are a prime resource that I use for researching and planning future backpacking trips. I love that you include the scenic views, the trail markings, the Google Earth animation, and the huge variety of intimate, textural details that are part of the immersion into wilderness backpacking. Well done!

[@lylesuch4421]

Thanks! We also use KZbin extensively as research and have learned how valuable a well thought out video is in preparing for a backpacking trip. One other thing we're very careful about doing is presenting all the footage in chronological order so there is no confusion as to where/when the views, campsites, etc. are on the trail. Just wish we had more time to take more trips/make more videos!!

[@garyji]

@@lylesuch4421 "More time for more trips." Totally with you on that one. Be smart. Enjoy.

[@joshythehand2960]

My favorite place to hike in all of the u.s.. last time we went , we actually ascended up and over Ralston peak and came down into the valley.. instead of going up via the horsetail falls trail that 90% use. We followed a stream all the way up the mountain until we found its source.. a huge and maybe permanent snow pack.. it was amazing.. although we had heavy packs and the walk down was very steep and a bit sketchy.. a fall was around an 800 ft freefall if you slip. But worth it.. spent a day each at aloha, eagle lake, pyramid, and at a pretty small unnamed pond.. we caught a VERY large cutthroat trout. An amazing week

[@lylesuch4421]

Yeah, Desolation is a really special place. It helps that there are so few people once you get deeper into the wilderness. Having entire lakes all to yourselves is a rare thing to find out here. We had to cut our time there short because the air was smokey from wildfires, but we're definitely planning on going back for a more thorough exploration.

[@TTLBALLER]

I live here in Tahoe and backpack Desolation once a week during the sumner. Fontanillis Lake has to be one of my favorites! Nice video but don't spread the news to much 😜 just kidding plenty of room out there! Just say hi to fellow campers and bring a trowel (leave no trace)!

[@lylesuch4421]

As much as we complain about getting permits, it really seems like they are effective at keeping the crowds away. Have you been to 4Q Lakes a little further in? Amazing and really isolated! That feeling of being the only people on the lake is hard to beat!

[@frankblangeard8865]

One year later...South Lake Tahoe is evacuated and the Caldor fire has burned 177,000 acres so far. 8/30/21.

[@lylesuch4421]

So sad to see, and now all the wilderness areas are closed down!

[@danieldeemer]

Really great video! Can I ask how you rendered out that google earth graphic at the beginning?

[@lylesuch4421]

They have an "animate" function in Google Earth where you can record point-to-point animations. I end up rendering from Google Earth, then retiming in After Effects to fit my project.

[@danieldeemer]

@@lylesuch4421 hey thanks so much for the reply! I really enjoy your content, keep it up ! :) :)

[@fearthef-2250]

Do you need a wilderness permit to camp in 4Q Lake or Fontanillis Lake? Thanks for sharing.

[@lylesuch4421]

From what I remember while booking this permit, you need a permit for the entry point, then you're free to roam. We got the permit for the area near 4Q Lakes for the first night (which is a great area), then were able to choose where we would go after that. It's a hassle, but when you're there you can really appreciate how it keeps the number of people to a minimum. We only had a couple other people staying at the lakes, so for the most part it feels like you're alone. I think you have to plan pretty far ahead to get the permits.

[@joshythehand2960]

I'm not sure now.. but back in the day there were also capacity limits.. and for a summer hike/camp , you.sometimes had to book your permit months in advance. Be mindful about that. But back then you could also camp right next to the lakes.. now it's 100 ft away I believe. And you could have a fire.. it's all cold camping as of the late 90s I think