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We passed Mt. Diablo on our way to the wilderness.
Welcome to site 41! It was like we won the campsite lottery on this trip.
Our side yard.
The luxurious accommodations - please note each family had their own private suite.
Our own royalty watcher introduced us to the woodland queen (center pile of rocks), her two princesses (rock piles to left and right), and footmen (rocks on the ground).
We had our own private Matterhorn in the side yard.
It could only be reached via a treacherous trek.
Scaling this beast was not for the faint of heart or the weak of limb.
But it proved to be no match for our mountaineering team.
And that was all before breakfast. Unfortunately, after breakfast, the dishes had to be done.
Time for an aquatic adventure, which was not documented here. Let's just say it involved a rather intimidating flotilla.
After lunch, the mountaineering team took us on a circuit of the lake.
View of Wrights Lake (hike #1).
View of Wrights Lake (hike #1).
View of Wrights Lake (hike #1).
Ducklings!
Mama Duck was not far away, keeping a wary eye.
Amongst the other fauna, a family of California Loony Birds.
View of Wrights Lake (hike #1).
We reach "the bridge". Not sure what the ultimate significance of it was, but it seemed important at the time. And it provided a moment for us to observe the meadow.
Said meadow, which, I should add, was quite beautiful.
Without a doubt, the best part of any hike is the snacks.
We found the most efficient way to light our campfire was to use our high-tech headlamp to summon a firebolt from outer space.
Did it really come from up there?
The breakfast of champions - leftover s'more.
As you can see, breakfast was generally a high-stress event.
Time to take the 9-person tent down. Yes, you heard that correctly, a 9-person tent.
But it was no match for our team of demolition experts.
To get full benefit of the weekend, the hardier (read: more foolish) element of the entourage embarked on a second hike.
View of Wrights Lake (hike #2).
A rock shower?
View of the meadow (hike #2).
On the trail.
Emerging from the woods.
That sure is some blue sky they got there.
Les Américains sont tellement ridicule avec leur randonnée.
Desolation Wilderness? Oh sure, nothing to it. Yeah, we were all smiles on the way up.
Breathtaking terrain.
No shortage of desolation in this here wilderness.
Delightful mountain stream plus sunny day plus a vigorous climb equals...zzzzz.
No diving allowed!
The vista behind us as we climbed.
We reach Twin Lake #1.
Some blue lake to go with the blue sky.
The US Forest Service actually had a graphic designer in Palo Alto create this tree as a logo for the Desolation Wilderness and install it at the Twin Lakes.
We reach what I thought was Twin Lake #2, but now that I'm looking at the map, I think might be Boomerang Lake.
Regardless, it was lovely.
Alpine lakefront real estate.
Side view of yet another lake we passed.
Top view of same lake.
We reach Island Lake, unsurprisingly named for its numerous islands.
Island Lake.
Island Lake.
The islands of Island Lake.
The purple flowers of Island Lake.
Our descent begins.
A view of Twin Lakes showing the feeder stream coming off the snow pack.
It's not all desolation up here.
Rock formation revealing the story of how the mountains were formed.
The view as we saw it on the way down.
Someone very sad to see us (and our snacks) go.
Posted 1-Aug-2012 by James Spier
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