“There’s a heaven on earth, that so few ever find, though the map’s in your soul and the roads’s in your mind” Dan Fogelberg (The Wild Places)
It is very unsettling to have a sense of making a wrong turn when out in the wilderness. This is what happened when I hiked out of Echo Lakes to Lake of the Woods and beyond. What was intended to be about a 9 mile hike turned out to be 11 miles. The trail head begins at Echo Lakes Resort off of Hwy. 50. I had the choice to hike along Echo Lakes or to pay to take a water taxi across the two lakes. I decided to take the taxi, because then I could hike further out. I also planned on hiking back along Echo Lakes so as to save a bit of money and get the shoreline view. My first intention was to hike to Lake Aloha, but all of the talk was that the lake was low and not as desireable. So, I changed my plan and headed out to Lake of the Woods. Once again all of these lakes are in the Desolation Wilderness, so a day permit is required. This hike is considered moderate and there is steady climbing out of Echo Lakes into the Desolation Wilderness, which offers some fantastic views.
Like I said earlier, when I reached the junction I chose to hike towards Lake of the Woods instead of Lake Aloha. It was another steady climb and then a descent to the lake. Lake of the Woods is large, quiet, and beautiful. It is surrounded by many trees with many inviting places to relax and rest awhile. It would be easy to stay all day there and explore the different areas. I decided however, to continue on to see the other lakes that were ahead.
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Once past Lake of the Woods, I ambled through a shady forest, and then back out into the wide open and over Granite Boulders. I found a great spot to take in the gentle breezes and look out over Ropi Lake, Pitt Lake, and Avalanche Lake. I could also even see Hwy. 50 in the far distance. These lakes feed into Horsetail Falls below which is another popular hiking spot. As I sat there, I was once again amazed by the vastness and solitude of this place.
On my return journey, I came upon the junction and wasn’t sure which way to go…so I checked my guidebook. It said to turn right, but that just didn’t seem right. However, I decided I better follow the guidebook. Bad idea. The scenery was not familiar and I sensed that I was not heading back down towards Echo Lakes. After about a mile, I came across a beautiful pond, and knew that I did not see that on the way up. At that point, I decided I needed to get back to the junction and figure out which way to go. When I got there, the only direction that made sense was to go down in the direction of Echo Lakes. But that went against the guidebook. I decided to go that way, since it felt right (mental note: listen to your instincts). Well, what I had forgotten or not noticed, was that there were two junctions and when I got to the second one, it directed me to go right. I realized that this was the junction the guidebook was referring to. Needless to say, when I got back to the lake, I was too tired to hike the 3 miles of shoreline and took the water taxi back. I didn’t mind though, as the boat ride was beautiful. Although lost for a short while, I didnt feel panicked and even had a sense of never truly being lost in such a beautiful place. Maybe you’re not really lost when you are home…
