Pacific Crest Trail: Mile 1094 to 1159

Section K

Middle Velma Lake in the morning

Echo Lake to I-80 (Donner's Summit) – Sobo

Miles: 65

Hiking with: Solo

Lodging: We spent the night at the Truckee Donner Lodge.

Shuttle: Taxis.

Dining: Taco Bell next to the hotel. Echo Chalet (milkshake heaven).

Start: Donners Summit rest area along I-80. There is a spur trail about 1/4 mile long that gets you on the PCT.

End: Echo Chalet on the south end of Echo Lake.

People along the trail: About 20 people a day until I got to the Desolation Wilderness then it doubled. And even more around Echo Lake.

Description: I left Phoenix early Thursday morning and drove 12 hours to Echo Lake. There was a lot of parking for hikers although there were only a few spaces left and it was not signed as trail head parking. I had called South Tahoe Taxi to pick me up at 5 pm. They were right on time and found me promptly. I changed into my hiking clothes, threw my backpack into the taxi and off we went. We drove up the west side of Lake Tahoe to the Truckee Donner Lodge (an old Holiday Inn which was pretty nice). They charged me $100 for about a 1.5 hour ride. I walked next across the street to Taco Bell and ate dinner. I also discovered I forgot my belt so I bought a baby blue kids purse that had a long thin blue strap for $8, took the strap off and gave them back the purse. The strap worked well for my belt.

I got up early the next morning and called High Sierra Taxi who came and got me to the trail head by 6:45 for $30 (8 miles). I started at the Donner's Summit rest area and followed a trail going NE. I knew it would quickly cross the PCT & I was correct. The PCT had a large sign and I headed south. The first 4 miles to Donner's Pass & Hwy 40 was really nice with pine trees and large granite boulders and a lot of shade. South of Hwy 40 the PCT climbed up to the mountain ridge onto Squaw Valley Ski Resort. I was pretty tired after 14 miles at 8,000' elevation but I decided to continue on another 3 miles and 1,000' elevation gain to the next campsite. I probably average 2 miles per hour but the campsite was worth (it was protected from the wind and had a nice stream flowing 10 yards from it).

On the second day it was light by 6 am and by the time I ate and packed up camp and hit the trail it was 6:45. The trail followed the ridge line the whole day with spectacular views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierras to the west. Although the temperature was comfortable there was a lot of sun pounding down on me all day. After 14 miles I came to my planned campsite next to a creek and with a great view of Lake Tahoe. I say views of Tahoe -- it is at least 5 miles away.

On the third day I was on the trail again by 6:45 and had planned only 8 miles but I came across several hikers that said the place was Middle Velma Lake which would make it a 17 mile day. I decided I would go for it and was glad I did as this was the highlight of my trip. The lake was gorgeous and I was able to bath in it. Other campers went swimming.

On the fourth day I only had 17 miles left and decided to go all the way out. I knew it would be slow but all I had was time. This area was covered in lakes and was very scenic (although Middle Velma Lake was the best). By 2 pm I finally got to Lake Aloha which I thought would be really cool...however unlike Middle Velma there were no trees around it. From this point on the hike got hotter and I slowed down to a couple miles / hour. I know the hike was mostly down hill from this point on but as it go lower it also got hotter. Once I got within a mile of Echo Lake there were a lot of people. This is a popular hiking trail for tourists and I understand why - it's beautiful. You can hike from the South end of Echo lake to the north end and then ride a boat taxi back. I was tempted to take the boat taxi but I though it might be as fast to hike (I think I was wrong).

I finally got to the Echo Chalet and people were lined up for their Milk Shakes. I got a chocolate one with a turkey sandwich -- excellent!!!! I jumped in my car and drove down the road to a KOA campground, paid $5 for a shower -- money well spent!!!! I drove onto Tonopah, NV where I spent the night in a hotel and then drove onto Phoenix the next morning. Enjoy the Pics!!!!