Desolation Wilderness - Aloha Zone

One of my top 5 favorite place to go backpacking. Love the feeling of being immersed in nature and the views of all the lakes. We took the water Taxi that shaved about 5 miles off our hike. Our first night we set up camp at tamarack lake then moved up to beautiful aloha lake. The best part of this is that if you don’t want to camp you can just go on a day hike

awesome trip.  we just did 20+ miles, from echo lake in, around, and out to Aloha before heading back over 2.5 days.  Aloha is kinda surreal.  and in places there are rock path in the middle where a person can walk in a few inches of water and appear to the viewer to be "walking on water"

it was hot in July...

Had a great time for 3 solid days at this lake and the area around it Very gorgeous views and friendly people around Didn’t see to much wild life but very peaceful

This is a great glimpse at what the High Sierra lakes further south look like... but better. Dispersed camp sites all over. (Make sure to follow signs and camp appropriately distanced from the lakes)

Camping here is magical! The 5-stars are not for facilities or accessibility, as this dispersed camping experience is really in the wilderness. You can hike in for 6 miles each way (12 miles round trip) via the Echo Lakes trail, or park and take the water taxi ($12) to cut off 2.5 miles of the hike each way. You must obtain an overnight wilderness permit, year round. The permits have quotas enforced April through September. Permits cost $5 per person per night for first night, or $10.00 per person for 2+ nights (14 day max). Campfires are prohibited, so bring a camp stove. They are serious about no trace here, to conserve the amazing beautiful of the area. So pack out your trash, and bury your poop deep!