Hike Echo Peak, Jacks Peak, Dicks Peak, Mount Tallac Loop Eldorado National Forest, CA

Aug 08, 2024 — I don't understand why I haven't spent more time in the Sierra, and my newfound love for this massive range has grown to the point of obsession. Unable to sit still in one area on my road trip with all the cool places I need to visit bouncing around in my head, I decided to shoot up to South Lake Tahoe for a day in the Desolation Wilderness. The trail system within the Lake Tahoe Basin is extensive and beautiful, and the Desolation Wilderness hosts some of the best and most popular hiking in the area. I planned a big loop that traverses around the perimeter of the basin housing Half Moon Lake to reach a bunch of summits: Echo Peak, Keiths Dome, Cracked Crag, Jacks Peak, Dicks Peak, a couple of unnamed lumps, and Mount Tallac. I was particularly excited to see the famous Lake Aloha along the way. The majority of this hike is on well-maintained trails, but parts require steep off-trail hiking and even some light Class 3 scrambling. I decided to hike this loop to maximize the peaks by starting from the south side of Fallen Leaf Lake at the Glen Alpine Trailhead. A major benefit of coming from this direction is that, at multiple points, I could decide to bail using one of the many trails leading back to the trailhead. The road leading around Fallen Leaf Lake is paved but slow and tedious since it's very narrow and passes next to lakehouses that nearly touch the roadside.

To reach Echo Peak first, I started by briefly following the Lily Lake Trail until I reached a junction with the Tamarack Trail. The Tamarack Trail, though overgrown in parts, ascends steeply through dense vegetation before tackling a steep slope. I enjoyed views back toward Fallen Leaf Lake and Lake Tahoe on the horizon behind me. The trail wove up the slope, offering glimpses of Mount Tallac in the distance, the last peak on my traverse. Once above the slope, the Tamarack Trail ascends through a pleasant meadow and ultimately continues south to connect with the Echo Peak Trail. However, I veered off the Tamarack Trail just past the meadow in order to connect with the Echo Peak Trail more directly, a shortcut through the forest that saved some time. I stuck to the forest to avoid taller grasses, but it was a short and easy off-trail excursion. I reached the Echo Peak Trail and followed it to the north rim of Echo Peak, where it became unmaintained and less-worn. I received my first excellent views of the day from the boulder-topped summit of Echo Peak out toward Mount Tallac and Lake Tahoe.

After descending along the Echo Peak Trail to its junction with the Tamarack Trail, I joined the PCT for a short time. You could just stay along the PCT if the next two peaks don't interest you, but I couldn't pass up Keiths Dome and Cracked Crag, plus they have great views since they're located in the heart of the Deolation Wilderness. Leaving the PCT, I made my way to Keiths Dome via an easy walk with some rocky sections. I could see the traverse to come from Keiths Dome, and it was an easy drop back down to rejoin the PCT. I really enjoyed the forest walking along the PCT on the way toward Lake Aloha. Cracked Crag came into view, a minor summit with steep faces in all directions except via its southwestern ridge. I scrambled up Class 2 boulders to gain this ridge, where a social trail continued on with more light scrambling to the summit. Lake Aloha below me was stunning, a large alpine lake with islands of granite stretching north to south beneath the granite slabby slope of Pyramid Peak.

I backtracked along Cracked Crag's ridge and descended toward Lake Aloha, following the PCT along the lake's north side and savoring the scenery. The trail is constructed to efficiently avoid clusters of boulders and numerous little inlets of the lake but still has excellent viewpoints. Too soon I was on the north side of Lake Aloha and kept right at a junction with the Rubicon Trail, saying goodbye to the unique body of water. My next summit was Jacks Peak, a summit without a trail to reach it from any direction. Normally this peak is accessed via Dicks Peak as an out-and-back, but in order to form a loop, I decided to attempt a way up from the south. I left the PCT to ascend a steep slope toward Jacks Peak, navigating Class 2 talus. A weakness in this steep slope led to a tightly-packed talus basin at the base of Jacks Peak. I hiked through this and gained the peak's east ridge, steeply hiking to its summit.

The traverse to Dicks Peak from Jacks Peak involved one Class 3 move on the way down and plenty of Class 2/2+ on the way up. The descent from Dicks Peak via its east ridge has a clear social trail, though a short section is very loose and steep and certainly dangerous if there are parties below. I rejoined the PCT briefly, leaving it to ascend Peak 9579 via an easy grassy slope. The summit of this unnamed peak offered views of Lake Tahoe and the final stretch to Mount Tallac. At first, the descent slope was easy tundra with some brush I had to dodge, but the ridgeline past here to reach Peak 9376 was an unknown endeavor. It appeared somewhat sketchy on a topo map, but ultimately only required Class 2/2+ scrambling and only for a short time. I reached the minor nubbin of Peak 9579, which had surprisingly nice views, then dropped down to the saddle with Mount Tallac on easy terrain.

Joining the Mount Tallac Trail, I hiked up the tame switchbacks toward the summit, the final few hundred feet a bit rocky. I could trace my whole traverse from here, definitely a solid day that visited some of the best scenery of the Desolation Wilderness and the greater Lake Tahoe region. I backtracked to the Floating Island/Mount Tallac Trail, taking it for a bit until an unmarked junction with a lesser-visited approach for Mount Tallac. This trail is labeled USFS 17E06.1, a pretty unparseable trail name. It will be tempting to stick to the main trail that heads east down to Fallen Leaf Lake, but a slightly fainter trail continues south and almost seems like it's no longer maintained (and it very well might not be). Just after starting along it, the trail becomes fuzzy and might be difficult to follow for a short time before it meanders through a gorgeous meadow with various peaks poking out ahead. It then drops steeply down a gully before starting a long descending traverse along the steep slope on the south side of Mount Tallac. Overall the slope has a steep drop-off on the right, and one section of the trail has been carved into a rock outcropping and is a bit eroded. Some steep, tight switchbacks drop the rest of the way back to the Glen Alpine Trailhead.