We got the required permits and everything was looking good, but as we got closer to the time our resolve got weaker. We dropped back to a single overnight trip, and then our departure time from Sacramento slipped back through the day and we didn't get on the trail until 3:00 pm, a little late by any standards. We did however get to Lyon's Lake which is just a beautiful little mountain lake nestling below the granite peaks of Desolation Wilderness with just a hard enough climb up to it to deter many of the casual hikers.
We arrived in camp about 7:00 pm with just enough time to pitch the tents and cook a meal before it got dark. It was quite the tribute to Mike, since we all had inherited pieces of his camping gear - I had one of his tents, Paul had another tent, Brian had his backpack. Alas the one thing we didn't have was Mike - we had forgotten his ashes and they were back in Sacramento.
Still Lyon's Lake is really an idyllic camping spot so it was all well worthwhile. Unfortunately, however, while we went to sleep under a clear sky full of stars, at about 3:00 am smoke started drifting into the area and when the sun came up everything was hazy. Not the pristine clear wilderness experience we wanted and our throats and lungs knew that something wasn't quite right. So it didn't take much discussion for us to bail on our plans of hiking to Mt. Price and retreat back down the valley to the car and the road back to Sacramento.
The epic weekend of activity was a mere 6 miles hike in, a night's sleep (if that's what you can call it when you toss and turn every 30 mins wondering why you are doing this), and a 6 mile retreat in time for lunch in Placerville on the way home. I am sure we will do better next time.
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