My hike at the Desolation Wilderness falls nothing short of its mystical beauty as if we were in a land before time. I had hear so much about this region of the sierras and keep in mind every part of this range is unique in its own way. The Desolation Wilderness however is southwest of Lake Tahoe and its known for having dozens of lakes and mountain peaks.

To be honest with you the area is so large that there is no way to see it all in one day just as there is no real way to get into it accept for hiking via foot.

Over the years I have always felt that the paranormal should be shared with friends and family. Allot of times I take my family on outings with me as I want them to learn things. Its so important that at a young age we develop our abilities. However the Desolation Wilderness is not a place you should ever enjoy alone it is meant to be shared.

This wilderness is also home to allot of Bigfoot activity and once you experience it yourself you will also come to believe. Its so vast full of dozens of trails each one going off on a different journey to some unseen lake shadowed by its glorious trees and rock islands.

I was excited its allot of fun to pack up the gear load it in the truck and just go off on another adventure. I have a good feeling that the adventures our society will commit to will be beyond anything your ever going to see across the web. The wilderness is where it is at especially when there is over 60,000 acres of it in the Desolation Wilderness area.

Our journey would take us to a place called Echo Lake and on the way up I passed a really old cabin. I can only imagine how at one time it would be like to live in a little cabin up here during a 10 foot deep snowstorm. The cabin seemed to be falling apart so I guess that I had my answer as it greeted me prior to our hike.

I was in for a long adventure one that would take us from the morning hours to very late at night as we traversed up to the Lost Woods Lake area passing many fallen ancient trees to glacier lakes.

Desolation Wilderness

I was amazed at how many people were hiking on the main trail. Some of these people had to be 80 years old and they were hiking for miles on the Echo Lake Trailhead which eventually splits off into a maze like series of trails.

Our hike would take us up along lower and upper echo lake as we started off at a small harbor that would take us to lake cabins. Generally the one way to reach such places is either by boat or on foot. I would cross a bridge where I read a memorial about a couple who vanished in echo lake only to never have been seen again.

I had come to realize that the reality of people dying here happens all to often for some. For example last month ago a man was mauled to death by a bear. I take no chances I am always armed however by no means am I afraid to fight the beast unarmed either. That is what being in the wilderness is about its about survival of the fittest and so with that attitude that is going to get me allot further when chasing Sasquatch then curling up into a fetal position crying mommy lol.

The Echo lake trail was fairly rugged we were on in the sense there was allot of smaller rocks the size of your fist. So spraining an ankle or having allot of stress onto your knees was a huge factor. Some trails we go on have giant boulders while others have soft sand or dirt. However allot of loose rock that moves around allot really at times made the hike a bit more challenging.

At times the trail became very narrow but the views of the granite cliffs and crystal clear lakes from above were stellar. This goes with the fact that before I started my hike I was able to photograph some scenic photos of Lake Tahoe from this region.

Honestly I felt to myself how with all these people will I ever find Bigfoot but then as I hiked deeper in the reality that this place has something strange going on started to set in. I was not imagining it that is why you bring your family so that way if your hearing things they can tell you no dad you are not lol.

We reached a summit that overlooked upper echo lake where I climbed some rocks stood up on top capturing an awesome scenic photo looking down into a giant canyon. This canyon was filled with both of the lakes as I looked down atop of the forest. This area was so open at least a mile or two across with miles of scenic country that resided before my eyes. I stood at the overlooks and realized I am very small compared to the size of the Desolation Wilderness. At this time I was only about 5 miles in and even that was miniscule.

The trail would eventually turn into the Tahoe Rim trail however the lake is on the other side of these massive mountains. I could see as I was hiking that a storm was coming in from the west. The skies were darkening and I knew we were to deep in. The deeper we journeyed the less people I seen hiking.

I was amazed at how many friendly folks were hiking here. By the time I made it home from this area I must had talked to over 30 hikers that day. Everyone is so friendly which reminds me of why I enjoy living near here. I constantly meet new friends all the time and find that many of the people enjoy the outdoors as much as I do.

As I looked behind me Echo Lakes became further away and very soon the forest would thicken. As I entered into the woods between Lake Aloha and Upper Echo Lake I heard this long bellowing scream that carried on for at least 4 to 5 seconds. I have heard these screams before on other Bigfoot hunts but this one was miles away so it probably came from the deeper area of this region of the wilderness. My son also heard the scream and so I knew that I wasn't hearing things.

The deeper I went in the more I was intrigued as I admired snow capped peaks, granite rock formations, meandering trails and fallen ancient trees. I had to make a decision the trail would start to begin splitting off each path taking you to different lakes and peaks. I passed another lake called Tamarack which looked inviting but my goal was to get in deeper then that so I could have a Bigfoot encounter.

I met a huge group of people who were coming for Lost Woods Lake they warned me that nightfall is setting in and that it may rain. I was thinking to myself if these people only knew what we do then they would realize that I want it to get dark that is the best time to have a close encounter with Sasquatch.

I decided to cut to my left where it would take me up a place called Lost Woods Lake which was a 1 mile trail off the main one that switch backed through meadows and tall grass. Eventually we would come on out at the lake where we would follow it shore around to an area with great views of Pyramid Peak ahead. As I hiked in the woods there was a couple that had a tent on the lake in the woods. They were very friendly and I noticed they brought back with them a case of Blue Moon now that's dedication lol.

I came on out to a clearing the lake was still and we rock climbed up onto a peninsula where we would have a picnic dinner. I would continue to follow this lake as my goal was to at least to find a soft shoreline area where tracks may be present. I had noticed the entire lake shore was rocky thus finding tracks would be hard unless we searched further on.

Tammy and Richard stayed behind meanwhile Jarrod and I would push on since we both had enough energy to continue forth. We turned on the radios then we made our hike along this trail that followed the lake then went off into the woods where we found this giant mountain composed of granite slabs it was phenomenal.

The trail eventually took us out to the lake shore once again where rocks as tall as houses blocked our path. We climbed between them then started climbing up and out of the rock formations. This would lead us down a rock path where we found two caves/dens and a soft patchy small area with tall grass and mud. We searched the tall grass for impressions I didn't find any tracks. But what I did find is that the grass prevents the forming of tracks because it is thick. I could tell that something big had came through who or what I may never known.

I did go inside both of the dens not one sign of an animal had been living there however there were signs that perhaps a human at one time burned a long inside of them. I am not sure though this raises the question of can Bigfoot utilize fire to retain some warmth? Lets face it in the winter the sierras can get easily over 20' of snow. Sure food is abundant but how do you survive the cold? Either with a very thick hide or a more sophisticated means.

I didn't see any human tracks in the caves however some burnt firewood was present inside of them so we can only speculate. The funny thing is the caves were hidden and it was one hell of a climb to get to them as this location sits very hidden from public eyes.

I received a call on the two way radios of distress from Tammy. Apparently across from where we were picnicking at she heard a man scream followed by a gun shot. She asked for me to hurry back so that is when I had to wrap up the exploration back by these caves. Behind them was a trail that went off in the woods probably more then likely heading on off to Lake Aloha. It was not a very well used trail but it did interest me as it meandered through the woods with no trail markers.

I had to climb up to the top of the rocks then work my way down for 20' it was not easy as there was a ledge and a very not so nice fall. Jarrod is much smaller so he can squeeze between rocks however for me I found out it was allot more challenging to have to climb down into this crevice and back onto the trail where we came from.

I did make it back to Tammy the sun was setting it was time to pack it up. I am not sure why someone screamed then shot there gun maybe a wild animal who knows. I do know that sound travels out here so even if you think its close by its not always as close as you think which makes it allot harder to find Bigfoot.

We did get some sprinkles on us as some rain had set on in and the sun was going down. Hiking for miles in the dark would be interesting as I was able to get a feel for both day and night here. As we made are ascension to the main trail we heard what sounded like something being chased down and killed. I heard 3 screams followed by a final one that sounded as if it had been killed. The kids asked me what it was I have no answers Tammy said it could be a rabbit but its hard to say. Whatever it was seemed in distress and it was loud. Whatever it was I am thinking didn't make it either!

You can only speculate since you are in the woods there are bears and mountain lions which hunt smaller animals. Nonetheless the sounds were quite chilling and we knew we had miles to get back to our truck.

We hiked in two separate groups a quarter of a mile apart for the longest time. The stars were all out as nightfall had set on in. The kids seemed to be handling it well to them it was just a night hike. However for me I knew this would give me a chance to see if the rumors are true about the heavy Bigfoot traffic found in this region.

My curiosity would became a reality for the truth as Tammy and Richard were very far ahead I decided to take a break. I was heading back near Tamarack Lake when all of sudden something starting running full speed down the trail behind me. We could hear whatever it was had to be monstrous and it was breathing heavy. We were being chased by something and it raised a red flag. Whatever it was had been breathing super heavy through its nostrils and it was coming closer and closer. It sounded like nothing I ever experienced and I knew it may have been my closest encounter yet with a Sasquatch.

I felt like whatever it was had been unhappy that we were standing around on the trail and it wanted us gone. Maybe we were in its territory or looking around to much. However how do you film or photograph something you cannot see? Jarrod and I began to move away from whatever this was catching up to Tammy to warn her something big is booking towards us. Tammy didn't hear it how could she afterall we were almost a half of mile behind when this incident occurred.

Tammy theorized it was a deer but I have heard deer calls this was something breathing heavy in and out. It was big and it was on top of us. Hell it may have been above us as we stood below this big rock formation. I knew we were not along here.

From here on the weather cooled down a bit but it was a very quiet hike. There was no hikers out here for miles just us heading down a narrow path in desolation. I didn't see any animals the entire hike not even a deer perhaps to much activity of humans which has chased them further into the thick. However I can actually say this time around something chased me.

We would make our way for many miles back to our truck at night it was so dark there was no moon but all the stars were out. I could not see any of the lakes or scenery it just was a narrow dark trail that eventually would take us back to the harbor were the garage light and restaurant had dim lights at. It was great seeing those lights as I knew that we accomplished a really great adventure into the heart of true desolation.

I did find one cool thing on the way back to the truck at night. This was an ancient tree thick enough where it would take at least 8 people to hold hands to cover its circumference.

Do I believe Bigfoot may be prominent in this region? You bet your ass I do not all my experiences could have been coincidences. Sure some have reasonable explanations but I get the feeling that not all of them that occur in these woods do. Some folks go in and are never seen again here. Meanwhile some go on in and come back home awaiting burial. This perhaps goes the same with any wilderness however you will come to learn through us this is no ordinary place.

We were all tired when we arrived back we must had hiked around 14 miles. I had cold root beers back at the truck in a cooler a nice little bonus to the end of the night. Nobody had any falls accept for me I lost footing on the trail nearly almost falling down a steep hill. I caught myself but this just is a lesson to those who are great hikers know that sometimes its as simple as losing foot because a rock slips out from under your feet so you always have to exercise caution.

I look forward to future explorations here perhaps delving into the Bigfoot phenomena even much deeper here on future trips.
Lord Rick
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