Lyons Lake retribution (plus Mt Agassiz and no-ski skiing!)

After our failed attempt to reach Lyons Lake, it is only natural that our next trip would set that straight. And so glad we did! What a lovely spot, it really captures the essence of the Desolation Wilderness (at least for me): large slabs of granite, beautifully scraped and sculpted by the glaciers.

(above) Alex setting up camp on the banks above Lyons Lake

 (above) Icy Lyons lake and the ridge line that obscures Mt Agassiz

 (above) Classic Desolation Wilderness

 (above) On the ascent to Mt Agassiz (following the drainage basin above Lyons Lake)

(above) The view to the east, Lake Aloha far below, and (probably) the Carson Range in the background

(ab0ve) Alex proves its impossible to fall off a mountain

(above) I follow suit...

Failed attempt to reach Lyons Lake (Desolation WIlderness)

The plan was a nice, gentle cruise up the Lyons Creek Trail to camp at Lyons Lake. Start around 7000' and hike up to about 8400', more or less following a creek and/or drainage basin... piece of cake, right? Right, except that early May in the Sierra is still capable of dishing full-on winter.

Long story short, popcorn sized hail started to fall at the exact moment that we pulled into the trailhead parking lot. It proceeded to intensify as we pulled our gear together, changed out of the shorts and T-shirts we had planned to wear, and threw food in the bear bins... from the length of the hail tracks you can infer the shutter speed of an iphone 5.. 10s of miliseconds I'd guess.

All of 100 meters up the trail I was already stopping to oggle the surprise contrast:

We danced over streaks of snowpack for about a mile.

Then, abruptly, the hail let up and we paused to look around. Grey skies, wet trails, high spirits.

Turns out old man winter was also just taking a pause. Within 10 minutes, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees and snow had started. Not gentle, cute snowflakes, but a full-on, take-cover blizzard:

Observe, winter wonderland:

This was about the point that we abandoned all hope of reaching Lyons Lake and began to scout for a nice slab of granite upon which to camp (which we found). Overnight low was a balmy 32 F...