Bently Adventures Hike (well run) up to Velma Lake (10 miles)

I emailed Sienna to suggest that if there was no interest in her weekend hike, we could run it instead. I copied Tony on that too and he was very keen as well.

So, we met up at a reasonable hour and went for a little run. Sienna bought Scott (husband) and Heyduke (pretty dog) and they picked up Tony on the way.

The trail, on the South West side of Lake Tahoe in the Desolation Wilderness, led up to Eagle Lake. It was pretty steep going up but a reasonable trail and we walked the really steep sections. Here's a lovely view down to Eagle Lake (a nice spot for a swim it seemed).













On we ran, up beyond the lake, looking back to some amazing views...













We eventually caught sight of Lake Middle Velma but we above. I ran on expecting the trail to turn and lead us to the lake shore but after a while it appeared that it wasn't going to do that, so we sat down for a lunch of Cliff Bars and Sports Gel.

On the way back I got ahead a bit and scouted out the way to the lake shore. I eventually found it and called to the others. They had run on a bit and when they emerged over some rocks I realized there was water between me and them. Heyduke made short work of the crossing. I was being a bit lazy and decided to wade across too. It was a little deeper and more slippery than I expected, not to mention rather cold. Very refreshing though! Looking back, it was clearly another beautiful Desolation Wilderness lake.













I never cease to be amazed by seeing snowy peaks in August...












The run back was nice but the trail a bit rocky. Scott had fallen over on the climb up, pretty nastily and coming down was a little more dodgy. Everybody complained about the trail being unsuitable for running but I've found that running on uneven surfaces like this are a good strength training exercise. Running on tricky trails with people who descend extremely quickly is something I seem to have done a bit of before. Steve Field introduced me to that and more recently Dave Adams similarly disappeared out of sight very fast on a trip down Job's Peak (both are excellent climbers!).

Yet another awesome day out in the hills!