Upper Velma Lake
MVP
Permethrin—I was a little dubious if this product would work, but my-oh-my, it works like a charm. I brought a long sleeve shirt that I treated with permethrin. Before I put on this shirt, there was a cloud of mosquitos that was attempting to eat me alive. After I put on the shirt, only a few brave mosquitos would bother me. Most just flew away because they didn’t like the smell of the shirt!
Camp Review:
Camping at Upper Velma was really nice. Upper Velma itself is a beautiful alpine lake that is centrally located around other beautiful lakes.
It’s backcountry camping, so there are no facilities, but at the same time, there are very few people around.
The water was cool and clean, which was really nice for swimming and drinking (through a filter, of course).
There is constant noise on the south end of the lake due to the creek that drains from Fontanillis Lake to Upper Velma Lake. It’s white noise, but still, not as great as silence.
There are plenty of trees, which provide cover from the sun as well as wind.
Mosquitos are definitely an issue around sunrise and sunset.
What I Learned:
I packed a used rechargeable battery, which promptly emptied before charging my phone. This meant that I had no battery on my phone for the hike out. This wasn’t a huge deal because I was very familiar with the location, but still, with my phone being such an important piece of gear (GPS, map, entertainment, etc), I will be carrying my big reliable battery in the future.
I also forgot to bring my emergency satellite communicator. I really need to pack this in the backpack the night before so that forgetting it is not an option.
I’m glad I carried my food, sunblock, and toiletries in the Bearproof canister, but man, the BV500 is heavy. I could really feel the extra 2.5lbs.
I ended up eating multiple cold-soak meals and they ended up being amazing. I’m totally going to continue to eat instant oats and granola on future trips. Also, dehydrated coconut milk makes everything taste better.
I also used Picaridin when I didn’t want to put on my long sleeve shirt and that ended up working out amazing too.
I ate some dehydrated meals from Wise Foods. The first was Strawberry Granola. That was super delicious and made me want to make my own with dehydrated ingredients. The other was Noodles and Beef, which was yummy going down, but gave me gas after. I think I’ll avoid this on in the future.
I wore trail runner shorts and they worked out swimmingly. I was cool during the hikes and didn’t have to change when I wanted to swim (just had to take my shirt off).
I also slept with a silk sleeping bag liner, and that worked out ok. It wasn’t super comfy, but I did feel that it was keeping all my other gear cleaner.
Because the low was only forecasted to be 60, I bought only the down throw. It ended up being 55 degrees, so it worked out fine, but any colder and I would have been too cold. I think next time I’ll just carry my down quilt just in case.
The NatureHike backpack worked out well, but the backpack did put a lot of pressure on my collarbone. I think I need to cinch my waist straps tighter in the future and also move the shoulder straps around my shoulders when I hike.
It was my first time using my new Nemo Hornet 2 tent, and while it’s super small (yes, it’s possible to fit 2 people, but it’s going to be tight!), it worked out really well. It’s light, doesn’t get condensation easily, and is very comfortable.
What Happened?
~13.2 miles, ~8 hrs 30 min, ~2916 ft of ascent (over two days)
I got to the Bayview Trailhead at 7:10am, and started hiking about 30 minutes after that. I wasn’t feeling hungry, so I skipped breakfast, and started up the trail. The trail starts steep and stays steep for the first few miles, but despite that, I loved the shade from the trees and I was happy to find that there weren’t too many bugs on this part of the trail (which means I can wear my short sleeve shirt). The views from this portion of the trail was just gorgeous, as you can get great views of Emerald Bay, Fallen Leaf Lake, and, of course, Lake Tahoe.
The first point of interest that I came across was Granite Lake. It was a great spot for a break, so I got down to the water and wet my handkerchief. While doing that, I realized the hundreds of tiny fish that were near the shore. The last time I had seen that many fishes were probably in Hawaii, at Queens Bath. But, I knew that every minute wasted was going to be every minute that I overheated later, so I started up the trail again.
After some really steep switchbacks, I was at the top of Maggies Peaks (I found out that the peaks are named after a well endowed barmaid!). At the peak, I walked around and enjoyed the views to all the cardinal directions. I then sat down and noticed a fellow hiker who had passed me on the trail. We had a great conversation about food, travels, and our lives, while I ate my strawberry granola meal. After a good 20 minutes of resting, it was time for me to get going again, and for Hiroumi-san to get back to his car. We took a selfie together and we were on our respective ways.
From here, the trail was way easier, as it was mostly downhill. On the way down, I did get a small glimpse of Azure Lake, which was where I originally had planned to go when I booked the overnight reservation. But I was headed to Upper Velma, which was another 3 or 4 miles to the west.
After steady hiking, I got to Upper Velma, and the lake was just a beauty. I loved the mix of grass, trees, granite, and water. I crossed the Upper Velma outlet by jumping over rocks and hiked to the southern end of Upper Velma. When I got there, there was no one there, and I got my choice pick. I counted 100’ from the shore and set up my tent on a prime spot. I setup my tent and went for a quick swim.
I found the southern end of Upper Velma Lake to be extremely shallow. So even 20’ from the shore, the water was only two or three foot deep. This made it a poor swimming spot for me, but it’d be great for little kids. Still, I was hot, and so getting in the water and cooling down was the best kind of respite.
I then boiled some water and ate Noodles and Beef for a late lunch. I used my bear canister as a chair and had this choice meal right next to the lake shore, under a shade provided by a tree.
After lunch, I decided that I wanted to hike more, so I hiked the Fontanillis Lake loop.
I came back around 5pm to find that other campers had arrived to enjoy Upper Velma with me. After walking around and taking pictures, it was dinner time, but I didn’t feel hungry at all. So I just ate half the oatmeal that I bought for Monday’s breakfast.
After dinner, I washed up a bit, brushed my teeth, and got ready for bed. Mosquitos weren’t a huge problem, but when it got close to sunset, they came out in force. I only got bitten in one or two spots, and that was because I had taken off my permethrin treated shirt for a sweater. I got in my tent by 8pm and enjoyed the sunset from there. I think I ended up falling asleep by 9:30pm, which was great because I got up at 6am the next day, as that’s when the sun came up.
I woke up and walked around Upper Velma on a morning stroll. I then ate the rest of breakfast, packed up my tent, and started my hike back. I had run out of battery on my phone at this point, and I was dreading the negative voices in my head but they were quiet. I rather enjoyed the quiet walk back to the Bayview Trailhead. I did give a loud hoot every quarter mile or so, just in case I was being too quiet for bears. The hike was enjoyable (as I’m finding almost all my morning hikes) and I got back to my car in 1/2 the time I took to walk to Upper Velma.
