Jacks and Dicks Peak - Desolation Wilderness at its best

Dicks and Jacks Peak have caught my attention on many of my hikes in the Tahoe area already. These two mountains are both quite high (almost 10K ft) and stick out. You see them from many other peaks in the area. However, a day hike to these two peaks is about 14 miles long with an altitude gain of more than 4000 ft, no matter from which trailhead you start. I chose the Glenn Alpine Trailhead at the end of Fallen Leave Lake which would allow me to make a nice round-trip.

I wasn't 100% positive that the Fallen Leave Lake Road wasn't closed yet for the season and I couldn't find any online information about it either, so I had Plan B in my pocket as well: starting at Emerald Bay near Inspiration Point. It turns out that the road to Fallen Leave Lake and the Glenn Alpine Trailhead are still open and I can tackle my plan A. The hike up to Lake Susie is about 4 miles long and follows a very well maintained trail. I take a little break at this wonderful lake and then walk along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to Heather Lake.

Here I leave the trail in direction NW and walk up the little creek(s) which feed Heather Lake. The complete S-ridge of Jacks Peak actually looks very interesting. However, I would probably loose too much time by strictly following it, so I keep walking east of the ridge in the little valley along the small river to an altitude of around  9200 ft (T3). From here I walk up to the S-ridge in rather steep talus and get to it at a little saddle at approximately 9600 ft and then follow the S-ridge to the highest point. The way up is quite scenic with lots of nice views to all the different lakes of the Desolation Wilderness and the omnipresent Crystal Range West of me.

After a short break I then head over to Dicks Peak along the connecting ridge. The ridge is rather easy to follow (T4 / class 2), however, some freezing rain on the previous day/night makes the Jacks Peaks N-ridge a little (sp)icy and a tad harder than under snow/ice-free conditions. The Dicks Peaks S-ridge is a dry and more or less a walk-up.

After absorbing enough of the nice and clear view at the top of Dicks Peak I then walk down the NE ridge towards Dicks Pass. The snow makes this otherwise not very difficult ridge (T4 / class 2) a little harder as well. At the saddle I then get to the PCT again and follow it down past Gilmore Lake where I eventually get back to the Glenn Alpine path which takes me back to my car.