Maggie's Peak
- meems
- Aug 5, 2016
- 5 min read
On Saturday July 30th, I decided to hike 8 miles up to Maggie's Peak in Lake Tahoe with my cousins and friend. To be completely honest with you, I was very intimidated by this hike based on all the research that I had done prior. I knew that this would be a rewarding hike with magnificent views, but I was very concerned with the steep elevation changes and the inclines. Never one to back down from a challenge, I decided to go on this hike anyway.
We left the night before to Lake Tahoe so that we wouldn't have to drive so far early in the morning. After checking in to our lodge, we hit the casino to test our luck for a bit.
The next morning, we were up bright and early and ready for our journey. We checked out of our lodge. We input "Bayview Trailhead" into the GPS and were on our way. This is a busy campground but the road takes you inside where there is limited parking. If you can't find any parking inside, you will have to park outside on the road and walk in. We got here at 8 AM and got the very last spot!
Us ready for our hike!
P.S. There are bugs everywhere and I got bit up the second I stepped out of my car. Load up on sunscreen and insect repellent right away.
In order to get to Maggie's Peak, you have to hike in the Desolation Wilderness. In order to hike in the desolation wilderness, you need to fill out a day permit (one per group) pictured at the entrance here. Attach the permit to your backpack. If you want to go to just Cascade Falls, a permit is not needed. After filling out the form, the desolation wilderness trail is to your right.
The route we decided on was hike to Granite Lake. From Granite Lake we will hike to Maggie's Peaks Saddle. From the saddle, we were going to go off the trail and hike to Maggie's South Peak. From all my research, Maggie's North Peak is a very difficult hike so I chose to just take us to the south peak.
There was a volunteer who had pictures and signs of the area and he was very nice. He was there to make sure you were situated and answered any questions that people had. It is my recommendation for those who plan to hike here to follow these signs and take pictures of the maps.
Beginning our hike. Let me just say that the first half mile of this hike is the most gruesome, painful, and tiring! I am an avid hiker and I swear, I wanted to turnaround before I even started.
We were going uphill immediately.
The trail is nicely paved, although at some points, I was nervous that I was going to lose the trail. That never happened until I got to the saddle where the trail ends.
Us pretending that we're not already dying only after a quarter mile into our four mile journey up to Maggie's South Peak.
Throughout our hike, we had magnificent views of Lake Tahoe.
Half a mile in, you can stop at this area for a beautiful view and some rest.
Some sights while walking.
You will reach Granite Lake after about 1.2 miles of hiking. This lake is perfect for swimming and relaxing. Many people stop their hike here since it becomes increasingly difficult to continue. We rested here until we were ready to continue on our journey.
The beautiful Granite Lake.
From the Granite Lake, we hiked about 1 mile to reach the saddle between the North and the South Peaks. We stopped here for some pictures and rest.
From the saddle, you don't have to walk very far to start your descent up the summit. However, you have to go off trail. If you keep on going through the trail, it will take you on to a different route. We kept on walking and eventually had to back track.
After getting a bit lost, we found this interesting tree on our way back to the beginning of the saddle.
After you arrive at the saddle, walk about 100 ft and look to your left. You will see the slanted tree pictured above, and a little indention on the ground left from other hikers. You need to head off trail and straight up this summit.
Keep on heading up this the summit. This part is extremely difficult but will be worth it once you reach the top. At some portions, it's hard to figure out which direction to go but follow footprints left by other hikers.
Some awesome hiker left stacked rocks to indicate that you're going the right way. These stacked rocks along with footprints got us to our destination.
We made it!!!
The view from above was spectacular.
Five lakes. Lake Tahoe, Cascade Lake, Fallen Leaf Lake, Granite Lake, Emerald Bay.
After our pictures, we stepped down from the rock because we were all scared of heights and ate our lunch right up there on the peak. We rested a bit and then made our way back down.
We conquered Maggie's Peak!
Thoughts about the hike:
This is not an easy hike and certainly not for everyone. I was lucky that my cousins and friend were so great about the whole thing. The elevation gain from the trail head to the peak we were on is about 1,900 ft. It took us 3 hours to hike up to the peak (including breaks and lunch) and 1.5 hours to hike back. That's how hard hiking up was! I carried my CamelBak with a 50 oz reservoir of water, an additional bottle of water, a sandwich and chips for lunch, an inhaler just in case one of us needed it, and my camera. All essentials for our hike! Although tough, this was definitely a great hike and I would definitely do it again. The one thing about this hike is that it can be quite dangerous for anyone. While we were hiking, we saw three firefighters who were searching for a lost man by the name of Gilbert Tang. They started after us and were still searching for him by the time we left. We never did find out what happened. If you find yourself wanting to hike Maggie's Peak, arm yourselves with water, insect repellent, sunscreen, and some snacks and use common sense. Be very careful and definitely know your body. It is well worth it when you make it to the top.
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