Of melting snow, "falling horsetails" and a pyramid

The first time I saw the Horsetail Falls, I wasn't all that impressed. Due to the drought then and the late season, the waterfall had nothing but a tiny bit of water trickling down from the Desolation Valley. The current situation with record amounts of melting snow should give the falls a much more impressive character. In addition the hike from the Pyramid Creek Trailhead to Pyramid Peak offers one of the best fitness tests with the most elevation gain in the Tahoe area. Two good reasons for me to visit this area and pay another visit to the Desolation Wilderness.

In order to make the hike to Pyramid Peak a little different then before, I decided to also explore a different route as compared to my last visits. I planned to hike to the top of the Horsetail Falls and then head towards P. 8141 south east of Pyramid Peak and walk along the connecting ridge. However, "on sight" I found an even more elegant and directer way thanks to the snow which is still left in this area.

I start my hike at the parking lot of the Pyramid Creek trailhead ($5 for the day) and walk towards the falls. There are very many different possibilities do get to the base of the falls and due to the fact that this is a very popular hike, it is quite confusing which of the many use trails is the "right one". However, somehow all of them will take you there. The general direction is to stay left (west) of Pyramid Creek.

From the base of the falls to it's top there are also quite a few different possibilities, I choose to stay close to the waterfall, because (as to be expected) the amount of water which is currently rushing down is quite impressive to say the least. The closer you stay to the falls the harder the climb and some moves there are clearly rather exposed class III. Once at the top of the falls I turn left towards the P. 7874, bypassing it south. Looking towards the planned P. 8141 doesn't look as appealing and it is not obvious where to best gain the ridge. Looking towards Pyramid Peak is much more promising, not only is this the directer way, but thanks to all the snow left in this flank, I also immediately see a good line taking me to the base of Pyramid Peak's south ridge.

I cross a small drainage (tiny waterfall at this point) at around 8120 ft and then walk northeast to an altitude of about 8280 ft, taking advantage of the remaining snow fields and therefore avoiding scree. Still going northeast but keeping altitude now, I head towards the next and bigger creek to cross. With all the snow it's very easy to cross it, but I'm not sure it it's possible without it. I then gain the little saddle south of Pyramid Peak and walk along the ridge to it's top.

After a long break and enjoying the view down to the Desolation Valley I walk back down to my starting point more or less along the way I came up, enjoying the snow fields for sliding down where possible.