East Bank Ross Lake, Desolation Peak — Sunday, May. 27, 2018

Hiked the East Bank trail to Lightning Creek and then up the Desolation Peak. The trail to Lightning creek is in good condition, there were several downed trees and also a couple of stream crossings, where you need to balance on rocks or take off your shoes. Hiking poles were very useful there. The hike up to Desolation peak was snow free until about 1 mile to the top (the snow started around Desolation camp). That last snowy mile wasn't too bad either, no snow equipment needed (but hiking poles were useful once again). Navigation in snow can probably be challenging in the morning, but we hiked in the afternoon and just followed the footprints of previous hikers. All in all a gorgeous hike with terrific views of the lake and snowy peaks. A lot of wildlife as well: deer, marmots, birds, etc.