Start at Crabtree Trailhead.Day 1: Camp Lake, Piute Lake, Gem Lake, Jewelry Lake, Deer Lake, Buck Lakes. From the south, the wilderness is accessible from Cherry Lake, along the border with Yosemite National Park. Our plan was to skirt the eastern shore of the Upper Lewis Lake, but the topography (just out of view to the right of this photo) looked too cliffy and complex. In fact, I hadn’t seen a single fresh human track on the trail since Emigrant Lake. ICELAND LAKE & EMIGRANT WILDERNESS. It offers a much higher starting point than the nearby trailheads of Crabtree(7100ft) and Bell Meadows(6500ft). Emigrant Lake was much larger than any of the lakes I visited the day before. Ridge Lake. The Emigrant is most easily accessible from Hwy 108, with many visitors entering from near Pinecrest Lake or Kennedy Meadows. Looking south from Granite Dome peak, Long Lake is visible in the distance. Deer Lake rests deep in the Emigrant Wilderness amidst dozens of other lakes, each one as scenic and inviting as the next. From there, I had another 15 minutes to the Crabtree Trailhead. Chewing Gum Lake is a beautiful little camping spot not far inside the Emigrant Wilderness. I picked up my Emigrant Wilderness permit at the Summit Ranger Station right after it opened at 8:30 am. The rocky shore dropped deep into the lake and offered trout places to hide. The descent to Huckleberry Lake was painful. Precipitation averages 50 inches (1,300 mm) annually, 80% of it in the form of snow. I ate dinner, watching the sunset reflect off the calm lake. Daytime temperatures were in the low 60s and nighttime lows int the 20s. Gaps in the trees offered occasional glimpses of granite cliffs and the views ahead. Day 2: Emigrant Lake, Maxwell Lake, Huckleberry Lake, Letora Lake, Cow Meadow Lake, Wood Lake.Day 3: Buck Meadow, Grouse Lake, Pine Valley, Crabtree Trailhead. And we were not alone. She's one of those athletic types, so we let her carry the stove and water filter to slow her down. I packed away my rod and continued along the lakeshore. Some of the extra weight could be offset by not bringing a tent as there wouldn’t be any mosquitoes this late, and there was no rain forecast either. But the path that paralleled East Fork Cherry seemed to double as a riverbed during spring. Contains rainbows and brookies, some in trophy size. I woke up as the sun began to illuminate the mountains. Inflammations should take longer than that to develop, I thought. It looked like the trail didn’t get much traffic. Even so, I wanted to push a bit further so I could walk back to my car the following day. The most recent groups were the Sierra Miwok of the western slope and Piute of the Great Basin. Many other trails criss-cross the Emigrant Wilderness, from Leavitt Meadow on the East side, Kennedy Meadow on the West side, and other trailheads. Like Yosemite, it has towering granite mountains and spectacular alpine lakes. A small stream that flowed through the field had frozen overnight. Hi, just talked to a friend who says trying to reach Buck Lake on day one is really ambitious. When they wrote "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" they were in the Emigrant Wilderness. It is an elongated area that extends northeast about 25 miles (40 km) in length and up to 15 miles (24 km) in width. Locale: San Francisco. The last climb up to the trailhead offered a new landscape of volcanic rock and bright-yellow aspen. Instead, I headed South, toward Huckleberry Lake, passing Blackbird and Maxwell Lakes. Fortunately, the other end of the lake was much more suitable for camping. I had time for one last weekend trip to the Sierra before winter. When I got to the West side of the lake, I was disappointed to notice that it was a shallow, swampy lake. Elevations range from below 5,000 feet (1,500 m) near Cherry Reservoir to 11,570 feet (3,527 m) at Leavitt Peak, but the elevation range of most of the popular areas is 7,500 to 9,000 feet (2,300 to 2,700 m). I planned for a short first day, stopping either at Jewelry Lake or Deer Lake. A Wilderness Permit is required for every party camping overnight in the Emigrant Wilderness. Hope you did well. October 4 - 6, 2019. It was the first weekend in November last year, ← How to plan an ultralight backpacking trip, San Francisco Bay Area overnight bikepacking trip →. I think Gem and Jewelry lakes would also have made good campsites. To the north you can see the lakes directly below the ridge and further down to Relief Reservoir. Emigrant Wilderness is in Stanislaus National Forest, North of Yosemite. Follow the road to a T and turn left onto Crabtree Rd. Trailhead: Start by heading up to Dodge Ridge Ski Area on Highway 108, and turn right towards the cross country ski trails/experimental forest (just before reaching the lift area). Our six-day on- and off-trail journey to remote lakes of the Emigrant Wilderness traverses a glacially sculpted landscape with broad granite expanses, rushing mountain streams and deep canyons. [1], Various native peoples occupied this area for 10,000 years, spending the summer and early autumn hunting in the high country and trading with groups from the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Wilderness Permits. You could spend days exploring the area around Deer Lake and never grow weary of your exploits. Over the 4th of July weekend, my friend Blair invited me out on a girls’ only trip out to Granite Lake in Emigrant Wilderness. I decided to sleep under the stars without the tarp. Time-lapse of Ridge Lake at Emigrant Wilderness. I pulled out the barbless hook, snapped a quick picture, and released it. A decision by the Stanislaus National Forest to compromise and leave some dams to naturally deteriorate while allowing maintenance of others was overturned in court in 2006, reigniting some of the controversy. The northeastern third of the Wilderness is dominated by volcanic ridges and peaks; the remaining areas consist of many sparsely vegetated, granitic ridges interspersed with numerous lakes and meadows. In September–October 1852, the Clark-Skidmore party became the first emigrant group to travel the West Walker route over Emigrant Pass, continuing through a portion of the present-day Emigrant Wilderness. I didn’t see any signs of fish, so I continued hiking to Buck Lakes. Suddenly, I saw a big trout come up for a bite. Granite Dome to Ridge Lake and Iceland Lake is a 24.6 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near Pinecrest, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. In addition, three major deer herds – Jawbone, Yosemite and Stanislaus herds – live in Emigrant Basin. Emigrant Lake: 140 acres at 8827' elevation, about 15 miles from the trailhead. It was way too big for me to eat, especially right after breakfast. Every step I took on my left foot resulted in a stabbing pain near my heel. You didn’t report much on your fishing adventures. Several more emigrant parties were enticed by officials from Sonora to use this route in 1853, but it was a very difficult passage with many hardships and was soon abandoned. 15-25 miles a day is in the super human category! Highlights include cliffs in the Granite Dome area and lakes such as Emigrant Lake, Huckleberry Lake, and Lake Lertoria. The trail passed through a pleasant pine forest. It felt like plantar fasciitis but had appeared suddenly. The lake is nearly 2 miles long with good camping on either end. My water bottle had frozen overnight, but I slept warm. The evening was chilly, but I stayed warm by my campfire. This trail goes by Camp Lake and Crabtree Camp. To the south you can see far into the distance, across Emigrant Wilderness and towards the peaks in Yosemite, Long Lake with its little islands is prominent in the valley below. Along the way we found a smoldering fire in a large log and extinguished it .. apparently someone had built their campfire against the log and not put it fully out. Deer Lake has great rainbow fishing. Since there are no trailhead quotas limiting the number of people who may enter each trailhead in the Emigrant Wilderness (except Kibbie Ridge/Lake), you do not need to reserve your permit ahead of time unless you are picking it up after hours. My main concern was to stay warm at night. Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front, California State Mining and Mineral Museum, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area, University of California Natural Reserve System, Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emigrant_Wilderness&oldid=992361095, Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Protected areas of Tuolumne County, California, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from public domain works of the United States Government, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 December 2020, at 21:30. But the impact was forceful enough to cause a big bruise and my foot to swell up. The night was wind-still, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. With my go-to adventure buddy stuck taking pictures of coffee shops in Montreal, I’ve been enjoying hitting the trail with some new faces. I gave it a few quick jigs and boom–the trout slammed the fly. Some are wide, classic mountain lakes while others are quiet, little gems hidden away in the forest. The lake is considered a premier destination for the Emigrant Wilderness. The Trail to Deer Lake Wildflowers, Panoramic Views, Tranquil Lakes. Dogs are also able to use this trail. This past weekend, I headed up to the Emigrant Wilderness just north of Yosemite with my good friend Alex. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished into the dark. I picked up my Emigrant Wilderness permit at the Summit Ranger Station right after it opened at 8:30 am. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from May until September. I planned a 3-night trip to Emigrant Wilderness to fish Emigrant Lake and some smaller lakes. The trail consisted of loose rocks ranging from the size of a grape to a football. Gluttons for punishment, we went back to the Emigrant Wilderness again, this time with Nikki, Steph's friend, in tow. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from April until September. They were uniformly lovely. It is bordered by Yosemite National Park on the south, the Toiyabe National Forest and the Hoover Wilderness on the east, and State Route 108 over Sonora Pass on the north. It is an elongated area that extends northeast about 25 miles (40 km) in length and up to 15 miles (24 km) in width. This area is entirely within Tuolumne County, California and is approximately 140 miles (230 km) east of San Francisco, California and 50 miles (80 km) south of Lake Tahoe. Since 1975, 18 small dams in the Emigrant Wilderness have been the source of an unresolved political debate. I stood and watched the lake for a few minutes. I passed through some of the most impressive granite landscapes of the whole trip. Five miles from the trailhead, I ran into a group of hikers. The trail followed the edge of a large meadow on the Northside of Upper Buck Lake. Part of Granite Dome visible on left side. Summers are generally dry and mild, but afternoon thundershowers occur periodically and nighttime temperatures could dip below freezing anytime. The temperature had gone from freezing to summer in the hour I had been on the trail. I found a cliff overlooking the lake with a fire ring and a sheltered spot for my sleeping pad. Some support proposals to maintain the dams while others feel the dams should be allowed to decay in keeping with the Wilderness Act. But Ridge Lake and its companion were full of fish, as was Summit Creek.) On January 4, 1975, the Emigrant Basin Primitive Area was designated as the Emigrant Wilderness.[1]. [1], In 1931, the United States Forest Service designated this area for primitive management as the Emigrant Basin Primitive Area. A ranger that I met on the trail the day before said that he’d heard anglers catch 25-inch trouts there. At this point, it had been over two full days since I’d seen another person, and over a day since I’d even seen a footprint. In addition, I brought down pants and wool socks to stay warm in camp. Activities in Emigrant Wilderness include hiking, swimming, fishing and hunting. Good to know. I planned to camp at Wood Lake. The 4.5-miles hike to Chewing Gum Lake passes among wildflowers and has panoramic views of … Only 25 people may obtain a Wilderness Permit to Kibbie Ridge/Lake, but due to damage from the RIM fire only 10 people may obtain a permit to Lake Eleanor per day in these areas per National Park quotes. It was still near freezing when I started my backpacking trip. At the time, I didn’t think much of it as the pain subsided in minutes. Unfortunately, it did not seem to have any fish. @nel250. Wearing both a fleece and gloves, I started climbing. The trout leaped into the air several times before accepting its fate. Thanks for sharing. Because of that, I brought 2 sleeping pads and my 10-degree sleeping bag. I also hiked to Deer Lake in one day but that was 20 years ago and I was super weary when I got there. This lake holds stunning views and sits just under the sheer walls of Granite Dome. Located only a few miles East of Dodge Ridge ski area and Lake Pinecrest it is a popular place for both dayhikes and overnights of all lengths. Cherry Lake Dam gate to Cherry Lake, Kibbie Ridge, and Lake Eleanor opens from April 1-December 15. Even so, the trail had well-constructed steps that ascended the granite. I was getting to the limit of how far I could walk on my foot. Only later did I remember that I had hit the outside of my foot against a sharp rock. Camping, there would be a wet and cold ordeal. At Huckleberry Lake, I left the main trail and headed up towards Letora Lake. With my go-to adventure buddy stuck taking pictures of coffee shops in Montreal, I’ve been enjoying hitting the trail with some new faces. 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