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. Emigrant Lake: 140 acres at 8827' elevation, about 15 miles from the trailhead. Snow Lake is situated about 3/4ths of a mile of easy hiking from the Tahoe to Yosemite Trail just below our climb out of Emigrant Wilderness into Yosemite through Bond Pass. ICELAND LAKE & EMIGRANT WILDERNESS. The Emigrant Wilderness of Stanislaus National Forest is a wilderness area in the Sierra Nevada.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. 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. Instead, I headed South, toward Huckleberry Lake, passing Blackbird and Maxwell Lakes. 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. Contains rainbows and brookies, some in trophy size. I normally hike long days, 15-25 miles, so I thought the first day was fairly easy. It was way too big for me to eat, especially right after breakfast. 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. 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. And we were not alone. Solo Survival: How to Survive Alone in the Wilderness for 1 week --Eastern Woodlands - Duration: 34:07. In the morning, my foot was feeling worse. There were a lot of fallen trees that had thankfully been cleared off the trail. Follow the road to a T and turn left onto Crabtree Rd. Only later did I remember that I had hit the outside of my foot against a sharp rock. My 12-foot rod bent as the line whizzed through the water. [1], In 1931, the United States Forest Service designated this area for primitive management as the Emigrant Basin Primitive Area. From Sonora Pass in the north, the Pacific Crest Trail follows a scenic route at the east edge of the Emigrant Wilderness along the high ridge past Leavitt Peak, turns further east from Kennedy Canyon to Bond Pass, and then heads south down Jack Main Canyon. 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. This time it was around Emigrant Wilderness, to a series of lakes for which there is no trail, only sloping slabs of granite and a topo map to guide us. Daytime temperatures were in the low 60s and nighttime lows int the 20s. Ridge Lake can be reached either by continuing west after the first saddle in the route to Lewis Lake. I picked up my Emigrant Wilderness permit at the Summit Ranger Station right after it opened at 8:30 am. It felt like plantar fasciitis but had appeared suddenly. I had to abandon my plan to keep hiking up North Fork Cherry Creek toward the upper Emigrant Lakes. I think Gem and Jewelry lakes would also have made good campsites. Activities in Emigrant Wilderness include hiking, swimming, fishing and hunting. The lake is nearly 2 miles long with good camping on either end. But the impact was forceful enough to cause a big bruise and my foot to swell up. I also planned to do some off-trail exploration in the high country. The last miles of the trail passed through an old burn area. I stood and watched the lake for a few minutes. 15-25 miles a day is in the super human category! [1], The Emigrant Wilderness is a glaciated landscape of scenic beauty. Our first clue was the more than fifty cars at the trailhead. This is a difficult out and back trail to Bear Lake in Emigrant Wilderness. They were uniformly lovely. The rocky shore dropped deep into the lake and offered trout places to hide. I packed away my rod and continued along the lakeshore. Five miles from the trailhead, I ran into a group of hikers. I decided to sleep under the stars without the tarp. The last 2 miles of the road was unpaved, but passable with a car. Summers are generally dry and mild, but afternoon thundershowers occur periodically and nighttime temperatures could dip below freezing anytime. Towering granite peaks surrounded Upper Buck Lake. I woke up as the sun began to illuminate the mountains. 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 planned for a short first day, stopping either at Jewelry Lake or Deer Lake. I gave it a few quick jigs and boom–the trout slammed the fly. Over the 4th of July weekend, my friend Blair invited me out on a girls’ only trip out to Granite Lake in Emigrant Wilderness. 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. I had time for one last weekend trip to the Sierra before winter. The views over Huckleberry Lake were some of the most impressive of the trip so far. Highlights include cliffs in the Granite Dome area and lakes such as Emigrant Lake, Huckleberry Lake, and Lake Lertoria. But the path that paralleled East Fork Cherry seemed to double as a riverbed during spring. This past weekend, I headed up to the Emigrant Wilderness just north of Yosemite with my good friend Alex. The weather station was at 7,200 ft, so I needed to prepare for 4-8 degrees colder at the elevation I would be at. Deer Lake has great rainbow fishing. The temperature had gone from freezing to summer in the hour I had been on the trail. It is an elongated area that extends northeast about 25 miles (40 km) in length and up to 15 miles (24 km) in width. 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. Chewing Gum Lake is a beautiful little camping spot not far inside the Emigrant Wilderness. The Trail to Deer Lake Wildflowers, Panoramic Views, Tranquil Lakes. What was your experience? My water bottle had frozen overnight, but I slept warm. When I got to the West side of the lake, I was disappointed to notice that it was a shallow, swampy lake. I still had almost 11 miles to the car, so I conjured an ibuprofen and acetaminophen cocktail to get me going. Hi, just talked to a friend who says trying to reach Buck Lake on day one is really ambitious. This trail goes by Camp Lake and Crabtree Camp. Some support proposals to maintain the dams while others feel the dams should be allowed to decay in keeping with the Wilderness Act. From the south, the wilderness is accessible from Cherry Lake, along the border with Yosemite National Park. Most of the 11 miles were downhill. Camping, there would be a wet and cold ordeal. I picked up my Emigrant Wilderness permit at the Summit Ranger Station right after it opened at 8:30 am. What time of year did you go? Since 1975, 18 small dams in the Emigrant Wilderness have been the source of an unresolved political debate. The trail passed through a pleasant pine forest. 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. The evening was chilly, but I stayed warm by my campfire. 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