Post-Trip Reports » Emigrant Wilderness Lake Tour 9/29 to 10/2 -- BackpackingLight.com Forums. My boss at work is not able to get away from the office and family obligations very often. He was eager to find time for a backpacking trip before the fall/winter set in and I gladly agreed to be his hiking partner (approval for the time off was a sure thing). Since the weather was forecast to be mild with highs in the 60s and lows in the high 30s, we decided to start our hike out of the low elevation and exposed Bell Meadow Trailhead. Our desire was to explore the lakes in the heart of the Emigrant Wilderness area, catch a few fish and have a great experience. After a few miles of hiking we reached the canyon that contains the West Fork of Cherry Creek. Our path would take us south into the canyon and over the ridge to the west (left in the picture below). My Wilderness Press Map shows this as a trail but I would say that many of the "trails" shown on my map should be considered something between a trail and cross-country.
Pingree Lake Kole Lake Leighton Lake Karls Lake Camp Upper Wood Lake. The Lonely Backcountry Lakes of the Emigrant Wilderness - backpackthesierra. OK! Just back from a wonderful trip this last weekend, leaving from Crabtree Cabin for a series of lakes in the backcountry of Emigrant Wilderness: four days, 34 miles, great views, and some fun adventures. We started at Crabtree, down into Pine Valley, past Grouse Lake and up over the Groundhog Meadow “pass” into Louse Canyon. All of this is one of the regular routes into the Emigrant Wilderness, and we had hiked it in reverse a few years ago. But at Louse Canyon we turned right to follow a good use trail with a few ducks down to the route up over the ridge to Resasco Lake.
We had a little trouble finding where the route crossed the creek (What’s new? This was a very tough climb—about 750 feet in less than a mile, and there was really no easy trail, just a series of cairns over broken rock. The next day we followed a rough route down into the next canyon, where we saw ducks marking three trails. This is unbelievable country--solid sheets of bare granite in all directions. And we failed. TR: Emigrant Wilderness, July 14-17, 2011 • High Sierra Topix. Day 1The day started early, with me leaving Auburn at 4am and picking up my compatriots along the way through Sacramento and south to the 108. At Pinecrest Ranger Station we did not find our permit waiting in the box as promised, but I was able to track down a ranger on his way in the back door and he kindly brought me in before opening and issued a permit. During the process he made sure to scare me as best he could with photos and stories of Cherry Creek.
When I gave him our itinerary (Rosasco Lake, Big Lake, Coyote Lake) he gave me that look that says, “Don’t make us rescue you.” I knew that crossing Cherry Creek was the crux of the trip. Cross it, and we’d have open granite for days. Don’t cross it, and we’d have to settle for smaller lakes and less scenery. One more member met us at the station, making us five. Cherry_cascades.jpg The creek was large and spread out into multiple channels. Log_cross_02.jpg log_cross_01.jpg After lunch we hiked up to Rosasco Lake. Big_drainage_SMALL.jpg. Emigrant Wilderness TR - BackcountryForum.com. Emigrant Wilderness, Sierra, CAJuly 21-23 After hearing the very useful information that a log jam can be used to cross West Cherry Creek, I headed into Big Lake from Crabtree TH.
I had been here before later season and wanted to see it when the water was running down the granite slabs. I also wanted to get in one trip before the mosquito horror show begins! I left at 6:30 and hit the trail at 9:30. The trail is downright boring for many miles but wading across the swollen side creeks offered some interest. When I came to West Cherry Creek it was a torrent! I headed downstream looking for the log jam, found it, and carefully crossed. Camp Lake, enroute to Pingree Lake Rosasco Lake Pingree Lake Second day was a mix of backpacking and side trips without the pack.
Big Lake Isolated pocket green belt West Cherry Creek Third day I had planned on going to Bear Lake and camping there. Unnamed lake on return trip. Chain Lakes Map. Google Maps. Post-Trip Reports » Emigrant Wilderness Lake Tour 9/29 to 10/2 -- BackpackingLight.com Forums. ACME Mapper 2.0 - 11.7 km NE of Tuolumne County CA.