Emigrant Lakes Trail Tales

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Trip Catalog

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We have sliced the Emigrant Wilderness in  various shapes over the years.   However, this trip  was to tackle the central feature of our summer playground, Granite Dome.   We have been gazing at and admiring this geological wonder and it was time to sit on its perch and drink in 360° of stupendous views.

We started off with the usual hospitable ride from the Kennedy Meadows Resort + Pack Station.   A short 5 hours later George and I, with his good friend Jim from Boston, were at Emigrant Meadow Lake, a favorite for us.   We set camp and then explored our surroundings, reconnecting with memories of the past and creating memories for the future.   The sun set, and after a good meal provided by Betsey, we watched two night rises.   First the moon flooded our darkness, and then Mars rose as another bright light to gaze upon.   We let our eyes  wander the carpeted galaxy that hung above us.   This is one of the best stargazing spots that I know of, a treat for anyone roaming this way.

Today we split up.   George and Jim headed for the nib next to Molo Mountain to see if they could scale it, and I headed out to photograph the area lakes.   Geo + Jim made it to the ridge below the nib, but due to the loose volcanic nature of the rock, they ceded to safety considersations and enjoyed the dizzying heights from that point.   My trek was not as intense, and I enjoyed a nice hike thru the area.   High Emigrant lake, which is the headwaters for the North Fork of Cherry Creek, is one of 16 lakes within Emigrant that have been augmented with a check dam.   These were all constructed in the 20's and 30's to capture water and ensure a flow thru the dry summer months. While not a part of the original wilderness, these were constructed before Emigrant was official, and provide real benefits to a variety of backcountry residents and guests.

Moving day!   We packed up early and headed down to Buck Lakes via Emigrant.   After huffing and puffing we found a perfect campsite and headed for the lake to catch dinner.   I was engrossed in getting my water bottle filter to work which had stopped filtering after just 8 days of clean water use.   I use a Boda of Boulder system, and was initially impressed with the ease of use but very concerned that the filter had such a short life.   Fortunately we were able to improvise using spare parts, but I will be having a long conversation with the manufacturer.

Designated as a rest day, we relaxed and did some quick peak bagging of the ridges on either side of the canyon.   The granodiorite walls on the north end of Buck Lakes are a dramatic backdrop and caught George's eye for a return rock climbing adventure.

Back on our regular hike and climb as-much-as-you-can schedule, we parted on a loop to visit several lakes close to the Wood Lake system.   These lakes also benefit from a set of check dams and would be a good base camp.   We popped over the ridge to visit Karls, Leighton and Red Can Lakes and spy down range vistas of Yosemite.   Leighton Lake is named after Fred Leighton, who was the principal force in building the 16 check dams throughout Emigrant.  

Dawn broke on what was to be one of our tougher hiking days.   The move to go up and over Granite Dome was planned in two stages to ensure we did not burn ourselves out.   The first 2 miles were on trail with the remaining distance cross-country.   We headed to the back of Long Lake, passed Coolidge Meadow Lake and proceeded up to the ridge above Wilson Meadow Lake, our stop for the night.   This lightly used lake was fringed by grassy meadows with plenty evidence of coyote families playing in the wet bogs, and an abundant population of frogs.   Several peaks at the North East corner of the meadow ledge reflected into the still waters of this quiet spot.

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