Family Backpacking Trip: Suggestions Needed

janky · Post by **janky** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 3:56 pm

Hi,

I'm looking for advice for a family backpacking trip this summer in the Sierras. My boys will be 9 and 11 and we had an amazing time starting on the Quart Mountain TH last July and hiking to Chain Lakes. The distance was right to get there, the hike length was right (~6+ miles), the fishing was excellent (mandatory requirement), amazing scenery and the mosquitoes weren't insane. One of the other benefits was we were below the fire line and were able to make a campfire which helped with mosquitoes and cooking. I've been looking at Margaret Lake areas but two concerns I have are the length of getting there from the Bay Area (basically San Jose) and the limits on fires last summer. Does anyone have any recommendations on family backpacking locations in the Sierras? We'd love to be more secluded (Chain Lakes was great even on 4th of July weekend) and we're willing to stay somewhere the night before our drive to the trailhead and our hike in. Last year we stayed in a cheap hotel in Oakhurst then drove the almost 2 hours to the trailhead and hiked for 6 hours (we had some other small kids with us). Another place I was looking at was Twin Lakes but based on how convenient it is to get to I'm not sure how busy it would be on a holiday weekend (July 4th weekend again).

Thanks!
Ricardo

Post by **maverick** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 4:34 pm

Dinkey Lakes might be your ticket, there are several lakes, a few away from the trail that will allow a little more solitude, Fingerbowl has good fishing. Island Lake and Cliff Lake is pretty but also popular and mosquitoes may be quite busy in early July. Campfires are allowed.

AlmostThere · Post by **AlmostThere** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:49 pm

You may want to reserve permits if you go to Dinkey. You can reserve a year in advance and that area is popular with a capital POP on holiday weekends. Walk ins can be obtained a full day before the date on the permit so I frequently take off from work on a break, drive to Clovis ranger station, get a walk up permit, go back to work, head to the trailhead on Saturday -- I am not alone in this. Locals have the edge on walk ups. Cliff trailhead is on a paved route, the main trailhead at Willow Meadow is on a road variably described as "rough" to "no freakin' way am I driving my car on that again, I had to realign all the wheels"

Another nice one similar to Chain Lakes is on the other side of the peak from Chain -- the lakes in Ansel Adams. Short rough dirt roads to Fernandez or Norris trailheads, after a long drive on Sky Ranch or Beasore, and great scenery. Fishing depends on the lake you're at, of course. Lillian had some nice ones.

wildhiker · Post by **wildhiker** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 12:40 am

I'm afraid 4th of July weekend is likely to be crowded just about everywhere. So far, we are building a deep snowpack. If that continues, the higher areas will still be under snow next 4th of July and everyone will be concentrated in lower elevations. And mosquitos will likely be bad. On the plus side, wildflowers could be great.

You might consider some of the lower elevation (7000 to 8000 foot) National Forest wilderness and roadless areas north of Yosemite National Park that don't have trailhead quotas. These are generally a four hour drive or less from the Bay Area. Here are some possibilities for early July, but I can't vouch for the fishing because I don't fish:
1) the western lower lakes in Emigrant Wilderness from Crabtree trailhead
2) Sword+Lost Lakes in Carson Iceberg Wilderness (off Clark Fork Road off Sonora Pass highway)
3) Cole Creek Lakes and Beebe Lakes in the western part of the Mokelumne Wilderness (we went there once on July 4th weekend starting at Plasse's Resort on Silver Lake on hwy 88. Snowbanks were keeping the jeeps off the jeep trail section we hiked on and we saw few people - but many mosquitos!)
4) possibly Round Lake in the upper Truckee River roadless area (north from hwy 88), but may still be too snowy
5) the Grouse Lakes roadless area north of interstate 80 - although this one will likely be crowded. We were there on 4th of July weekend a couple years ago and it was crowded until we got off trail. There are many small lakes.

-Phil

janky · Post by **janky** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 5:01 pm

Thanks folks.

1. Dinkey Lakes: I've looked at Dinkey Lakes before and now more because you recommended it. Hike in looks short to the First Dinkey lake. Hikes to the other lakes look short too. Fly fishing website I just found says fishing is good there (as you mentioned). Any idea if one lake is more crowded than another? For example, from my Tom Harrison map it looks like a total of 3.0 miles to the First Dinkey lake and then another 4.0 miles from there north to Coyote Lake. So 7.0 total but then we'd mostly be at Coyote lake the whole time. Other option it looks like is the lower route and camping Rainbow Lake or Island Lake. I might be done scratching the surface of the knowledge base here but if anyone has info the Dinkey Lakes area does look appealing because there's so many lakes. I've reserved a year in advance before so definitely want to get my permit request in ASAP.

2. I've been to Chain Lakes. That was where we did our first family trip last year. Absolutely perfect, even on July 4th weekend. Crowds were minimal. Fishing was stellar. Mosquitoes were bad but expected.

3. Thanks Phil on the recommendations for lower elevation spots. I'm going to research those too because you are right, we could very easily be blocked off from snow and doing our trip altogether in the Sierras. Very good idea to have a backup plan with the snow already we've had.

beyondbios · Post by **beyondbios** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 8:23 pm

Ricardo,
If you are referring to the Twin Lakes in Desolation Wilderness, they make a good place to take your family. I've been there a few times and surprisingly, I find myself alone once the sun goes down and the day hikers retreat. For more seclusion, go all the way to Island Lake at the top of the drainage. Fishing is good in the Twin Lakes and even better at Island.

The Grouse/Hemlock/Smith trail near the Twin Lakes is also excellent but is more popular so you will see people. The fishing at all Lakes is fast action for small Brook Trout. The downside of Desolation is no camp fires.

Another excellent trail is the Lake Sabrina trail that goes up to Hungry Packer Lake. There's good fishing for Brook, Rainbow, Kamploops and some Goldens throughout that area. You'll probably want to camp at Blue Lake on your first night as the hike to Blue, the first lake in the drainage is 4.5 miles and somewhat challenging. However, it is well worth it as you will find fish in every lake, tarn and pond along the way. If you can make it to Echo Lake (day hike from a base camp at Sailor Lake) at the top of the drainage, you will be rewarded.

If you really want to be overwhelmed with epic fishing, consider the Humphreys Basin via Piute Pass. The trailhead starts at North Lake near Bishop, CA. It's easy to get permits and the hike is very manageable. I recommend staying at Piute Lake on day 1 and then hiking over Piute Pass on day 2. Once over the Pass, you can choose which side of the Basin to hit. A base camp at Lake Muriel would put several lakes in your vicinity (Lost, Goethe, Summit) which all offer great fishing for Brookies and Goldens. That's the south side of the basin. The north side has a number of great fishing lakes too. Very easy hiking, cross-country, throughout.

Hope that helps,
Jay

AlmostThere · Post by **AlmostThere** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 8:55 pm

janky wrote:Thanks folks.

1. Dinkey Lakes: I've looked at Dinkey Lakes before and now more because you recommended it. Hike in looks short to the First Dinkey lake. Hikes to the other lakes look short too. Fly fishing website I just found says fishing is good there (as you mentioned). Any idea if one lake is more crowded than another? For example, from my Tom Harrison map it looks like a total of 3.0 miles to the First Dinkey lake and then another 4.0 miles from there north to Coyote Lake. So 7.0 total but then we'd mostly be at Coyote lake the whole time. Other option it looks like is the lower route and camping Rainbow Lake or Island Lake. I might be done scratching the surface of the knowledge base here but if anyone has info the Dinkey Lakes area does look appealing because there's so many lakes. I've reserved a year in advance before so definitely want to get my permit request in ASAP.

It is a short hike in from the Willow Meadow trailhead, yes. But the road is rougher than anyone with a passenger car should consider -- if they care about the car at all. I've seen everything from Mini Coopers to BMWs to Celicas in there, but the last mile is complete s***.

For an alternate route to Coyote Lake, PM me. There is a six mile route with significantly less s***y road driving.

I work trail crew in Dinkey, it is in our backyard and very popular in general. ALL the lakes will be crowded on a holiday weekend. For less crowding you camp at Second Dinkey - no fish in it. Five minutes of hiking to Rock Lake where there are far fewer campsites (legal, we eliminated the worst of the illegal ones) and much better fishing for brook trout. Fifteen minutes of hiking to Island Lake -- where there is good fishing for golden hybrids and good campsites, but tons of people on weekends.

balzaccom · Post by **balzaccom** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 6:24 am

A couple of thoughts:

If you're looking for something closer to the Bay Area, Desolation Wilderness has lots of options out of Wright's Lake....

Also agree with the suggestions for Emigrant Wilderness, but the best hikes may be a bit further in than you would like. Bear Lake as a base camp, with day hikes to Granite and YMeadow?

Lake Vernon out of Cherry Lake?

Seville, Jenny Lakes in SEKI...

We have quite a few of these trip reports on our website: backpackthesierra.com

janky · Post by **janky** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 11:18 pm

Man, so many places to research. I feel like I've been researching for months. In fact,I really wanted to do Sallie Keyes Lakes but my wife and I decided against it a month or so ago because of the distance. Boys are just not old enough for 11+ miles of hiking one way, not yet at least. I decided to roll the dice and put in a reservation for backpacking to Dinkey Lakes. It will probably be busy on 4th of July weekend but it's close enough with lots of lakes so hopefully we'll find a spot to camp that's decent. I really appreciate the heads up on Rock Lake. We'll probably head the extra mile to camp there instead of stopping at the First Dinkey Lake. Let's hope this works out!

ericZ · Post by **ericZ** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 4:18 am

janky wrote: It will probably be busy on 4th of July weekend but it's close enough with lots of lakes so hopefully we'll find a spot to camp that's decent.

You may be fine. I was there at Dinkey Lakes maybe 4-5 years ago, on Fourth of July weekend. First time for me. I've heard and understood it's extremely popular, but didn't seem too bad. My girlfriend at the time and I spent about 4 hours at Island Lake on the Fourth; we were the only ones there during that time. REALLY with I had taken my fly rod then.

-eric
Fresno, ca.

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