I enjoyed a quick 25-mile loop in Emigrant Wilderness this weekend. On Friday June 14th, I climbed from Kennedy Meadows Resort up Summit Creek to Lunch Meadow. On Saturday, I climbed over Brown Bear Pass, trekked cross-country to High Emigrant Lake, climbed Big Sam Peak, and then dropped to Kennedy Lake. As the sun was setting, I strolled down Kennedy Canyon and returned to the trailhead at KM Resort. (I'm exhausted).
My buddy E.P. joined me, which made the large miles and the climbing feel like a fun challenge, rather than a grueling slog.
This was my first time on Big Sam Peak. The summit views are outstanding, and I highly recommend this mountain, especially if you setup a base camp at Kennedy Lake.
Snow Update: Brown Bear Pass is basically clear of snow, except for a few trivial patches on its north side. Big Sam Peak, however, continues to hold a lot of snow on its north face. We were descending the snow, fortunately, so we enjoyed some excellent glissading.
Mosquito Update: The bugs were out in force at Lunch Meadow, and around Kennedy Lake. I rate the annoyance factor as 5 out of 10.
Here are some photographs. . . .
On Brown Bear Pass, looking southeast:
Emigrant Meadow Lake:
On the summit of Big Sam, looking down to Kennedy Lake:
Descending the north face of Big Sam:
The north face of Big Sam continues to hold some snow:
Kennedy Lake is just about perfect right now!
I posted more media here:
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