TR: Emigrant Wilderness - Buck Lake : 6/3 - 6/8

[CalMntHkr]

This year’s holiday season allowed my brother and I ample time to devise another one of our backpacking adventures. Careers, kids and what not have kept us from another epic journey for a very long time, more years than I will admit. At the end of February, due to lack of snow, I realized there was a good chance the Emigrant Wilderness would open early. We settled on June 3 through 8. A late season snow and/or hordes of attacking blood sucking mosquitoes were the biggest challenges. There was also the chance of being “between the melt and the hatch”. Buck Lake and Lower Buck Lake became the objectives in what was becoming a backing fishing trip. I did need a reason to buy a new rod.

Day 1: Crabtree to Lily Pad Pond

My brother and I met in the Crabtree Trailhead parking lot a bit after 8:30. I had made a quick and easy stop at the Summit Ranger Station for a wilderness permit. Just about the time to hoist the packs, fellow HST member Kpeter appears from the wilderness with his brother. He had a good trip but warned of water “everywhere” and blood sucking insects on the rise. The baton being passed, HST representation in the Emigrant continued without interruption. Across the bridge and up the hill.

Progress was steady if a bit slow toward our goal of Piute Lake. My brother had a new pack that was not adjusted correctly. It seemed like a nice REI pack but needed the length shortened and every single strap adjusted. It certainly did not help that his pack weighs about 55 lbs, he likes his toys and comforts. Though I like lighter loads I was probably at 45lbs with fishing gear, cooking stuff for two and a much greater food load. We passed several groups on their way out who warned of increasing numbers of tiny flying vampires. The first creek crossing, Lily Creek is easily navigated by staying in the slower shallower water and staying off the slick large rocks. The creek was full and moving. Though there were a number of mosquitos around they were lazy and non bothersome.

The slower but happy progress put us in the range of Piute Lake if we desired to push hard. But at Lily Pad Pond we passed a group of younger guys setting a camp up. For me, Lily Pad Pond isn’t really big enough to be a lake though the beauty of the lily pads and aspen make this an exceptional lower elevation spot to stop. About a hundred yards after passing the fun loving guys, I looked back at my brother and without a word we began looking for a spot to stop. We found a secluded ledge in the granite on the east end of the pond. We were pleasantly surprised at the lack of vampires buzzing our ears. Just beyond our camp we found several large boy scout size camping spots with all the signs of being overrun at times. At least this area is safely up in the granite ledges away from the pond and a good spot for our future backpackers. Once dusk fell we were serenaded by a few thousand frogs proving the pond had no fish.

Day 2: Lily Pond to Buck Lake

When we rose in the morning we knew the weather forecasts were true as the sky had turned gray and heavy. We meandeered our way out of camp at 9. Buck Lake or ? We marched down the hill at a good clip to the Piute Creek crossing. For me this is now called “Piggyback Crossing”. The crossing is really easy with a sandy bottom though with the high water it was about thigh deep. Did I say the water was cold? About the time we had our shoes back on, a couple, Ryan and Heidi, arrived on the opposite shore and prepared to cross. I warned them it’s easy but the water is cold. Heidi stepped into the water and immediately backed out. Cold. Then the crossing earned its name: Heidi jumps up on Ryan’s back and is given a piggyback ride across one of the easiest fords in the area. Ryan gently deposits Heidi on dry land to a “are you kidding!?!”greating by my brother and I. He heads back for their packs, His pack weighs about 45lbs. and her’s a bit over 10lbs. The things a guy will do for their girl….. Turns out they are headed to Buck Lake. They were moving faster and headed off.

My brother and I moved our way along. This day is really a series of three hundred to five hundred foot climbs followed by the trail losing about half of what it had gained. Each climb was stiff but not killer like the climbs in the southern Sierra. The trail conditions in the Emigrant are very acceptable but in need of ordinary maintenance in several places. Nothing really hindered our progress though some detour and trail location was required due to water and mud in the trail. We crunched up the moderate climbs and marched the downhills. We passed Ryan and Heidi taking a lunch break at Gem Lake. At the east end of Deer Lake they caught up and together we marched into the swamp of Deer Lake Meadow. We crossed the first creek on a log where Heidi proved to be the best log crosser. Then we were in the swamp losing the trail about every 50 yards. The weather had turned to the heavy mountain fog/drizzle making the swamp all the more mucky. Ryan finally looked up our location on his watch which indicated we were within feet of the trail. Really? Where? Under the water-mud? With the help of the gps watch we navigated our way out of the swamp without wandering too far off course. Again we noticed some but not a lot of the flying blooksuckers.

The trail after the Deer Lake swamp goes over a two hundred or so foot lump. The Buck Lake side is fairly steep. Trail conditions are a definite step down from everything up to the Deer Lake swamp but still a pretty acceptable trail. Some avoiding down trees and path finding skills are needed but not extraordinary. At the top of the hill we encountered a few snow fields. For the most part they were fairly easy crossings though the trekking poles always help on snow. The downhill was steep and the trail in need of maintenance but still a pleasant hike. During this whole time the mist had turned to a light drizzle and stuff was starting to get wet. Miraculously all drizzle and wet let up when we reached the lake. Nobody was at the lake. We wanted to get to Lower Buck Lake but the crossing at the mouth of Buck Lake was too deep and swift. The camping in that area is pretty good so we found a great spot somewhat protected from the weather. We set camp, cooked dinner, and enjoyed my brother's comfort scotch. Then the rain arrived.

Day 3: Buck Lake in the rain

It rained. It rained all night. It rained all morning. It rained in the afternoon. It rained for 18 hours straight. That is not the 35% chance of showers predicted. This was rain. At some point in mid morning I dashed into my brother’s tent. He had one of his toys set up: a speaker hooked up to he’s cell phone playing our favorite music. Not bad, but worth 1.25 pounds just for the speaker? He carried it, I enjoyed it, seemed ok with me. The day passed quickly enough with the entertainment system my brother lugged up the hill.

Around 4pm the storm started clearing. This was an absolute payoff for the grunt hike and the hours stuck in a tent. The water fountains poured forth from the mountains turning the cascade from Buck Lake to Lower Lake into one of those magic places found only in the Sierra. We saw large waterfalls coming off the mountain sides that were not there the next day. Stunningly we saw a large bald eagle flying around the Lower Buck. With that as a sign, we rigged up our rods and set out for a fish hunt. Fishing off the outlet of the lake I landed a pretty good size fish on the second cast. I always toss the first back. In a few minutes I landed my second good size hybrid trout. I toss it back due to laziness in preparing a fish to eat. My brother tried in vain with a fly rod setup. He claims the fish just weren't rising. True, that is why I let my castmaster sink to the bottom, then hook the fish and walk away with the best fisherman title for the trip. The fish were not rising because there were no bugs. No snow, no bugs? There was a definite lack of wildflowers also. We had hit the magic period between snow melt and bug hatch.

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The storm clears at Buck Lake

Day 4: Sierra Paradise at Buck Lake

The day broke as perfectly as could be expected, a bit damp from the storm but otherwise perfect. We had little else on our mind but exploring, fishing and just being there. The storm appeared to keep anybody else from getting to Buck Lake. It doesn’t get much better than a popular great lake to yourself. After a large breakfast we explored. The trail toward Emigrant Lake clears up nicely after the mucky meadows at the far end of Buck Lake. The west side of Lower Bucks is a great maze of granite.

The area between the two lakes is one of those special spots in the Sierra. The cascades were up to full force as the snow melt and rain had swollen all the creeks in the area. The large sheets of granite created several pools and ponds. One unbelievable year round pond is home to some very large trout. My brother and I were captivated watching a large female trout dig up the gravel, lay eggs with her man defending his place then doing his job. These trout are large because they do not fall prey to the likes of my brothers fly casts nor my lure offerings. In fact they do not fall prey to the bald eagle who stalked them for 5 minutes or so to our delight. This is the first bald eagle I’ve seen in the Sierra and that covers several decades. Once my brother sends the photos, I’ll post them. Fishing in the evening was not as good as the day before but I managed enough for dinner. Throughout this day we did not have any insect problems. Only the meadows were full of mosquitoes but still not the raveness hordes of attacking insanity. We have the lake to ourselves, on a weather perfect day, right after the snow melt but before the bugs hatch. One of those magic days.

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Day 5: Back to Lily Pond

Another relaxed camp pack up and off retracing our steps. The climb out of Buck Lake proved no real issue though a bit steep. Once we got to the real swamp in Deer Lake meadows, we put on the tevas and hiked down the flooded trail and marched across both creek crossings. It has been two day since we have been here and there was a noticeable increase in the annoying variety of mosquito. All varieties of mosquitoes are annoying. My brother was much more motivated to cover a bunch of miles and pushed me beyond Gem and Piute Lakes. Again we camped at the east end of the Lily Pond. Again the annoying variety of mosquito had noticeably increased.

Day 5: Lily Pond to Crabtree Trailhead

Another relaxed pack up and down the trail. We made the vehicles at about noon and were seated for lunch an hour later in Sonora. A place with a good burger and beer selection.

A Few Notes

Our trip had a lot of water all over the place creating high water crossings and navigation difficulties. This will all end very soon as the snowline was a bit above 9000 ft. and receding quickly. The stunning lack of voracious hordes of swarming mosquitoes was ending as we left. I would expect easier travel but a ton more bugs for the next few weeks.

I wish to shout out about my Salomon X Ultra hiking shoes. My feet are severely worn out from thousands of miles of hiking creating a challenging list of shoe requirements. With my orthopedic inserts these shoes have performed beyond my expectations. My feet were never “worn out or tired”. Through flooded trails, gucky mud and swampy meadows my feet stayed dry even while it rained. The high techy lace tightening system won’t be for everybody but I found it easy and reliable. These are fantastic shoes for foot challenged hikers.

I used Caltopo to create an elevation plot of our route. I annotated the plot with mileage and elevation points. My brother used his Apple watch to track mileage and elevation change. We found the accuracy between the map and Apple field measurements pretty darn accurate. We knew where we were more by the measurements and the plot than by a map. THis is a pretty powerful combo I encourage others to use.

CalMntHkr

[kpeter]

Great to see your report after meeting you at the trailhead! I had no idea the rain was so severe--but it sounds like you got a lot of exciting waterfalls out of it! I am heading back for a loop through Emigrant from Kennedy Meadow next week and Buck will be on my circuit-it will be interesting to see how much it has dried out since your visit. And yes, I am expecting the worst from the skeets.

Last time I was at Buck I also could not cross the stream and got stuck on the western side. Are there alternative fords, perhaps to the north at the inlet to Buck Lakes? I hope the water is down sufficiently by next week for me.

[CalMntHkr]

It never rained hard, it just didn't stop. The weather had to climb over the Sierra so it lightened its load. I'd expect the heart of the skeeter season to start very very soon. The melt is winding down so I'd expect the water levels to drop quite a bit. The ford at Bucks Lake should be ok by the time you get there. There are no other fords between Buck and Lower Buck. It would be possible to cross over at the far end of the Buck and come down the other side of the lake. That would cost an hour or two. Have some fun on your next hike!

[Love the Sierra]

@kpeter Many years ago I was in that area in early July. the flowers were spectacular and the mosquitos insanely vicious. So bad at wire that it was impossible to eat outside of the tent. However, Buck lakes were a safe haven. Not sure why, but I didn't even need repellent there. It had been so pleasent that I stayed 2 nights.