Advice needed: Large group (7) headed to Emigrant Wilderness

[ngomaam]

I've been here plenty of times but never with a group of 7, so that means 7 separate tents. My plan was to go to Big Lake, where I hear there's good camping, but looking at a topo map, I can only see two areas that seem relatively flat and large enough to contain 7 tents. That's the southwestern side, but far off the lake, or the eastern side where its closer to the lake but seemingly more woodsy.

If Big Lake wouldn't be good for this, where else to go? If Big Lake does have space, where exactly should I be looking. I Just want to make sure there's enough real estate before making the 11 mile trek there. Any information much appreciated!

[kpeter]

7 tents is a lot. I don't remember anywhere along Big where you could fit 7 tents, although I have not explored the eastern shore.

Perhaps Pingree would be a better spot. There is a large horsepacker area on the north shore that might work. The other obvious possibility is on West Fork Cherry Creek southern crossing, there is a large horsepacker camp just to the south of the crossing.

DSC07551.jpg

There might not be 7 ideal tent sites in this area, but I think you could make it work. The photo doesn't show the whole area.

When are you going?

[ngomaam]

This Friday. Is Big Lake limited because there's just not a lot of flat ground or there's just too much granite/not enough hard pack dirt?

How is Pingree? I did want to camp at a more exposed lake. My last time in Emigrant was at Rosasco, which I think can accommodate a lot of tents, but being woodsy, it wasn't anything special to me.

[BillyBobBurro]

I day hiked around Big Lake several weeks ago and came across a fairly large campsite on the north side. It could accommodate 7 tents. Someone took the honor of craving "tiki bar" into one of the large campfire bench logs. If you hike around that side of the lake it should be fairly easy to find. It is pretty close to the legal distance from the lake. Very well established and used.

[ngomaam]

was it swampy/buggy there? I know bugs were still fierce a few weeks ago based on reports, and I've read the north side is like that. Hoping they're mostly gone after the cold weather this week.

[BillyBobBurro]

There were plenty of mosquitoes but with bug spray they were manageable. This is a good year for them. Not swampy either, but this camp had a decent sized dry creek running right next to it. While we were circumnavigating the lake there was a huge downpour and the headwaters of this dry creek is a large channel running down the open granite. We could see a very large amount of water coming down and I can only image how fast that creek filled up. It was neat to see all of the waterfalls appear on the open granite.

So, don't pitch a tent on the nice flat sandy area in the middle of the creek bed unless you are confident of light rain.

[scottmiller]

Pingree has a lot of open space on the west side. A little too open for me, kind of not terribly interesting terrain. Not so much on the east side. There is the afore-mentioned large area at the north, although when we were there it was occupied by a lot of people and horses. A little farther in is Yellowhammer Camp which would be really fun to stay at. You could try the tuna-can shower.
I just got back from Emigrant and the bugs are not bad, except for on Meadow Creek near Grizzley Meadow. That was level 4 skeets.

[justm]

I agree, Pingree has a large packer camp , with lots of room for tents. Plus it's a beautiful lake , and a good spring board for excursions into other areas.

[kpeter]

This Friday. Is Big Lake limited because there's just not a lot of flat ground or there's just too much granite/not enough hard pack dirt?

How is Pingree? I did want to camp at a more exposed lake. My last time in Emigrant was at Rosasco, which I think can accommodate a lot of tents, but being woodsy, it wasn't anything special to me.

Big Lake on the west side has a lot of sloped granite. I recall one wooded camp for about 2-3 tents about 1/3 of the way down the west shore. I camped about 2/3 of the way down the west shore on an open gruss flat which was one-of-a-kind. On the northwest shore I found a couple of tent sites in a messy jackstraw woods that I did not find attractive--although someone had built an elaborate fire ring. I did not find the site that BillyBob mentions, so can't comment on it, nor the east side. Yellowhammer Camp is a fun idea--but I've always found the mosquitoes the absolute worst near Yellowhammer Camp--a big green marshy meadow surrounds it.

I've camped at Rosasco and think Pingree is a much nicer lake. The nicest camps at Pingree are on the eastern shore, overlookimg the granite islands in the lake. But I don't know if there are 7 tent sites on the eastern shore. Maybe if you spread out. As far as scenic values, Pingree has some nice granite to its N and NE, and has an interesting shore with islands dotting the water. It location is a good quality. It puts you in position to explore the stunning granite to its S between it and Big Lake. It is also in a good central position for exploring in multiple directions. However, I did find Big Lake more photogenic and open. But if you want 7 tent sites together, the horsepacker camp at Pingree might be a good option--or perhaps BillyBob's Big Lake site.

[Pietro257]

There is an absolutely amazing campsite at Big Lake that can easily hold seven tents. I was there last summer. You might not spot it on a topo map because it's situated behind a large rock on the western shore. The rock offers a great view of the lake, has a fire-ring, and even a sort of sofa-lounge built into the granite that you can sit on.

Places for pitching tents can be found on the rock (3 sandy spaces, I think) and behind the rock in the trees (several more places).

The campsite is located on the west side of the lake. Follow the use trail. It will lead you up to the rock. This rock, BTW, is a great place for jumping into the lake.