Mulling over more Emigrant Approaches

[scottmiller]

I've been to Iceland Lake from both sides, from Lower Relief Valley and from the trail between Saucer Meadow and Sheep Camp. The ascent from Lower Relief Valley is steep, but if you hit it at the right place it's just a walk up smooth granite. From the other side, it's an easy walk up an obvious draw. I came in from Upper Relief Valley once, and learned what a topo map means when it shows lines that are seductively far apart, but really wiggly. Walk walk walk... 20-foot drop, back up, repeat endlessly.
Ridge Lake, on the same plateau as Iceland, is, to me, the prettiest lake in that area. A day hike up Granite Dome is a nice view. If you camp at Iceland, you might find a grill that my brother brought up there about 50 years ago. Iceland had some trout back then.
I also recommend the cluster of lakes out of Crabtree; Pingree, Big, and Yellowhammer. There is a use trail almost all the way to Pingree, and the terrain around those lakes is easy to traverse, consisting of vast sheets of smooth granite. Pingree is perfect for swimming, and there is a very nice campsite on the far southeast shore.

[Wandering Daisy]

There are two other ways into Ice Lakes-Lewis Lakes; from Upper Relief Valley and from upper Buck Lake meadow just where the trail starts to go up to Emigrant Lake. With four ways to get there, it is easy to make a loop or incorporate it into a longer loop. It is a great compact area to do a lot of day hiking and exploring.

I have done all four; none are easy. Lewis Creek is tough to go up- I prefer to go down. I think it is the most scenic as well as the shortest. I agree that if you hit it right, the approach from Lower Relief Valley is probably the preferred even if longer. I descended that route in a rain, and you do have to be careful on slippery slabs. Route-finding from Upper Relief is very tricky; get it right and it is easy; get it wrong and it is a bushwhack.

I like Ridge Lake too. It also has fairly good fishing. It is more protected from the wind. The upper Lewis Lakes can be extremely windy.

I have mixed feelings about Gianelli TH; it is nice if you do the off-trail lake to lake hop south of the trail, but the main trail is not very scenic, or perhaps I should say small scale scenic - probably good wildflowers. I was too early for the wildflowers. Although long, it does get you to Upper Relief Valley with less elevation gain. When I did the route from Upper Relief Valley to Ice Lakes, it was from Gianelli.

[c9h13no3]

I thought the little lake between Iceland and Ridge had the nicest camping spot (although I didn't camp there).

And similar to Daisy, I've also descended from Iceland lake to Lower Relief Valley in the rain, and thought it was pretty chill. Course, I wasn't carrying a pack. Lewis Creek I remember I found more fun class 3 scrambling, so if you're carrying a heavy pack that might not be your cup of tea.

I think the Granite Dome lakes are definitely a highlight of the Emigrant Wilderness.

[cmon4day]

Bourland Meadow is a nice trailhead. Not too long after the start the XC begins.

[kpeter]

Bourland Meadow is a nice trailhead. Not too long after the start the XC begins.

I haven't tried it, although I have thought about it for a trip to Hyatt, where I have never been. Been to Pingree and Big. I guess the question is, what destinations would you reach from Bourland other than Hyatt or maybe Chain Lakes?

For that matter, do we call the trailhead for Chain Lakes the Box Spring Trailhead? If the connector from Chain to Grouse were in good shape, that would be about the same distance to Grouse as from Crabtree and perhaps a good alternative to that most popular trailhead-- for access to the whole wilderness. But of course it isn't--at least I could not find an actual trail when I looked last summer from the Grouse Lake end.

[scottmiller]

If I go to that area of Emigrant again, I think I might start at Box Springs, and then camp at Chain Lakes the first night. That would avoid the cow-ridden, people-crowded, sludge-full Grouse Lake, notorious for clogging one of our water filters to death. OK, fine, it's a pretty little lake, but still.
There is a discussion of getting from Chain lakes to Grouse Lake (link below), which seems equivalent to the type of stuff you do getting to Pingree or Iceland.
I remember now that I also got to Iceland via Long Lake, which was very easy until the descent from Granite Dome. When I was young and reckless I would traverse a snow field above Ridge Lake to get up and down Granite Dome, but that's too risky for me now. Descending on the east side of Granite Dome is doable, but it's another one of those "if you get it right it's easy" routes. We ended up descending to Upper Lewis Lake, which worked except for one spot where there was a cliff to climb, at which point I had someone else take my pack and I swam.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20851&hilit=chain+l ... rouse+lake

[cmon4day]

Bourland Meadow is a nice trailhead. Not too long after the start the XC begins.

I haven't tried it, although I have thought about it for a trip to Hyatt, where I have never been. Been to Pingree and Big. I guess the question is, what destinations would you reach from Bourland other than Hyatt or maybe Chain Lakes?

For that matter, do we call the trailhead for Chain Lakes the Box Spring Trailhead? If the connector from Chain to Grouse were in good shape, that would be about the same distance to Grouse as from Crabtree and perhaps a good alternative to that most popular trailhead-- for access to the whole wilderness. But of course it isn't--at least I could not find an actual trail when I looked last summer from the Grouse Lake end.

Bourland TH can also access the West Fork of Cherry Creek and Cherry Creek. Both of which is excellent off trail hiking.

[Tom_H]

I used to hike in Stanislaus/Toyabe-Emigrant/Hoover a lot. Here is a map I made years ago to ponder various loops I could create.

TH approaches are purple.
Main Trails are red.
XC is green.
Use Trail and Abandoned Trail are black.
Some of the shortcut connectors are yellow.

I am far too old ever to go back, so am revealing a couple of my secret spots.

https://caltopo.com/m/0G41

[Harlen]

Wandering Daisy wrote:

Although Kennedy Meadows is crowded, it is my favorite trailhead because you can do several loops- Kennedy Lake or Brown Bear Pass or Mosquito Pass or Relief Valley and off trail to Lewis and Ice Lakes. Sonora Pass is very scenic but a bit tough because there is limited camping until you have gone almost a whole day. Easy to get a ride from Kennedy Meadows back up to your car at Sonora Pass. I would never count out a trailhead just because it is crowded the first half day. Just put up with it. In spite of people, you quickly get into some pretty scenic stuff from Kennedy Meadows.

Kennedy Lake is good before they let the cows in. Otherwise, it is still scenic but you better like cows. The trail up the canyon to the road to Big Sam is fairly easy to follow.

Thanks for the inspiration to finally go in that way-- never have. I love the idea of those circular trips, with fish!.... and Bearzy just LOVES Cows!

"Cows Bear?"

[Wandering Daisy]

It is said that cats are curious. That can also be said of cows! I ended up with several cows in my camp many times. Actually, if Bearzy would scare off some cows that would be good. I have been faced with cows, deer, bears and moose curiously inspecting my tent, their snouts right at the tent door when I got out in the morning. Deer are the most persistent, particularly in Yosemite. I must say that looking right at bear snot, up close, was a bit anxiety provoking.