R6 TR: Emigrant Meadow Overnight 6/8 2016

[venturefar]

Wednesday I headed out of Kennedy Meadows to see if I could get to the Emigrant Lakes area. It was smooth sailing until just after Sheep Camp where snow began to cover the trail. After Sheep Camp the trail was visible in stretches until Lunch Meadow where it was almost totally covered with snow. Brown Bear Pass and Emigrant Meadow beyond were nearly 100% covered in snow. Plenty to get the nice IPA I packed in for after dinner nice and cold. Emigrant Meadow Lake was still frozen except for a very small slice of water near the dam. It should thaw in another week or so. Unfortunately this year I think the thaw and the hordes of mosquitoes the area is known for will arrive at the same time.

[justm]

Nice TR. You had the whole area to yourself !! Your report was perfect timing for me. I'm headed out this morning for the Emigrant . I'll expect total snow cover at around 9000 ft. Hopefully I can get across The W. fork of the Cherry. Thanks for sharing.

[kpeter]

Thank you for that! It sounds as if the snowline was at 8900 on June 8. That is helpful to know. Pretty scene up there!

[SSSdave]

Thanks for the report. Pretty much nails what I wrote about probable Emigrant conditions in kpeter's thread. The peak of mosquitoes will always be a bit below the snowline where snows melted out and had time to hatch. One needs to understand the life cycle. Two to three days after laying eggs the squigglers hatch to develop floating near the surface then 7-10 days later they are flying and ready to poke and suck yer blood. The vast rock areas of mid and lower Emigrant below 8k were prime for egg laying on Memorial Day. See my pic on thread link below looking out in those areas. And just about now will near hatching. The upper areas melting now will continue to provide prime egg laying pools well into July. Even though by July there is less total standing water, there will be a whole lot more of them laying eggs as cycles continue towards a peak. Even by the end of July I'd bet the higher areas like where venturefar went up to will be as sheep say baaaaaaaad. But by then the wonderful lower zones like about Big Lake ought be drier and pleasant.

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[Jason]

Sweet report. There's something about that last photo that I find really appealing.......... almost like being there.

[sloflier]

Hands down Emigrant Meadow Lake is one of my favorite places in the world...extra points for the Kern River Brewing.

[Bruce B]

I agree with Jason. That last picture is great. Feels like I'm there. I love campsite photos for that reason.