Looking for something new in Emigrant

[ngomaam]

I've backpacked at Emigrant maybe 5-6 times or so, having camped at Relief, Gem and Rosasco last year. I've hiked to Big Lake (from Rosasco) and Deer Lake from Gem. Enjoyed all spots but looking for something new and perhaps deeper in the wildnerness although that's not a requirement. I was going to trek to Hyatt from Big last year but my phone (which I was using for nav) was about to die so had to make it back to Rosasco.

Would people recommend Hyatt? or one of the lakes deeper in along the trail to Gem, was looking at Long and Buck lakes

I'd be going in early September, so I assume Cherry would be crossable by then. When I went to Rosasco, it was mid Sept and Cherry was just a bunch of puddles mostly. Fishing isn't a concern, just want a premier lake with nice camp sites. If I went to Hyatt, where do people mainly camp? I wasn't able to really identify camp areas off a satellite map and checking slopes.

[phoenix2000]

I've been to Hyatt Lake once and I would recommend it. It was during a trip in 2014 that was forecasted to be clear and sunny but ended up being cloudy and rained off and on all trip. I got in to Hyatt late at night, fixed dinner then went to bed just as it started to rain again. The next morning I was eager to head off to Big Lake before it started to pour again so I didn't get a chance to explore much of Hyatt Lake. I liked what I did see and I think that with some sunshine the lake would have been even more gorgeous.

I know of 2 established camping sites at Hyatt Lake. There is one in a flat dirt section on the granite of the western shore of the lake. It is north of the island that you can see on the map. The only problem I could see with the spot is it's a little hard to get to the water. There was only one spot where you could get to the water and you had to climb down the granite to get there. The other spot would be what I consider to be the premier spot. It's located on the beach in the northeast corner of the lake. Here is a picture of the premier camping spot. The smoke in the picture marks where the campsite is located (smoke is to the left of the granite that runs into the water).

Hyatt Lake Beach

I have not been to Long Lake or Lower Buck Lake. I did make it to Upper Buck Lake in 2015. The water and surrounding granite make it a really gorgeous sight. As for camping sites they were difficult to find. The northern shoreline is a meadow where packers like to keep their horses. So there is a lot of horse poop on the ground making it a poor place to camp. The east and west shorelines lack enough space to get 100 feet from the water so there is no legal place to camp there. When I was there in August, the northwest shoreline had a long section of water about 6 feet wide and 100 yards long that was cut off from the rest of the lake. The water was stagnate and smelled foul. There is another packers camp located on the western shore near where the trail splits and goes to Deer Lake. I wouldn't advise camping there either. You can get 100 feet from the water on the southern shore but unfortunately the trail runs along the southern shore and you can't get 100 feet away from it. So it turns out there was no legal spot I could find to camp at Upper Buck Lake so I ended up doing what the other people did who camped there and just found a spot to hang my hammock.

Upper Buck Lake

[Matthew]

Just back from Rosasco and Big Lake area (yesterday). You mention Cherry Creek, it is already a bunch of puddles (no crossing needed). At Crabtree TH the cars on Saturday were parked to within a few hundred feet of the junction to Gianelli, maybe 150 cars! But once in the Louse Canyon and further area, we saw only 2 people in 2 days. So the areas you mention are still sparse with people despite all the congestion in the front country.
Oh and few mosquitoes.

[SteveKatz]

Crabtree trailhead question: are there bear boxes at Crabtree TH? We're aiming to get there (or Bell Meadows) next Monday, spend the night there and get an early start on Tuesday, and thinking about if we can store stuff at the TH or not. (Rosasco, Pingree, Big, Yellowhammer, up to Wood Lake etc).

[SteveKatz]

nm. both TH's are closed to camping - talked to the ranger

[balzaccom]

We have trip reports on all of these lakes, and lots of others in Emigrant Wilderness, on our website. I've posted quite a few of those here, as well...

[Tom_H]

See this post: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22676&p=176656#p176656

[balzaccom]

See this post: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22676&p=176656#p176656

Interesting that you didn't hike out of Gianelli at all. Since it gives you an extra few hundred feet of elevation at the start, it has its appeal.

[Tom_H]

See this post: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22676&p=176656#p176656

Interesting that you didn't hike out of Gianelli at all. Since it gives you an extra few hundred feet of elevation at the start, it has its appeal.

Always felt Crabtree got you into the heart of the backcountry and to lakes faster. Just added Gianelli TH, just for you.

[kpeter]

Here are a couple of my Emigrant reports that might help:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22398&hilit=Emigrant
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14590