High Sierra Topix

I was thinking about hiking to Courtright via the road (the road is still closed as far as I know) and camping near the lake for a night or two. Does anyone know whether walking the road and camping near the lake would be permitted and if so whether a wilderness permit would be required? I was in the area last week and didn't see signage indicating it'd be closed entirely to people or whether permits would be required. I couldn't seem to find anything helpful via the sierra national forest webpage and thought I'd inquire here.

It's on NF land, so no camping permit required. Maybe drop by the Prather station and let them know, but shouldn't be an issue.

Let us know how the road looks, with pics

That's not a short hike, but I bet you'll have the lake to yourself....sounds fun.

All you would need is a campfire permit, as you would not be in the wilderness. I believe they are not plowing, just waiting for the melt; but there would be work going on to clear downed trees and so on, so you should check with the NF as to whether they would object, and you should expect truck and heavy equipment traffic.

We've backpacked to other areas in different NF forests as you describe without any issues. But check with the office. Sometimes they close areas for reasons that go beyond snow--wildlife protection, etc--so make sure that's not the case.

I would question whether the power company would take exception. They've been back there, have a snow cat for that purpose, and would be concerned about their facilities. If you'll run into anyone it will be PG&E

I checked with the ranger station in Prather on the way just to be sure and they said it was no problem to hike up and camp near the lake without a permit so long as I didn't enter any wilderness areas, which was no problem. The road seemed to have been plowed up until Short Hair Creek, at which point patchy snow ensued all the way to the lake. That said, it did appear that some work clearing trees had already begun as there were no down trees blocking the road all the way to the lake. However, there were some significant stretches of the road where there was complete snow coverage up to four or so feet extending for a few hundred hundreds at times. Across the dam was clear until Maxon trailhead, though the trail itself was still under quite a bit of snow and there was a very large tree down across the road just before the parking lot. The road on the other side of the lake was still buried in considerable snow, at times seeming a solid 5-6 feet deep.

The turn out for Laconte Divide overlook ... gives a sense of some of the snow coverage on the road Near the fork just as you get to the lake

Over the lake


Looking out below the dam
Apparently the bears are out ...

Thanks for your report.