I've gotten a lot of good advice from this forum in the past year, but I had never posted a trip report, so here we go.
I had some time off in mid October, and I decided to head to Emigrant Wilderness to spend some time alone in the mountains. This day hike was a really fun adventure. I drove to Sonora Pass from the west in the early morning. They were doing roadwork and only allowing one-way traffic. I had a chat with the worker while I waited, and that ended up being the only person I ran into the whole day.
Heading up the PCT:
First view of Koenig Lake:
A section of the PCT still iced over and a bit sketchy. I actually traversed this before realizing I was supposed to have left the trail to reach the peak, so I had to go back.
Somewhere east of Leavitt Peak, looking down at the trail:
Leavitt Peak:
At the top, looking west towards Sonora Peak:
The registry showed the last party had been there several days back.
I opted to take my lunch break there despite the wind:
Descending to Koenig Lake:
Koenig Lake:
Reaching Latopie was a bit tricky. Here is a view as I was approaching it:
Latopie Lake:
Finding my way back up required some trial-and-error. I briefly entertained the idea of proceeding to Leavitt Lake and trying to catch a ride, but given how empty the whole area appeared to be, the odds didn't seem great.
This day hike taught me that finding a route is a lot easier when you're heading down and can see your destination. Much harder going the other way if you haven't been paying attention...
Also being alone on a strenuous hike I always felt like pressing on. I didn't take enough time to relax and take in my surroundings. Something to think about next time. I had started around 9am thinking it would be a long day, and found myself back at the car before 3pm.
