R06 TR: Emigrant Wilderness - Crabtree/Y Meadow Lake - 5/14-5/15 2022
Posted: Tue May 17, 2022 6:01 pm
Route taken: Crabtree > Bear Lake > Granite Lake > Y Meadow Reservoir > Chewing Gum Lake > Crabtree
Very warm on Saturday, cooler Sunday. Slept at Y Meadow Lake and it was very cold at night. I was in a WM 20 deg bag and was still pretty cold. Condensation on the inside of tent was icicles in the morning.
That said it was summer conditions up to around Bear Lake, and you don't really encounter any snow until you're closer to about 8000 ft. Then its everywhere. Didn't see a single footprint in the snow the way we went, from Lily Creek until around Chewing Gum Lake. Only saw one other couple at Y Meadow, at a distance, on the west side of the lake. Other than them, we didn't see anyone after Bear Lake until we were about ~1 mile from the Crabtree trailhead on the Lake Valley Trail. Wonderful time to be up there if you don't mind wet feet (or wear boots, I suppose...)
Elevations: 7100 - 9150
Difficult section encountered:
- Mostly easy traveling. Ample snow above 8000 ft, expect wet feet if you're in trail runners like I was. However, most of the snow was eminently walkable and well packed. We didn't find ourselves postholing much at all.
- Granite, Y Meadow, Chewing Gum all mostly frozen and snow covered but plenty of seasonal waterfalls and streams for water.
- Lots of downed trees and debris on the trail on Lake Valley Trail. Really a total mess below the snow line. One or two very big downed trees the first mile or so.
- There were enough footprints in the snow from Chewing Gum Lake until the snow disappears that you can travel without having to think much about where the trail would be. Lake Valley is a trail that is easy for me to lose even when it isn't covered in snow, though.
- Water is cold, and lots of seasonal streams, but none of them were very fast-moving or difficult to cross.
Special equipment needed/used: Used microspikes and trekking poles which we found very helpful and gave us some extra confidence on the steeper snow. Wore the spikes most of the trip above 8000 ft. Did the hike in trail runners and had wet feet most of the trip after Bear Lake.
Possible alternative routes:
- We hugged the right side of the pass on the way up from Lilly Creek meadow to Granite Lake. This led to us walking through some steep snow fields. It might have been easier to go through the meadow and up around the left side of the pass, which had more exposed rock. The snow was fine, and there was minimal exposure, but it did look like a potentially more appealing route when we were looking at it. Never taken that way before, so can't say too much.
- We went around the east side of Y Meadow Lake, it might have been easier to go around the west side -- we like to camp on the northern end of the lake and had to wade the seasonal snow melt stream feeding Y Meadow Lake to get there.
Very warm on Saturday, cooler Sunday. Slept at Y Meadow Lake and it was very cold at night. I was in a WM 20 deg bag and was still pretty cold. Condensation on the inside of tent was icicles in the morning.
That said it was summer conditions up to around Bear Lake, and you don't really encounter any snow until you're closer to about 8000 ft. Then its everywhere. Didn't see a single footprint in the snow the way we went, from Lily Creek until around Chewing Gum Lake. Only saw one other couple at Y Meadow, at a distance, on the west side of the lake. Other than them, we didn't see anyone after Bear Lake until we were about ~1 mile from the Crabtree trailhead on the Lake Valley Trail. Wonderful time to be up there if you don't mind wet feet (or wear boots, I suppose...)
Elevations: 7100 - 9150
Difficult section encountered:
- Mostly easy traveling. Ample snow above 8000 ft, expect wet feet if you're in trail runners like I was. However, most of the snow was eminently walkable and well packed. We didn't find ourselves postholing much at all.
- Granite, Y Meadow, Chewing Gum all mostly frozen and snow covered but plenty of seasonal waterfalls and streams for water.
- Lots of downed trees and debris on the trail on Lake Valley Trail. Really a total mess below the snow line. One or two very big downed trees the first mile or so.
- There were enough footprints in the snow from Chewing Gum Lake until the snow disappears that you can travel without having to think much about where the trail would be. Lake Valley is a trail that is easy for me to lose even when it isn't covered in snow, though.
- Water is cold, and lots of seasonal streams, but none of them were very fast-moving or difficult to cross.
Special equipment needed/used: Used microspikes and trekking poles which we found very helpful and gave us some extra confidence on the steeper snow. Wore the spikes most of the trip above 8000 ft. Did the hike in trail runners and had wet feet most of the trip after Bear Lake.
Possible alternative routes:
- We hugged the right side of the pass on the way up from Lilly Creek meadow to Granite Lake. This led to us walking through some steep snow fields. It might have been easier to go through the meadow and up around the left side of the pass, which had more exposed rock. The snow was fine, and there was minimal exposure, but it did look like a potentially more appealing route when we were looking at it. Never taken that way before, so can't say too much.
- We went around the east side of Y Meadow Lake, it might have been easier to go around the west side -- we like to camp on the northern end of the lake and had to wade the seasonal snow melt stream feeding Y Meadow Lake to get there.