Three fine fall days in the Mok

[balzaccom]

I spent the last three days doing trail and solitude monitoring in the Mokelumne Wilderness. It is amazing how little you have to hike to get really and truly alone in this area.

The first day I hiked into Summit City Canyon from the Evergreen Trailhead at Upper Blue Lake. The place was deserted, and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground from brief but powerful storm the day before.

i hiked into the canyon, set up camp at the junction with the 4th of July Lake Trail, and spent a little time checking out the trails in all directions---down the canyon, up the Forestdale Trail, and then finally hiking up to 4th of July Lake. That was a treat, not only for the views on the way, but also because the lake is beautiful. I cleaned up one campsite and made sure the rest were good.

I finally went back to my camp in the canyon and went to bed. I had not seen a single soul once I hit the trail.

The next day I hiked out to the trailhead, then decided on the short climb up to Lost Lake--which turned out to be a desolate pond covered in 4WD tracks. Oh well. Back down to the van, where I drove a couple of miles to the Granite and Grouse Lake Trailhead. That afternoon I hiked up to Granite Lake and checked out all the campsites there, taking down a fire ring that was within 20 feet of the water. This was a Friday, and I saw only two people.

Finally, on Saturday I hiked all the way to Grouse Lake, a twelve mile round trip that also has a fair amount of up and down. I saw nobody on the way in, although I did see two campsites that were clearly used for the deer season opener. On the way out, I met one hunter just past Granite lake, and then another twelve day-hikers between Granite Lake and the trailhead--this was on a gloriously sunny Saturday in September.

In all, three days on the trail, a total of about fifteen people seen, all within 2 miles of the trailhead. Yes, I was putting in hours as a volunteer--but also really enjoying the sights and scenery of one of the lesser appreciated wildernesses in the Sierra. What a treat.

A photo log is here; https://photos.app.goo.gl/WhyN8RuN8Tk2BPrb8

[giantbrookie]

Nice. I guess I've tended to take for granted how few visitors many areas of the Sierra backcountry get, even during Labor Day weekend (see windknot Emigrant post), let alone after Labor Day when the crowds really thin. I haven't seen statistics but it seems to me that in addition to the usual rule of not seeing folks >3 mi from a trailhead, there seems to be a higher proportion of today's hikers who flock to "named" or "glamor(?)" trails, routes, or destinations. So it seems to me that there is a much bigger proportion of the Sierran backcountry where we can get solitude nowadays. In other words, I think those of us who don't follow the herd really benefit from the recent trends as shown in this post. This concept is additionally illustrated by my weekend visit to a very popular Yosemite destination. Even on Friday we saw quite a few visitors, although vastly less than what we'd see "peak season" when that location seems to have a population density akin to city park. So a "marquee" destination gets a lot of visitation even on Friday Sept 23 whereas the vast majority of Sierran backcountry locations are comparatively empty.

[wildhiker]

Sounds like you had a really nice time. How was the trail from Summit City Canyon up towards Forestdale Summit? The last time I hiked it in 2006, it was very overgrown with brush. On an earlier trip in 1989 it was fine.
-Phil

[balzaccom]

Sounds like you had a really nice time. How was the trail from Summit City Canyon up towards Forestdale Summit? The last time I hiked it in 2006, it was very overgrown with brush. On an earlier trip in 1989 it was fine.
-Phil

That trail got lots of attention in the last couple of years. It should be fine! (That said, i didn't hike it on this trip...I took the Evergreen Trail both directions.)

[balzaccom]

Even on Friday we saw quite a few visitors, although vastly less than what we'd see "peak season" when that location seems to have a population density akin to city park. So a "marquee" destination gets a lot of visitation even on Friday Sept 23 whereas the vast majority of Sierran backcountry locations are comparatively empty.

Even on Saturday I only saw about a dozen people on this trail..and all of them were in the two miles between Granite Lake and the trailhead.

[SNOOOOW]

Sounds like you had a really nice time. How was the trail from Summit City Canyon up towards Forestdale Summit? The last time I hiked it in 2006, it was very overgrown with brush. On an earlier trip in 1989 it was fine.
-Phil

I hiked a day hike loop from Carson Pass earlier this summer. Carson Pass to 4th of July, down to summit city creek and up to Forestdale/PCT then on to Carson Pass. The trail is great, well taken care of for how little use it gets. It's amazing how you can always count on the PCT being a zoo. No people for hours then you hit the PCT again and the masses show up. I would like to explore that canyon that goes south from summit city creek heading kinda towards deadwood peak. The creek in the canyon is devils creek on the map.

[balzaccom]

I would like to explore that canyon that goes south from summit city creek heading kinda towards deadwood peak. The creek in the canyon is devils creek on the map.

Devils Corral Creek. With a name like that, what could possibly go wrong? I've looked at it from afar, and while on the map it looks like it would take you right up to a cliff overlooking Upper Blue Lake, it sure looked like a complete bushwhack to me. I would absolutely need to be in the right frame of mind to tackle that one.

[kpeter]

I ought to get back to that area. My only experience was a kiddie backpack from Woods Lake to Roundtop Lake. Enjoyed that. The accessibility of the trailheads is very appealing.