Emigrant Lake(s) area suggestions

Sunday (6/28) we'll enter Emigrant Wilderness at a new trailhead - Leavitt Lake. We've been in at Crabtree, and up/down Cherry Creek entering at Shingle Springs and West Fork CC entering at Bourland Meadow. All spectacular. Lots of opportunity for solitude, granite, swimming (or at least getting wet), granite, vistas - did I mention the granite? We enjoy off-trail routes and solitude.

I'm sure it will be great (granite) but thought I'd ask for any recommendations (dos or don'ts). The rough plan is to follow along the four Emigrant Lakes, maybe head over to Huckleberry, then along CC to Lord Meadow, up the drainage from Yellowhammer Lake, and depending on how much time we have left make our way back. Fishing is a plus if possible, but not mandatory. I've read livestock may be thick near Emigrant Lakes. Also was just told that the road into Leavitt Lake TH is closed - hoping maybe fewer pack trains?

Anyway, suggestions appreciated.

The Leavitt Lake/Big Sam/Emigrant Pass area--the "High Emigrant" area--doesn't have the typical Sierra granite--you won't find that until you're closer to Huckleberry. That's not to say it's not worth visiting at all. Note that the "trail" from Leavitt Lake all the way to the old tungsten mine below Twin Lakes is an old road, with spurs to another mine near Snow Lake and several prospects near Bond Pass.

The big lake near center here is High Emigrant; beyond that you can see Emigrant Meadow and Middle Emigrant lakes. This was taken from part of the way up (or down?) Big Sam--the peak at 10825 that the trail/road goes over.


This is the ridge northeast of Bond Pass.


The road to Leavitt Lake is a rough 4wd drive. If it's closed or you don't have a real 4x4 vehicle, it's probably better to take the PCT from Sonora Pass. I haven't been down to the lower Emigrant Lakes or Huckleberry, but Snow Lake is nice, as is the country around Dorothy Lake Pass in Yosemite

Wow, that doesn't look like Cherry Creek Granite™ at all.

We'll go in as planned and explore to see new things. The other two options we decided against (because we hadn't seen this part of Emigrant yet) were entering Twin Lakes (from 385/Bridgeport) heading towards Benson Lake ("The Rivera of the Sierra" and making a big loop or finally finishing an earlier truncated trip by exploring the off-trail granite lakes in the Boundary/Many Island/Kibbie Lake area. We decided against the Benson Lake loop due to reports of many people with the same idea...

I guess I just thought granite is granite.

Thanks for the reply and pictures.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2015 07:11AM by ags.

Yeah, I hear that there's quite a few people with designs on hanging out at Benson Lake...

Just Keep Hanging



(or Just Keep Flippering)

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