Bowlders in the Emigrant - TR

“Photos here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/551927623aCVEQQ

BowlderSon and I hit the road at a quarter to 7 on Saturday, and were at the Crabtree trailhead by 10, hiking by 10:30. It was a warm day, so we were glad when a breeze came up or when the trail went into some shade. We arrived at Camp Lake at noon, so had our lunch of leftover pizza there in a nice shady spot. After lunch we headed down to cross Lily Creek. The creek is fed by snowmelt up at Granite and Y-Meadow Lakes and beyond, so is pretty cold. We had to remove our boots and wade across about a 50-foot wide section that was about knee deep - brrrrr! After that, we climbed up through a recently burned area, seeing lots of new seedlings poking up through the charred soil. We arrived at Lilypad Lake at around 2 or 3, delighted at the surprising lack of mosquitos. We cooled our heels (literally) in the lake after setting up camp. Had dinner, brushed teeth and cleaned up by 7, which is when the 'skeeters' alarm must have gone off because that's when they came out. So into the tent we went for many rounds of cards. We left the rain fly off of the tent to allow for mosquito-free star gazing, which worked great! We went to sleep amid a chorus of croaking from the lake's residents.

Sunday was our day to attempt to hike cross-country to Granite Lake. We met a couple guys who had camped on the north side of Lilypad Lake - they told us they tried to get up there along the west side of the bench, but found it too brushy. We continued on anyway, figuring we would just go as far as we could, then come back. Instead, we stayed further to the east than the two guys had, and found the hiking quite easy. It was a great hike right up to a pass overlooking the mostly frozen lake with lots of snow melting into it. We had a great lunch with that great view, then headed back down. We used the GPS to find our way back, although we didn't really need it. We got back early and just hung around the mostly mosquito-free lake, relaxing and enjoying the great weather.

We were on the trail by 8:20 Monday morning, having risen early and broken camp rather easily, a new record for us! It was a nice hike out in the warm morning, although the mosquitos were pretty active. The Lily Creek crossing was a little easier, but we got swarmed by 'skeeters while trying to get our boots back on - aack! We got back to the trailhead at around 11, then cleaned up a bit and celebrated with giant burgers at the Pine Cone Cafe in Mi-Wuk. A pretty easy drive home completed the great trip!

New Gear Report
MSR Pocket Rocket stove - Awesome stove for summer (I had actually used one before when Geezr and I shared his on the Yoho trip a few years ago). Super easy to use and boiled water quickly. Need to get a wind screen for it (the one for the Whisperlite is too short). The single 8 oz. canister is the right size for us for a 2-nighter (had a little left at the end).

Seattle Sports Pocket Bucket - This was great, being able to get a couple gallons of water in the bucket to filter water wherever I felt like sitting. Will have to figure out an easy system of supporting it so it doesn't tip over (it did once).
last edited: 7/04/06 8:48:16 AM”

“I got a pocket rocket this summer too - love it. Same observation about a windscreen - i'm gonna make one from an oven liner.

Cool trip - my son and I are going to spend a few days in the Maroon Bells around the first of August.”

“Oo, good idea with the oven liner. We'll go on at least one more trip: the Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows (or the reverse) part of the JMT. I think embear's doing that in a few weeks....”

“ya - oven liner is just the right weight to hold shape and be sturdy. I made a windscreen for my alchohol stove with it and used it for over a year on about a dozen trips, including a week in Glacier.

ps - next summer I wanna spend a good deal of time in CA - esp in Yosemite.
last edited: 7/04/06 11:45:41 AM”

“Cameron looks a lot taller. Do you know the H2O Amigo? [url]http://www.ula-equipment.com/amigo.htm [/url] Looks like the easiest way to filter - if you've got a tree nearby. I read some reviews and most of the filter times were slower, but people liked it. You just scoop the water, hang it, and do your camp chores while it fills your hydration system.”

“Roam's comin' to CA?!! Gotta hook up, dude! Any ideas other than Yosemite yet?


Hey wannabp - you're right, that kid is growing like a weed. He hit 4-11 a couple weeks ago. Check out these two photos to compare what 8 years will do:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/54103529/1054103987037037243qKtbwN

http://community.webshots.com/photo/551927623/2125183260037037243FrDhmU

I have heard of that system, BTW - interesting idea!”

“nah, no real ideas yet - just a strong desire to hang out in Yosemite Valley and Touleme Meadows for a few days.

I'll def let you know as the plan comes together.”

“Those are two great photos, definitely should be side to side on the wall somewhere. After looking at your Emigrant pics, I had to go back and look at the photo I have of the two of you at Loon Lake. Nope, I wasn't imagining it.”

“Bowlder Man - Thanks for the TR. Sounds like a good trip. We will have to get together on a hike soon. I remembered you were going on this trip but I knew I had plans.

We were in Cottonwood all last week and returned Monday. No hiking, just horse riding, wake boarding on Whiskeytown and Shasta Lakes and general relaxing at our other property. Someone bought land and built a new house near us and my view of Lassen now has a phone pole right smack dab in the middle. I did manage to get away for a day to flyfish the McCloud.

I have a pocket rocket that I take on ultralight trips. I use the windscreen from my Rapidfire when I take it.

Roam - I live near Yosemite so keep us posted on your plans. Always enjoy meeting new people.”

“you bet!”

“sounds like fun trip bowlderman. Awesome pics. The ear flashlight things threw me off at first, how do they work?”

“Just like a headlamp - they have a plastic crescent shaped hook that fits over your ear. BowlderGal got them for us as kind of a joke, but they really work well!”

“lol, I was wondering the same thing birch.

Nice pics BM!”

“Thanks for the report. Looks like a ton o' fun. I have a question though. My wife & I are headed that way this weekend and we were going to try to do a detour to Lilypad lake after seeing your report. Only problem is that we can't find it. Checked Topo, DeLorme and an Emigrant map. Couldn't spot it anywhere in the region. Could you point us in the right direction?”

“Ha! It's not named on the map - it's just known as that because of, well, all of the lilypads. The lake is kind of long and skinny running east-west, about halfway from the Lily Creek crossing to Piute Meadow.

Coords: 38.16°N, 119.85°W”

“Thanks Bowlder! I kind of figured that was the lake but I wan't sure. I really appreciate it.”

“Looks like you two had a wonderful trip! What a pretty area, Camp Lake is beautiful. Have not yet been to the Emigrant Wilderness, but going to try to do a backpack trip up to Lewis Lakes & around granite Dome area..it's been on my to go places for many years.

Yes, Cameron has really gotten taller.
Thank you for sharing Marty! Really beautiful pictures :)”

“Thanks, M-i-T! I was wondering if you were still alive - haven't seen you posting much lately. Must be too busy hiking to post on TT, right?”