Two-Night Trip to Emigrant Wilderness With Daniel
August 29 '98

• Phone numbers: Mi-Wuk Ranger station (listed under 'Forest Service'): 209-877-2218.
• Maps: USGS Cooper Peak plus USGS Pinecrest.
• Leave Menlo Park at 7.30am. Drive to Me-Wuk Ranger station on 108, just beyond Twain Hart. Took 101-San Mateo Bridge-580-120-108. Took 2hr50min. About 148 miles.
• Get permit at ranger station.
• To trailhead: Continue on 108 about 11 miles to well-marked road 'Crabtree Rd.' Exit to the right. Continue for about 11 miles to Aspen Meadow (a horse camp). Bear left on Road 4N26. Proceed ca 4 miles and turn right on Crabtree Camp Rd. Proceed ca 1 mile to designated parking.. Note: the road is dirt much of the way, but quite doable with normal city car.
• We started the hike at 12.10pm. That was quite sufficient.
• Hike to Camp Lake. Continue past the lake to first turn-off. Take the trail to Deer Lake (i.e. turn right), not the one to Bear Lake.
  Continue on the trail to the night spot. Terrain has one steep descent, and one ascent. Quite doable. My watch stopped, but I think we arrived at night spot around 4pm. 4miles, 1661' elevation gain. First night elevation: 7200'. We camped in a high meadow nestled into trees. Looked much like this, though a bit more intimate. There was nobody there but us. Water from a brook:

  First night: A meadow like this, but a bit smaller and with more trees. Water in a cold brook.

• Second day: hike to Piute Meadow, Groundhog meadow, Grouse Lake. Looks like this on the way:

  Grouse Lake: Second Night

  Grouse Lake is small. The trail runs along the north side. You can camp there. People go off the trail to the south side. Lots of obvious camp sites there. This lake is easily approachable from Crabtree Camp. So more people. Also: cows with loud bells. Not the ideal place for spending the night. But it's within a couple of hours from the parking lot which is what you need.

  One could go up to Mud Lake, and then down again the next morning. That might be nicer. There should be enough time to do that, but we didn't, so we can't vouch for it. 4.2miles; 834' elevation gain during the second day.

• Third day: Hike back to the parking lot. Some climbing, but nice. Got to the car around 4pm because we had explored Grouse Lake for quite a while before starting out.

  
  

  On the way from Grouse Lake to the parking lot at Crabtree.

• Went to a steak house in Mi-Wuk. Not great, but still OK. Drove back the same day.