Help with planning an Emigrant Wilderness trip.

[balzaccom]

Actually, there are also sites at the other end, near the outlet. Big lake, lots of opportunities. And by the way, if you are planning to stay at Emigrant for a day or two, make sure you get to Lenora Lake. It is just stunning.

[Wandering Daisy]

Forgot to mention this: Middle Emigrant Lake is well worth a trip up there to fish. Camp on established sandy spots on rock shelves near the outlet.

[gary c.]

Thanks again WD. Middle Emigrant will definitely be part of our trip. Nice to have an idea on where to look for campsites. Lost lake should be an easy day hike from there which is one that I wouldn't have considered without your suggestion.

[Wandering Daisy]

The fish at Lost Lake are easy-to-catch 8-10 inch brookies- nothing you cannot get at the other lakes. The trip is worth it if you also want to see the view into Kennedy Canyon. If you go in Kennedy Meadows, also think about a side trip up to Lewis Lakes- these are very scenic, but the hike up there involves crossing the creek and then a bit of brush. I have not fished Lewis Lakes, but did catch nice fish at Ridge Lake (hard to get to). The large lower Lewis Lake is very amazing.

Lower Lweis_8008_edited-1.jpg

This was on June 1, 2014.

[texan]

Don't skip Emigrant Lake there are big rainbows in it.

Texan

[justm]

If you do camp at the few camp sites at the outflow, it's an easy hike up to seldom visited Fraser lakes, although barren of fish , great views await !!I've camped there a few times , and gone over to shallow lakes from there ( pretty sure fishless also) but it's fun to meander around lakes that haven't been to tree upon !!

[Wandering Daisy]

Well, we each have our own suggestions and opinions! If I were camped at the outlet of Emigrant Lake, I would hike down to Buck Lake to fish long before I would go up to Fraser or Shallow Lakes.

You can x-c from Emigrant Lake to Lewis Lakes and then drop to the trail. It is pretty tricky just SE of Lewis Lakes because there are a lot of slot canyons to get around. It is an interesting way to return to the main trail on your way out, if you had time and get tired of trail walking.

Emigrant_to-LewisLks.JPG

[justm]

Thanks Wandering Daisey, that looks like a great fishing trip !! My route up to Fraser and Shallow was for solitude, as indicated from my original response .

[Wandering Daisy]

I have a jaded view since I hiked from Maxwell Lake to Emigrant outlet via Shallow and Fraser Lakes, at the end of a long day, and suffered greatly. It is not as easy as it looks on the map; complex micro-terrain. But do not continue on to Maxwell!

[Stanley Otter]

Thank you, Gary, for the original post/inquiry and everyone else for their suggestions. I passed by Upper Emigrant Lake on my long hike in July 2016 and vowed to make it back sometime. Fun to think about in the middle of this polar-vortex-induced bout of cabin fever...
Dennis

Emigrant Wilderness.jpg